Avoiding the Thousand-And-One Video Pitfalls That Everyone Worries About
Have you ever felt too intimidated about video recording to even try to get a simple message out on YouTube?
I thought so. I feel that way too. I did a quick search on Google, and these are some of the issues that were raised when making a video for any purpose.
First, I was instructed in no uncertain terms to buy the most expensive camcorder I could afford. The quality of the video suffers greatly unless the camera is first class.
Next, I learned that you MUST have a tripod. But not just any tripod. The tripod has to cost at least $100 – $200 to be solid and firm enough to prevent wobbling. I was instructed to obtain a portable microphone and something called a “Lavaliere Microphone”(like I knew what that was).
Next, I was given TONS of advice on panning, zooming, editing, narration, composition, lighting – and even extensive information on how to sort and pack your equipment.
I haven’t even addressed the issues of cue cards versus memorization – keeping background noise to a minimum – inflection – facial expression – and, (my personal favorite) – STAGE FRIGHT.
All of this would make a lot of sense if you were re-making “Gone With The Wind”, but it’s way over the top if you’re just trying to explain or sell something.
If you’re reading this, then presumably you understand the incredible power of video sites like YouTube, and you know that video accounts for more and more total internet traffic (52% to date). If you want the most pairs of eyes to see your message, you have to go video. But you may be asking yourself at this point how you can avoid all of the above nonsense to do it.
Good question. You could go for some expensive video editing software and – after overcoming a steep learning curve – create one of those masterpieces you see on YouTube from time to time. You know what I mean – a clever series of written messages which fade in and fade out, or leap on to the screen and then leap out, or dance around in a circle – all accompanied by perfectly synchronized music, of course.
But if you just want to get across a simple sales message, you might conclude that all of the above is overkill. So why not look into “text to video” software?
If you haven’t heard of it, don’t worry. I hadn’t heard of it either until recently. But actually it’s been around for a while – only nowadays the speech sounds less robotic. The idea behind it is to simply paste or type the words you want spoken into your computer and it gets converted into audio speech.
This makes creating a video as easy as typing an email, and since more and more people would rather watch and listen to a message then read a message, this kind of software has real value.
The main question to ask is how the software handles the video portion. I would personally recommend that you choose a program that generates some kind of computer image, rather than simply flashing the words on a screen as they’re being spoken. Most viewers feel more comfortable actually seeing someone talk, and you want viewers that feel comfortable watching your message.
Learn more about a new text to video program called VideoGoRound.com at Jennifer Gordon’s site: VIDEOGOROUND.COM. Find out how VIDEOGOROUND will address these issues.