At-a-glance steps to producing digital video:
- Plan what you want to say/have said
- Find an appropriate space in terms of sound and light level
- Set up your subject in viewfinder
- Mic check through headphones
- Record
- Capture/Upload to computer with Firewire (or USB cable)
- Edit using video editing software
- Add titles, website to find more information
- Export to an size-appropriate and compatible format
- Publish: Finding and Sharing videos
More detailed instructions on recording:
- Sound quality is often more important than video quality - a lavalier mic or a shotgun mic necessary - keep the mic away from the camera buzz.
- Get a tripod or sit the camera on a table to eliminate shakes. If these are not possible, you can reduce shakes by holding a camera to your stomach and twisting the viewfinder to point up to you.
- Fix the viewfinder rectangle on the person talking and don't move it. This means you want a little buffer space in your rectangle for the person to pace around in. If the person talking moves outside your buffer space, zoom out and keep it zoomed out.
- If you've got access to two cameras, use both and make cuts between them in the editing phase. This will make the video much more watch-friendly.
- If you are using MiniDV tapes, wipe the tapes beforehand. This means recording over a brand new tape in one sweep so that the time stamp goes from 0:00 to 60:00 cleanly. You can just set it on record with the cap on and leave it there. Otherwise it will reset to 0:00 every time you stop and start recording, and make it hard to keep track of what part of the tape you want.
...digitizing and editing:
- You can use many programs to upload your footage to your computer. For Macs, Final Cut Express ($300) is good for projects with lots of editing, iMovie is pretty intuitive also, or you can do trims and deletions with Quicktime Pro ($30). I think Windows Media Maker is the PC equivalent of iMovie.
- In editing, you should be considerate towards your viewer. Think about what is the most important thing you want to communicate and the most concise way to do it. Keep it simple.
- You can export with different compressions and different file types for your purposes. Sorensen compression works well for PCs and Macs.