Internet and Businesses Articles

A favicon is a custom icon that sits next to your web site title in a persons favourite's menu when they have bookmarked your site, it is an easy way to create an 'eye drawing image' to ensure that people always see you link in their favourite's and should hopefully encourgae them to check out that 'great site that they haven't visited yet today!'

This is a quick guide that will provide instructions on how to create one for your site, it really is very easy and will help to create a extra tool to maintain your site in the customers mind.

All it takes is four easy steps...

1) Choose an image that you would like to use to represent your web site. Most people use a small version of their logo but you can use any image that you want. I would advise however that you choose an image that is reflective of your web sites theme and an image that will still remain recognisable when the size is dropped to 16 x 16 pixels.

2) Take your chosen image, which should be as high a quality as you can get, in .JPG or .GIF format and convert your image to the 256 color Web Safe Palette or the Windows 16 color format. This can very easily be done in most graphics packages and as a guideline I would say that the less colours you use the better so as to maintain image clarity and professionalism.

3) Using your graphics package, reduce the image down to 16 x 16 pixels, at this point you need to ensure that you preserve the image resolution. This is a key factor as a larger image that has been reduced can loose all clarity and just become a tacky blob, is this how you want your web site remembered? The key here is to keep perservering until you are happy with the finished icon and it is a great advertisement for the professionalism, and the theme, of your web site.

4) Once you are happy with your completed icon you need to save it as "Favicon.ico". This is the default name that web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, look for. This file then needs to be copied to the root directory of your web site and then whenever a customer bookmarks your site your image is cached and will display when they use their favourites menu.

This can very easily be tested by clearing your cache and re-bookmarking your site and 'hey presto' your new shiny, professional and eye drawing favicon will appear next to your site title and will also appear in the address bar of your browser.

This is just another simple trick that aims to get you 'thinking outside the box' when it comes to developing your website presence and reminding your customers to come and re-visit your web site.

Mike - Forum Webmaster at

Online Auction Trader - a community forum dedicated to developing you a sustainable, profitable and long term online income.
http://www.onlineauctiontrader.com/phpBB/index.php

Video is a powerful marketing medium with the ability to communicate concise, precise and controlled information with a positive effect. A well-constructed video fires the imagination, increases the energy level and ensure that all feel part of your event. It will engage the emotions, focus the attention and enable each individual to visualise his/her role as part of the team.

Videos strength lies in its simple ability to transport people to locations, illustrate concepts and convey far more than mere words, spoken or printed, ever can. Video is an effective and memorable way of communicating. Core messages and themes are reinforced using other forms of communication. Video footage has a long shelf life when used imaginatively in multimedia CD-ROMs, Websites, DVD and CD-Brochure formats.

Video has been revolutionised by the onset of digital shooting and editing. Shooting in broadcast quality used to involve cumbersome and expensive camera equipment, combined with analogue editing which required the copying of sections and consequent loss of quality with each successive generation. The process was time consuming, complicated and linear. Modern digital cameras are capable of shooting in broadcast quality. Editing is now carried out in a non-linear way on desktop computers; changes may be made at will, stored and reviewed at any time and in any order. The advantages are similar to those gained by using a computer word processor over that of a mechanical typewriter and carbon copy paper for duplicates. Not only is digital editing highly flexible, but the medium enables an ever-expanding range of graphical effects to be applied – without loss of quality or corruption of the original footage. In consequence, the costs associated with making and producing a video have dropped dramatically. What was once the preserve of the large, rich and expansive corporation is now available and affordable to a much wider market – with the consequent advantages that this provides to internal company communications and team building along with external advantages in the selling of products or services to your market place.
The stages required to produce a video vary depending on the style and content; generally:


* PRE-PRODUCTION involves briefing, research, location finding, administration, booking of facilities and writing a treatment outline (video content, description and approach to be adopted). After approval a shooting script including both narration and camera shots will be written.
* SHOOTING follows the approved script and involves a camera crew and a director going to location/s to interview participants and shoot footage to illustrate, illuminate and reinforce the script. If required studio shoots are undertaken where controlled lighting and effects are employed - a product demonstration, for example is typically shot in this way.
* POST-PRODUCTION includes recording of guide narration (using an edited script, which may change from the shooting script because of interviewee’s comments etc.). Footage is edited to the guide narration, graphic and video effects generated and music and titles added. The resulting edit master is then client approved and amended as necessary. A final “voice over” is then effected incorporating final changes. The final master tape is complete and ready for duplication.
* DUPLICATION is the transfer of masters onto the final format – which can be all or any of VHS, Betacam, Laserdisk, Digibeta, DVD, Mpeg, Avi and more. The final product is then packaged and presented in an appropriate way with print material for labels, inserts and sleeves.

James Hunter works for Status AV, one of the foremost video production companies in the UK. http://www.statusav.com/

Unlike standard television broadcasting, there are a limited number of viewers that an Internet television station can accommodate. These limitations are determined by the amount of bandwidth the network media server has available. A popular Internet television station would require large amounts of bandwidth to provide the broadcast to a large viewing audience.

Peer to Peer (Commonly referred to as P2P) broadcasting allows viewers using specialized software to re-distribute the media broadcasts. This eliminates the need to utilize costly centralized media servers to distribute the broadcast and results in cost savings for bandwidth consumption.

Any size business or group can establish an effective media broadcast presence without the huge costs normally associated with Internet broadcasting. Using this method, only a few data streams are required for a global Internet broadcast distribution.

P2P Internet broadcasting provides extremely bandwidth friendly results and can support a virtually unlimited number of users. This method also provides effective security against Denial Of Service (DOS) attacks which can cripple a centralized server network architecture.

There are both commercial and non commercial options that offer P2P broadcast ability for Internet television.

This article will cover free open source software.

Open source is an initiative that allows people to have access to the source code of software. This is the actual nuts and bolts that allow the software to operate. This initiative also allows people the ability to redistribute and or modify the source code thus allowing improvements and adaptations of the software.

Peercast

Peercast is a P2P media broadcast application that is available for the Windows, Unix and Mac operating systems. It is compatible with Shoutcast, Icecast and Windows Media streaming protocols.

The software was originally designed to use Gnutella as a basis for broadcast distribution. The software now uses a hierarchal topology for media broadcast distribution. This new method provides greater scalability and more data organization.

Broadcast station data is collected by the YP directory. This data is continuously updated by individual broadcasters. Listeners / viewers (client software) provide the connection points between themselves, the broadcasters and others.

Each broadcaster has the option of including a digital signature to enable media broadcast authentication. This will prevent their broadcasts from being hijacked and replaced with alternative material.

The following video codecs are supported by Peercast: VP3, VP6, Theora and WMV. It can also be used for audio broadcasting and can be configured to use several audio codecs. The software can be used to broadcast individual static media files as well.

Hardware network routers use Network Address Translation to provide internal IP addresses for computers within that network. Traffic flowing through NAT must be converted from internal IP addresses to external IP addresses. P2P traffic routing through NAT usually requires software port forwarding to bypass NAT. Peercast is NAT friendly software and requires no special port forwarding.

A plug-in is available for the popular Winamp media player. (Winamp versions 2.x and 5.x) This can be installed and used by clients to easily receive a Peercast station.

The Peercast network provides a real time online station directory of current broadcasters. (http://yp.peercast.org)

The main Peercast client must be installed to broadcast using this P2P network.

Additional resources

Peercast Frequently Asked Questions: (http://www.peercast.org/wiki/wakka.php?wakka=FrequentlyAskedQuestions)

Peercast Help : (http://www.peercast.org/help.php)

Peercast Community Forum : (http://www.peercast.org/forum)

FreeCast

FreeCast is a Java P2P broadcast application. Users must install the Java Runtime Environment, which is available for the Windows, Unix and Mac operating systems. It is compatible with the Icecast streaming protocol.

The software has a internal audio and video player applet that can play both the Ogg Vorbis open source audio codec, and the Theora open source video codec. It can also be configured to use the Java Web Start feature for automatically loading and launching. This enables a "one click" approach for web based end users.

Each broadcaster has the option of including a digital signature to enable media broadcast authentication. This will prevent their broadcasts from being hijacked and replaced with alternative material.

FreeCast uses a hierarchal method of media broadcast distribution. Each broadcaster acts as a central node with listeners / viewers receiving data from them and relaying to other listeners / viewers.

Icecast and JRoar media streaming server software can be used with FreeCast. In addition, Ezstream can be used with both JRoar and Icecast to source both Ogg Vorbis and Theora files. This software is a command line utility and is available for Windows and Unix operating systems.

FreeCast is continuing software development that will allow its deployment across networks that interact with network routers that utilize Network Address Translation (NAT). Port forwarding is currently required to accommodate NAT routers.

A real time station directory is currently not available or supported.

Additional resources:

FreeCast : (http://www.freecast.org)

Theora : (http://www.theora.org)

IceCast : (http://www.icecast.org)

Dave Childers is a freelance Internet broadcast consultant, writer and the webmaster of http://www.scvi.net, the Winamp TV / NullSoft video information website.

One of the primary obstacles for video content distribution over the Internet is the cost of specialized software required to encode video. Video encoding consists of converting video content into compressed digital data that can be easily distributed electronically.

There are several software development companies that sell closed source software for video encoding and content distribution. The cost and available features of the different software packages vary. Some software companies require additional royalty payments for use of their encoding software.

Thanks to the efforts of several software developers, there is free software that does not require royalty payments. This software can be used for both commercial and non commercial projects.

NullSoft Video

Justin Frankel, the creator of the Winamp media software player, also developed NullSoft video. This format was specifically designed for distributing video media through the Internet and is based on the Shoutcast Internet protocol.

Both open source and closed source video codecs are supported by NullSoft video. Codecs are software programs that allow media to be digitally encoded or decoded using a specific compression architecture. These video codecs include the VP3 open source and the VP6.1 / VP6.2 closed source. The MP3 and AAC audio codecs are supported as well. The VP3 video and MP3 audio codecs are included with the NullSoft video tools download.

A free set of tools for encoding and streaming video through the Internet using NullSoft video was also created. You can download the NullSoft video tools package direct from the NullSoft web site. (http://www.nullsoft.com/nsv). You can download a updated version of the NullSoft video tools here : (http://www.scvi.net/software.htm). This update includes the latest Lame MP3 audio encoder, software improvements and access to a updated version of the VP3 video codec.

NullSoft video content can be streamed through the Internet with the following free media server software :

Shoutcast DNAS (http://www.shoutcast.com/download)
Icecast (http://www.icecast.org)
Steamcast (http://www.steamcast.com)

(http://www.scvi.net) is the unofficial information resource website for NullSoft video.
You can find many tutorials, guides and third party software tools to download here.

There are several media software players that can view the NullSoft video format.
These include :

Winamp : (http://www.winamp.com)

Video Lan Client : (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/)

Mplayer : (http://www.mplayerhq.hu)

Xine : (http://xinehq.de)

X box : (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com)

NullSoft video can also be deployed with ActiveX components for web site use. This will allow people to watch NullSoft video without the need for installing additional player software.

Theora Video

The Theora video project is being developed as a complete open source video solution. The group behind this project is (http://www.xiph.org.) This format uses the Theora video codec (http://www.theora.org) and the Ogg Vorbis audio codec (http://www.vorbis.com).

The Theora video project uses the Theora video codec which is based upon the VP3 video codec developed by ON2. The Theora video codec offers core architectural improvements to provide better video encoding and playback performance.

Both live and pre recorded video can be distributed via the Internet using Theora video.

Theora video content can be streamed through the Internet with the following free media server software :

Icecast (http://www.icecast.org)

JRoar (http://www.jcraft.com/jroar)

Flumotion (http://www.flumotion.com/download)

Steamcast (http://www.steamcast.com)

There are several media software applications that can play the Theora video format.
These include :

Video Lan Client : (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/)

Mplayer : (http://www.mplayerhq.hu)

Xine : (http://www.xinehq.de)

Xbox Media Center : (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com)

Real (Player) Alternative : (http://www.free-codecs-com/download/Real_alternative.htm)

Theora video can also be deployed with Java components for web site use. This will allow people to watch Theora video without the need for installing additional player software.

Tim Gnatek of the New York Times wrote a article entitled "Internet TV: Don't Touch That Mouse!".

(http://www.friends.ca/News/Friends_News/archives/articles07010402.asp)

This article highlights some of the problems associated with content delivery via the Internet. These problems include how independent broadcasters will be able to "keep up with viewer demand, given the cost of the servers and Internet connections required" in addition to "How do you get it (video content) from your garage to the Web?''

These barriers on the information superhighway are being removed by Internet video stations using alternative media distribution methods.

Some of these alternative methods include :

P2P video streaming

P2P video streaming does not require a centralized server architecture for content distribution. Each client that views the video content automatically relays it to the next person requesting access to the video. This greatly reduces the need for large amounts of bandwidth for content delivery.

Unlike P2P file trading, P2P video streaming can be used to broadcast live video content using several encoding formats and is supported on various computer operating systems.

Video podcasting

Video podcasting allows people to publish video content via a web host with no specialized server software. A specialized data client using Really Simple Syndication provides users access to the most current video content. The video content can be downloaded on a computer or hand held media device for viewing at a later time.

You can use both NullSoft video and Theora video for video podcasting.

Dave Childers is a freelance Internet broadcast consultant, writer and the webmaster of http://www.scvi.net, the Winamp TV / NullSoft video information website.

Have you ever noticed when you are shopping at most any retail store there is background music being played and if you need help understanding how a product works or need aid in purchasing the correct equipment there is always a person near by to help you?

This is what your ecommerce or online sales website needs to achieve that comfortable atmosphere where visitors to your online store will enjoy shopping. When you make your store online comfortable with audio or video your customers are apt to stay longer on your website and that means a better chance of a sale.

Using audio in the form of quiet listening music will aid in keeping your customers online and enjoying shopping at your ecommerce store. They will feel comfortable and at ease which will allow them to browse your store and buy.

Another way in which audio on your website can aid in getting you more sales is when you can personally talk about a certain product and how it works, what it does, and just how the item can make their life easier. You will then be transforming your website into the feel of a retail store, with salesmen that offer their help to customers. Your customers will appreciate this extra feature and will also be able to learn about the products through listening instead of just seeing a product on a page.

Go the next step, add a video of how to use the product, how to install, or construct the product and show the many uses on the video of what the product can do for your customers. Now, you not only have a salesperson explaining the product, but you also have a technician showing how to use the product.

People are more apt to purchase products if they can tell that your website has real people behind the pages. Using audio and video will give your website that extra touch and your trustworthiness will go up as well. You will be providing your customers with a nice setting for shopping, a salesperson that can aid them with their purchase and a technician that guide them through the installation process.

Using audio and video on your ecommerce website to increase sales is a must. You will be giving the consumer what they want and deserve in our high tech world and they will not have to go to a retail store to have their needs met.

Copyright @2005, 4th Media Corporation

You have permission to publish this article electronically free of charge, as long as the bylines and links in the body of the article and the bylines are included.

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She's been experinenting Audio & Video Editing with MP3 Converter (http://www.blazemp.com/), and MP3 Encoder on a ecommerce guide website. http://www.4th-media.net/

Things have changed quite a bit from when I started in the film & video business in 1988. Back then, many corporate programs were still shot and edited on film. Video shooting was on "plain Jane", non-SP, analogue Betacam. Video editing was on Low Band U-Matic - a process that required copious notes to be taken and a day or two of writing all the timecode numbers down for the (linear) on-line edit. Mastering was on bulky one-inch reel to reel video, that was so sensitive to magnetic fields, it couldn't be taken on a London tube train. Distribution was either on Low Band U-Matic, Betamax (remember that?), or VHS.

Today, nearly twenty years later, the much heralded digital age is upon us. You can shoot on DV, edit on Avid, and burn the result onto DVD without a moment's thought or any loss of quality. The only stage of the process that has remained more or less the same is the final one: delivery of the program to the viewer. Be it by post, Fed-Ex, or motorcycle courier, someone has to take a copy of your finished program, transport it to where your viewer is going to see it, and then play it on specialized equipment. If your program has to cross borders into another country, chances are you'll have to have special copies made to conform to that country's TV standard, and the customer will have to pay a hefty customs charge as well.

The Internet provides a solution to this problem and is, in my view, the perfect medium for the distribution of corporate videos, for companies large and small. Broadband/ ADSL Internet access is rapidly becoming the norm. Around 80% of the UK now has the capability to access Broadband (source: The Guardian) and the figure is higher for some other countries. Here are a few examples of ways this technology can be utilized:

Let's say you run a small or medium sized company and have made a promotional video to show to potential clients. You can easily stream this from your website. If you don't want your competition to see your video (and you cannot guarantee a DVD won't fall into the "wrong" hands), you can password protect that part of the website and make access by invitation only. You could also stream a commercial from your website for the whole world to see - not just people in your local TV area. You could even tie it in to your print advertising, so people would want to visit your site and see your commercial. That certainly beats them getting up to go to the bathroom when your commercial is showing on TV, or fast forwarding it if they've videoed the program its being shown in! There's so much video content of this nature being shown on the web now, Yahoo! has devoted a large area of their search engine to it. Visit Yahoo!, click on the "video" tab and type in "commercial" to see what I mean.

If you run a large company or have staff in more than one place, then video streaming becomes a real boon. In addition to the options available to small businesses, you can use it for corporate communications. You can show the same video to employees in different locations, cities, time zones, or even countries. Apart from converting your video into the correct format (more on that subject later), and having your webmaster upload it to your webspace, the actual costs are practically nothing - and there's definitely nothing for the tax man to get his teeth into! Your video can cross boarders without having to incur customs charges, and standards conversion becomes a thing of the past.

Getting your training message across also becomes much easier. Employees can watch the video from their computer screens. Add some "interactivity" to the mix, and you can build a training session tailored for each employee. If you're on a network, you can do this via your company intranet as well as over the web.

With live streaming, one trainer can train several people at the same time, even if they are in different parts of the world. This is particularly useful for medical training. A surgeon can demonstrate a particular technique from a sterile environment, without the operating theatre having to be filled with students. The entire process can also be recorded on video for viewing later.

There are many formats available for digital video, and careful research is necessary to select the most appropriate one. The most popular formats are:

Macromedia Flash (swf)

Microsoft Video (avi)

Motion Picture Experts Group (mpeg)

Quick Time (mov)

Real Media (rm)

Windows Media (wmv)

Streaming video does not quite compare to what viewers are used to seeing on broadcast TV or DVD. The most obvious difference being the optimum screen size is much smaller. Under ideal conditions, streaming video can be clear and continuous, but the latest technology must be used to create, send and receive the video or the results can be unsatisfactory; however, that said, the sort of picture one would see when seated directly in front of the computer monitor is not dissimilar from that seen on a 14" portable TV viewed from 10 feet or so away.

Because of the smaller screen size, it's best to avoid any complicated graphics or DVE moves in a streamed video, although still frame graphics can always be shown on the website alongside the video.

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about streaming video. Some of the most common questions I get asked are:

"Don't I need a special website for streaming video?" No, you don't. Because the files are large, most free sites won't host them, but ordinary sites will. I have over five hours of streaming video on my website, and it's just an ordinary one. Some web hosting companies do charge you extra if you have live streaming video on a continuous basis, but this is usually to cover the extra bandwidth.

"Ah, bandwidth. I'll bet it uses a lot. Won't that cost a fortune?" This is sort of true. Video files are large, but they are just binary files. Downloading large files - be they video or software - does use up a lot of bandwidth. However, video streaming formats are especially designed to keep file sizes as small as possible. Bandwidth isn't all that expensive these days anyway, and many web hosting packages come with a monthly allocation of 50 - 100 gigabytes, which is more than adequate for most applications.

"Some people who want to see my videos have Windows PCs, while others have Macs. Won't that be a problem?" No. Most streaming formats are compatible with multiple operating systems, and even specific manufacturer's formats like Microsoft's Windows Media, and Apple's Quick Time, have versions that can be used by "the competition".

"Is streaming video any good on a dial-up connection?" It's true that streaming video works best via Broadband. The best option is to offer the alternative of downloading the video file as well as streaming it; that way, someone on a dial-up can download the file and watch it from his/her hard drive.

Video streaming can add a whole new dimension to your corporate video, be it for training, communications, or marketing. It's just like having your own cable-TV channel - only considerably cheaper.

Shaun Pearce is a writer and video maker. Read his bio. at http://www.shaunpearce.co.uk?=art00

Your PC may contain hundreds of video files, all encoded differently - AVI, MPEG, RM, WMV, DVD, VCD, MOV, etc. If you are looking for video conveter tools, here are some suggestions.

WinAVI Video Converter

WinAVI Video Converter is a nice tool for converting video clips to an assortment of formats. The attractive, modern interface features large, clearly labeled icons, so you won't have to dig through the menus very often. You can convert a variety of file types to WMV, AVI, MPEG, and RM. Other notable pluses include a built-in DVD-burning utility, a batch-conversion tool, and a preview pane.
WinAVI Video Converter is easy to use and powerful enough for experts. Burning VCD/SVCD/DVD is supported. WinAVI Video Converter supports almost all video file formats, including AVI, MPEG1/2/4, VCD/SVCD/DVD, DivX, XVid, ASF, WMV, RM, QuickTime MOV, Flash SWF.
The program also has a powerful video decompress/compress engine that convert whole AVI movie to DVD in 1 less than an hour.

More Information: http://www.deprice.com/winavivc.htm

Aare AVI to VCD DVD SVCD Converter

This tool is very basic, but also very inexpensive - less than eighteen dollars. This program is capable of converting an avi file or Merge some avi files to a VCD DVD SVCD format MPEG file.
Plus it Supports avi to vcd dvd svcd conversion with NTSC/PAL setting option, processes avi with DivX/XviD avi format and works with MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4 video files and MPEG layer1, layer2, layer3 audio files. In addition to that there is the "Split feature" that splits big mpeg files into several smaller segment, so that it can be fit onto a CD. Other features include:

* Input/Output preview.

* Fill in / Customize options for cropping output video.

* Support output effect.

* Support Input/Output list and other options saving automatically, finishing it anytime.

The program is brainlessly simple to use:

Additional information:
http://www.deprice.com/aareavitovcddvdsvcdconverter.htm

John Deprice is a multimedia professional. He shares his tips and tricks on working with video at http://www.deprice.com/multimedia.htm

Italy is without question the place to shoot high definition video. Nearly everything in this sun-drenched part of the world cries out for a photo or video capture. My feelings about the country have never wavered from this opinion.

Having said that, I must also admit that Italy - particularly in metropolitan areas - is a problematic country for videographers. Rome, among other Italian cities, has some of the toughest regulations and laws limiting commercial photography.

My husband, Wayne, and I formed our company - VITA Digital Productions - 5 years ago to shoot European video footage - both for our own specialty-market treadmill virtual walks ( www.treadmillwalks.com ) and to sell as stock footage to TV networks around the world ( www.hdeuropeanstockfootage.com ). We made the decision last year to switch over to HD (High Definition) footage after getting our first request for HD footage.

Our biggest concerns, in planning our recent three-week shoot in May 2005, were 1. the safe transport of our video equipment (all in carry-on bags, for obvious reasons!), 2. the ability to shoot in and around tourist-laden locations, and 3. finding ways to get video footage in spite of the stringent regulations enforced in Rome.

Wayne and I have done this several times over the past five years - researching a picture-worthy destination in Europe, making our own travel plans, and packing up like two serendipitous vagabonds to go forth and shoot (you’d just have to know me to appreciate how foreign this is - no pun intended - to my accustomed, orderly way of life). When I look back to the first part of 2001 (pre 9-11) and our two trips to Italy in spring and summer of that year, I realize now how easy it was to get through customs with unusual looking video equipment.

When the two of us travel on a video shoot, we have slowly learned to take the bare minimum of clothing so that we can
accommodate the camera, tripods, SteadiCam apparatus, batteries, filters, wide-angle lens, fluid heads, and tape in addition to spare parts for repairs.

This trip, anticipating problems with airport security, we took pictures of Wayne wearing the SteadiCam vest and showing the camera mounted on the articulated arm. We then tucked the pictures inside the luggage for quick and easy retrieval. When the security agents x-rayed our bags, they never failed to have us open our luggage and inspect the equipment contained. It expedited the process when we were able to produce pictures showing how every piece of equipment fit together. Wayne also mailed a small and inexpensive packet of tools (a screwdriver, a pair of pliers and an Allen wrench) to each of our two hotels so that we would not have those little forbidden items confiscated in the airports. And for some reason, an Allen wrench is an absolute no-no with security agents! I suppose that all of the items could have been purchased in Italy, but time is money on a shoot and we didn’t want to waste time searching for a source in a strange city.

Safely arriving with all of our equipment in Italy, we were ready to begin shooting. We had an itinerary and a shooting agenda for each day, but we knew we would have to build in some flexibility to allow for both the weather and the unexpected. We have been extremely lucky in this regard, even on our two previous shooting trips to England.

So how does a videographer shoot around the tourists? If too many people are between the camera and subject or site being shot, the whole effort can be an utter waste of time. And also, unfortunately, the Italian polizia and carabinieri are quick to tell a videographer or still photographer to fold up that tripod and move on!! They do NOT have any patience with a foreign professional photographer, so common sense and a little stealth are requirements.

For tourist-filled sites, we have found that shooting in the very early morning works well for us. For one thing, Italy is a late-night country, so there are few people (and that includes police) out on the streets at first light. Typically, we would get to a site by 7 AM each morning, shoot for a few hours and then return to the hotel for breakfast: then back out into the streets for more shooting.

The first part of our trip focused on the Amalfi Coast where we filmed, in addition to some incredibly beautiful stock footage, a virtual walk through the Valle di Mulino (the Valley of the Mills) above Amalfi, another through Pompeii, a third on the Isle of Capri, from Anacapri to Torre Damecuta, and yet another from Ravello to Atrani into the Piazza Umberto.

The last two weeks of this trip took us back to Rome, where our focus was HD stock footage and Renaissance art - Bernini
sculptures and Raphael paintings claimed the lion’s share of our time and attention. We spent much of our time filming the Pantheon (Raphael’s Tomb and the occulus); the Church of Santa Maria de Popolo and its Chigi Chapel; Santa Maria della Vittoria with Bernini’s “Ecstasy of St. Teresa”; the Fountain of the Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona; St. Peter’s Basilica and Square; and those delightful Breezy Maniacs of Bernini’s along the bridge to the Castel Sant’Angelo.

We devoted a day filming a virtual walk in the medieval town of Viterbo (just 1.5 hours by train from Rome). An historical note about Viterbo - had John Paul II or Benedict XVI been elected Pope in the 13th century, it would have happened here rather than in Rome. Now a well-preserved provincial village, but in its heyday, Viterbo was Rome’s greatest rival!

Rome was more crowded with tourists during this trip than we‘ve ever encountered. Much of that could be attributed to pilgrims
flocking to the Vatican in the month following the death of Pope John Paul II and the subsequent election of Pope Benedict XVI. We’ve also heard that more Americans are traveling to Europe this summer than ever before. Whatever the reason, there were visitors everywhere.

At the end of the trip, we were exhausted but satisfied with the 20 plus hours of High Definition footage we shot along the Amalfi Coast and in Rome. There was an unfortunate incident with a French gendarme in the Charles deGaulle airport, but that will remain a story told within the family!

Is a foreign shoot worth the time, expense, and aggravation? I’ll give you a resounding yes on that one - but with a caveat: pack an extra dose of patience and a big heart, and both will be rewarded many times over!

My husband, Wayne, and I own a video production company that focuses on European travel. In addition to our Virtual Walks Series, we also shoot stock footage of Venice, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, London, and English villages. We have sold our footage to numerous television networks and production houses around the world.

'DVD Jon', a Norwegian programmer, has tweaked Google video to make it play clips that are not on Google's servers.

Google Video ( http://video.google.com ) is a web-based video search service that lets people use keywords to search for videos from numerous suppliers.

To watch videos on Google Video, a browser plugin is necessary. Google Video Viewer can be downloaded here: http://video.google.com/video_download.html.

Google has restricted his Video Viewer to only play back files that are stored on video.google.com. The Google Video Viewer is based on the open-source VLC player ( http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ ) which is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

When you download and run the patch of Jon Lech Johansen ( http://nanocrew.net/?p=114 ) to remove this restriction, you can also watch with the Google Video Viewer non-Google hosted videos! Running the patch requires a .NET runtime.

People are advised NOT to install this Video Viewer patch, according Google, as "It could result in security vulnerabilities on their computer and may disrupt their computer's ability to access Google Video". But why should we believe Google? Google is protecting his Video Viewer, but when you can use it for other content, why shouldn't you do it? Give it a try and post your feedback on the wallies.info blog.

Url: http://nanocrew.net/?p=114

For feedback on this article, please visit http://www.wallies.info/blog/item/170/index.html

Walter V. is a self-employed internet entrepreneur and founder-webmaster of several websites, including wallies.info :: A snappy blog about snappy blue things :: blog | wiki | forum | links - http://wallies.info mblo.gs :: A snappy moblog community - http://mblo.gs

If you're new to PC video editing then knowing where to start can be a bit daunting, so hopefully this guide will point you in the right direction.

To start with you will need a few items of equipment

Camcorders/Video Decks

Depending on your requirements or aims there are number of different solutions to discuss, so i will split these up into separate sections.

1. If you are starting from new then i recommend buying a new digital camcorder, this will give you superior video and sound quality as well as making getting started in video editing very simple, so ideal for the beginner. There are thousands to choose from catering for various types of budgets.

2. You may already have an old video deck or camcorder which uses the old analogue outputs such as composite or s-video (be sure to check first what outputs you have).
For this kind of setup you would need a capture card/analogue to digital converter, this is discussed in more detail further on in the article.

A PC for Video Editing

It is now possible to easily capture footage from your Digital Camcorder directly to your PC and edit it.
If you looking at buying a new PC or building a new one then the currents spec's are more then powerful enough, a typical spec PC these days is a P4, 512Mb Ram, 80Gb HDD, Windows XP or something along those lines.
You could always use your existing PC if you have one, but i wouldn't recommend using anything below a PIII 600.

Additional Hardware

When transferring video from your camcorder to your PC there are a number of additional things to consider depending on the type of camcorder your using.

If you’re using a digital camcorder then all your need is a firewire card (also known as an IEE1394 card), a lot of current PC's have these as standard now, otherwise you will need to purchase the card separately. Some of these will come bundled with editing software such as Adobe Premiere but this really depends on which card you buy and how much you spend, once your camcorder is connected to your firewire port windows will automatically recognise your Digital Camcorder.

If your using the old analogue camcorder then you will also need an analogue to digital converter, see the section on video editing cards below.

Speed?

Its worth considering your Pc's Processor speed, the speed will effect the rate your video will encode, encoding is where your DV video clips are converted into a more compressed format, for example DVD's are encoded to MPEG2. So the faster the better really. Also consider the amount of RAM in your PC, 256Mb would be the minimum.

Extra Hard Drive Storage

Its worth considering having an extra dedicated drive for your video footage, remember that five minutes of DV footage uses 1GB of hard drive space so consider a large capacity hard drive such as an 80Gb or 120Gb, also consider the disk drive RPM, at least 7200RPM would be recommended.
If your PC supports it (most new ones do now), then a Serial ATA (SATA) drive will offer increased date transfer rates of up to 150MB/sec compared to 100 or 133 offered by the IDE drives, you may also consider a SCSI drive if you’re PC has an SCSI adapter as standard.

DVD/CD Burners

If your planning on putting your film onto CD-ROM (VCD), or DVD then a CDRW or DVDRW is an essential piece of kit, most new pc's may have a CDRW or DVDRW as standard, to burn your DVD, you'll need DVD authoring software.

Video Editing Cards

If you have and older analogue video camera/deck then an analogue USB or PCI capture cards will suffice.

These dedicated analogue to digital converters take process of conversion away from the CPU and therefore speeds up transfer.

If worth getting a quality capture card as the cheaper cards can produce mixed results,

The Video Editing Software

This is where all your creative work starts and the creative work starts, you can capture video from your camera, edit the captured clips, arrange them into a sequence, add transitions, credits and a soundtrack, titles and when your ready export your movie back to the camera or a suitable encoded file format (DVD, VCD etc).

Founder of http://www.avmechanic.co.uk, offering a free friendly helpful community for anybody that needs computer help or help with PC editing products

There are lots of reasons to create a video biography. Some people have a desire to share and pass down stories from one generation to another while others would like to leave behind a family or personal legacy. Whatever your reason is, while creating a video biography can an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience, it can also be a very daunting task.

There are many things to consider before you start your project. Here are just a few:

The Story

It is my opinion that if your stories require a lot of details such as time, date, place, clothing worn, and other historically factual data, then just pick one or two stories to tell. Many people bite off more than they can chew and get discouraged when they start to understand the effort truly involved in just putting together their storyline. If you would like to tell several stories that tell of a person’s character or lessons learned than it is probably not necessary to go into a considerable amount of detail.

Who Will be Involved?

Are you working alone on this project or with a group of people such as other family members or friends? The more input you receive from other people the more time it can take to put together your story and content. This is not a bad thing, just something to be aware of.

Content

What kinds of content do you want to incorporate into your production? Photos, slides, video from different sources such as VHS tape, 8 or 16mm home movies, documents, quotes, personal interviews, narration? The list goes on and on.

You’re Audience

Who is the desired audience for your project? Is it close friends or relatives, will your Piece de Résistance be passed down to future generations for their viewing pleasure? Sometimes these questions must be answered before any other considerations because they may determine what kinds of stories and how much detail you will add.

The Delivery Method

For many years VHS tape was the standard for viewing video at home. However DVD is now the medium of choice for many reasons. On screen menus and chapters that allow for much easier navigation, superior audio and video quality, and longevity are just a few reasons DVD has become so very popular. However the internet has also become a viable means of delivering video. If you have a personal website then family and friends around the globe can access your video as soon as it is posted.

All of the points above require serious consideration and expertise. A professional video biographer can help you answer these questions and more. They can keep you on task; help you stay focused, craft your project into a meaningful video biography that will be cherished by family and friends now as well as future generations to come.

Jay Corrao is the founder and president of Memory Archivers, a video production company based in Apple Valley Minnesota. His company specializes in wedding and event videograpy, video biographies, and consumer digital archiving.

http://www.memoryarchivers.com
jay@memoryarchivers.com

When doing an interview there need to be at least three people involved. The person being interviewed, you, the interviewer and someone to work the camcorder. It could be argued - I would so argue - that an extra person to handle the sound is a great benefit but this is a policy of perfection.

Interviewing for video is a skill that can be acquired with practice. The key to successful interviewing is research, research and yet more research.

Before you interview a subject you need to know as much as possible about the person you are interviewing.

And you need to read everything that anyone has ever written about the subject.

This is what the Internet is for. Typically it contains everything written in recent times.

The more information you can get, the more research you do, the smoother the interview will go.

Having said that it is vital that you, the interviewer, both asks questions and knows when to shut up.

The problem is that often you will find yourself knowing more about a subject than the person you are interviewing, and the temptation then is to show off your knowledge.

This is fatal.

The viewer is not interested in your views. It is the person being interviewed - the interviewee - who should be the center of attention. And before you ask, yes, this is a major problem for me. I cannot keep my big mouth shut.

Be prepared for interviews that go smoothly and those that get a bit ragged. Three examples.

I had an hour interview with Bill Gates in Sydney for Australian television. My questions were well prepared. He would listen to the question, stay quiet for a moment and then give a cogent, grammatical answer. Amazing. As an interview it went like a dream.
On the other hand, I got one very wrong. The interview with the late Tony Hancock, perhaps the greatest British comedian of his day, took place in the Sebel Town House in Sydney. It started as a shambles for I had not done enough homework. It evened out after a while and in the end worked reasonably well. As it happens it was the last interview given by Tony Hancock.

Then I did a series of interviews with members of my family. I stayed out of shot and just let them ramble on what they thought about their siblings. It was electrifying stuff. If you were a member of that family.

Write all of your questions down and create supplementary questions in case an answer, a good answer, is not forthcoming. Avoid questions that invite the single word answer 'yes' or 'no'.

If you ask 'Are you in favor of premarital sex?' you will probably get a single word reply, which is not the idea at all.

Phrase your questions so that they lead the person being interviewed into expanding their views. 'Your book suggests that you are against premarital intercourse. What are your views on this?' is much more likely to elicit a full and frank comment than the first question.

To avoid a 'yes' or 'no' answer use the tried and true journalist technique of asking who, what, why, how and when questions.
None of these can be answered with a straight 'yes' or 'no'.

Before the interview starts, you, the interviewer, must meet the subject and establish some sort of rapport. There are interviewers, a few, who can go in cold and get a good result. But they are few and far between.

The preliminary chat is, as it were, part of your research. With it you will establish the ability of the person being interviewed to talk, to express themselves, to answer questions. It is possible that this preliminary talk will end in you modifying some of your questions.

In your preliminary chat avoid asking the specific questions you will be asking in the interview.

Instead, indicate general areas of interest. If you ask the specific questions the filmed interview will give an impression that it has been rehearsed.

Before you start your interview have your key questions laid out and ready. You need a certain amount of flexibility but most of the time you will find that your first and logical thoughts or question order is much better than one you compile while winging it.

There are two main way of handling an interview.

The first is where the question is not heard and the questioner not seen. Instead, you get answers that are obviously directed at someone who is out of shot.

A series of answers like this can be edited together from either one person or several, to provide the effect of a continuous interview.

In this sort of interview you ask the question and then you keep your big mouth shut. If some sort of reaction is needed nod or shake your head vigorously or smile encouragement. If you speak you will have to be edited out afterwards. Which is not always easy.

This technique can be seen being used to magnificent effect in the movie 'When Harry Met Sally' which contains a series of such interviews with married couples describing their lives together. Magic.

The other type of interview is where you are both on screen in the manner of a normal conversation. This sort of interview can easily be covered with one camera.

Shoot the interviewee's answers first and then shoot the interviewer from where the interviewee has been sitting, asking exactly the same questions. At the end you do a series of 'noddies' that can be used for cutaways.

The key to making such an interview work is to get the person relaxed. Try to film them in a familiar surrounding so that they do not feel threatened. Keep the camera work and the lighting as unobtrusive as possible.

The first question should be a sound level check and should be totally innocuous.

Start the interview very gently in a chat mode and always move from soft to hard questions imperceptibly.
Do not start like gangbusters or the interviewee will clam up or, in the worst case, walk off. It happens.

At the end of the interview I always ask 'Is there some question you would like me to have asked that I have missed out on?'

This allows the subject to expand on a point or deal with an area they feel has been skipped. It is quite remarkable how often you will get an excellent and usable response after that last question.

Start off with a long shot of the person being interviewed facing the interviewer. The interviewer's back appears, which gives a three-dimensional aspect to the shot and gets the scene in context for the viewer. Change the shot sizes in rhythm with the questions. New question, new framing.

Another form of interviewing on video is vox pop - from vox populi, Latin for the voice of the people - are quick interviews with people in the street to demonstrate public opinion on a subject.

What you want to end up with is a series of statements that can be cut rapidly together and, in the end, give a clear indication of the current attitude on a subject.

To make the interview more interesting change the shot size as a new question is asked. That is, switch off, zoom in from, say, mid shot to close-up, and then resume filming again.

Use different backgrounds and different eyelines.

Work out how many interviews you want and then shoot to that number with perhaps a 50 per cent safety margin. Do not go on shooting after that point. You could be getting useful footage for another scene rather than wasting your time. In vox pop moderation is the key.

Note carefully that subjects can move backwards and forwards when making a point and may even wave arms around in the air and you need to be prepared for this so they are always in shot. That the camera does not cut off parts of their bodies. Armless interviewees may be harmless interviewees but that is not the point of the exercise.

Gareth Powell is a writer for http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/

Streaming video is a sequence of "moving images" that are sent in compressed form over the Internet and displayed by the viewer as they arrive. Streaming media is streaming video with sound. With streaming video or streaming media, a Web user does not have to wait to download a large file before seeing the video or hearing the sound. Instead, the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played as it arrives. The user needs a player, which is a special program that uncompresses and sends video data to the display and audio data to speakers. A player can be either an integral part of a browser or downloaded from the software maker's Web site.

Major streaming video and streaming media technologies include RealSystem G2 from RealNetwork, Microsoft Windows Media Technologies (including its NetShow Services and Theater Server), and VDO. Microsoft's approach uses the standard MPEG compression algorithm for video. The other approaches use proprietary algorithms. (The program that does the compression and decompression is sometimes called the codec.) Microsoft's technology offers streaming audio at up to 96 Kbps and streaming video at up to 8 Mbps (for the NetShow Theater Server). However, for most Web users, the streaming video will be limited to the data rates of the connection (for example, up to 128 Kbps with an ISDN connection). Microsoft's streaming media files are in its Advanced Streaming Format (ASF).

Streaming video is usually sent from prerecorded video files, but can be distributed as part of a live broadcast "feed." In a live broadcast, the video signal is converted into a compressed digital signal and transmitted from a special Web server that is able to do multicast, sending the same file to multiple users at the same time.

Streaming media is audio and video that are transmitted on the Internet in a streaming or continuous fashion, using data packets. The most effective reception of streaming media requires some form of broadband technology such as cable modem or DSL. A packet is the unit of data that is routed between an origin and a destination on the Internet or any other packet-switched network. When any file (e-mail message, HTML file, Graphics Interchange Format file, URL - Uniform Recourse Locater request, and so forth) is sent from one place to another on the Internet, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) layer of TCP/IP divides the file into "chunks" of an efficient size for routing. Each of these packets is separately numbered and includes the Internet address of the destination. The individual packets for a given file may travel different routes through the Internet. When they have all arrived, they are reassembled into the original file (by the TCP layer at the receiving end).

A packet-switching scheme is an efficient way to handle transmissions on a connectionless network such as the Internet. An alternative scheme, circuit-switched, is used for networks allocated for voice connections. In circuit-switching, lines in the network are shared among many users as with packet-switching, but each connection requires the dedication of a particular path for the duration of the connection. "Packet" and "datagram" are similar in meaning. A protocol similar to TCP, the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) uses the term datagram.

MPEG, the Moving Picture Experts Group, develops standards for digital video and digital audio compression. It operates under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The MPEG standards are an evolving series, each designed for a different purpose. To use MPEG video files, you need a personal computer with sufficient processor speed, internal memory, and hard disk space to handle and play the typically large MPEG file (which has a file name suffix of .mpg). You also need an MPEG viewer or client software that plays MPEG files. (Note that .mp3 file suffixes indicate MP3 (MPEG-1 audio layer-3) files, not MPEG-3 standard files.) You can download shareware or commercial MPEG players from a number of sites on the Web.

The term codec is an acronym that stands for "compression/decompression." A codec is an algorithm, or specialized computer program, that reduces the number of bytes consumed by large files and programs. In order to minimize the amount of storage space required for a complicated file, such as a video, compression is used. Compression works by eliminating redundancies in data. Compression can be done for any kind of file, including text, programs, images, audio, video, and virtual reality (VR). Compression can reduce the size of a file by a factor of 100 or more in some cases. For example, a 15-megabyte video might be reduced to 150 kilobytes. The uncompressed file would be far too large to download from the Web in a reasonable length of time, but the compressed file could usually be downloaded in a few seconds. For viewing, a decompression algorithm, which "undoes" the compression, would have to be used.

There are numerous standard codec schemes. Some are used mainly to minimize file transfer time, and are employed on the Internet. Others are intended to maximize the data that can be stored in a given amount of disk space, or on a CD-ROM. Codec’s are used in many popular Internet products, including QuickTime, Netmeeting, Cu-Seeme, and VDOphone.

Flash, is a popular authoring software developed by Macromedia, and is used to create vector graphics-based animation programs with full-screen navigation interfaces, graphic illustrations, and simple interactivity in an antialiased, resizable file format that is small enough to stream across a normal modem connection. The software is ubiquitous on the Web, both because of its speed (vector-based animations, which can adapt to different display sizes and resolutions, play as they download) and for the smooth way it renders graphics. Flash files, unlike animated but rasterized GIF and JPEG, are compact, efficient, and designed for optimized delivery.
Known as a do-it-yourself animation package, Flash 4 gives Web designers the ability to import artwork using whatever bitmap or illustration tool they prefer, and to create animation and special effects, and add sound and interactivity. The content is then saved as file with a .SWF file name extension.

Web users with Intel Pentium or Power Macintosh processors can download Flash Player to view Flash content, which performs across multiple browsers and platforms. Flash is lauded for being one of the Web's most accessible plug-in. According to an independent study cited by Macromedia, over 90 percent of Web users already have Flash Player installed. Macromedia was recently acquired by Adobe in a 3.4 billion dollar deal.

About the Author: Ole Arndt is President of Global Media LLC, in Branchburg NJ.

Correspondence to: oarndt@streamingmediabiz.com

The Internet is now a thriving means of communication and for everyone around the globe to receive the most up to date information at the click of a mouse button. Sending an email is now accepted as the quickest and easiest way to converse with your friends and family or business acquaintances and everyday millions of emails are sent worldwide.
However, as in all aspects of life today even this form of communication is fast becoming the “old hat” system and the new kid on the block is now high streaming video email.

Basically video emailing gives you the opportunity to still email at lightning speed to your friends, family and business acquaintances but now also allows you to include a high quality video message. Although this concept has been available for a short time this form of communicating usually involved high cost software and the need to include large file attachments within your email thus making it generally prohibitive to the mass audiences.

Thankfully even this has now been improved by considerable measures and a leader in this field is Myvideotalk who have solved this problem and have made the software available to all at remarkably low cost. Even more impressive and of great importance, Myvideotalk have developed a system that allows you to send high quality streaming videos without the need for large file attachments or complicated operating software.

Also in a quest to keep at the sharp end of innovation the company has now also made available the group video conferencing software which allows multiple users to communicate with each other by video connection and thus enable people from all around the world to now not only talk to each other but see each other in a group environment.

As a means of Internet marketing this now really does give the individual online businessperson a real advantage to convey their business to the mass audience around the world and never has there been such a fantastic opportunity to build a business by talking face to face with prospects and established business associates.

This truly does mean that the phrase “isn’t it a small world” is becoming more and more of a reality for us all.

Terry Till

http://www.myemailvideo.co.uk

Well, it’s official. You are going to star in the company marketing video (or commercial) and you will have a part talking to camera. After ringing your mother, to let her know about your newly found fame, reality hits in. How are you going to pull this off?

The good news is a charismatic business leader can add tremendous impact and clout to a marketing video or commercial. The bad news is that few leaders have the right skills to talk to the camera in a natural manner.

But before you get put off, talking to camera is a skill. And any skill can be learned.

Here are some tips to help bring the sparkle into your ‘moment of glory’.

1. Wear the right clothes. If you are the CEO, a suit is the right way to go. Opt for conservative colours and stay away from checks, stripes and reds. They do not film very well and serve as a distraction to the viewer.

2. Go for makeup (whether you’re male or female). A nice even skin tone, neat hair and a quick brush with powder can help keep the shine away. Once you get under the bright lights of a film set, it will be hard not to perspire (even more so, if you are nervous). A professional make up artist will also make you feel special and more confident in front of the camera.

3. Trust the director. Forget that you are the client and realise that you are now the talent. Let the professionals do their work and let go. While this might be difficult for most people, it can be a refreshing change. Let yourself get bossed around and don’t worry about how it’s all going to work.

4. Relax. Forget about the pressing amount of work piling up on your desk. Focus on the most important task for the day – your cameo. If you are relaxed you are more likely to be easy-going and friendly. This will enable the director to elicit the best performance from you.

5. Rehearse. Always have your lines prepared and don’t expect that you can wing it on the day. It’s amazing how a big camera in your face can make you forget what you wanted to say. Rehearse your lines over and over again in front of a mirror. Make sure you look and sound natural. Practise speaking clearly and with a smile on your face. Rehearse as many times as you can. The more confident you are in giving an appealing speech, the better you will be and the less takes will needed. This will help reduce costs. If you don’t feel comfortable with your performance, hire a media trainer beforehand to coach you on talking to camera.

6. Have fun! The shoot will be much slower than you anticipated. Lights and audio equipment can take a while to set up. If you are shooting outside, waiting for the sun to make an appearance on a cloudy day can also be painstakingly slow. Take a book with you and any work you can do in downtime. And just bask in the glory of being part of an exciting film shoot!

(c) Marie-Claire Ross 2005. All rights reserved.

Marie-Claire Ross is one of the partners of Digicast. Digicast works with organisations who are not satisfied that their marketing and training materials are helping their business grow. She can be contacted on 0500 800 234 (Australia wide) or at mc@digicast.com.au. The website is at http://www.digicast.com.au

Producing a video for your company can be an exciting and potentially stressful experience. There’s more to it than simply assigning a video production company to the task and crossing your fingers.

To get the most from your video production dollars, we’ll take a look at seven top tips for making your corporate video a success.

1. Start with Results. The first step is to work out exactly what you want your video to achieve. Is it to train staff on a new procedure or is to increase interest at trade shows? Design your video concept around the desired result. Often clients get caught up with showing off their company that the main message gets lost.

2. Write a brief. Once you know what you want to achieve, work out what you want to show and explain in your video. Formulate a brief that specifies your objectives, target audience, the countries your video will be viewed in and any required languages. A list of all the shots that you need is also helpful. Will the bulk of the shots be at your premises and do you need your CEO to talk to camera? Video production companies will try to calculate how many days filming are required to work out the cost, so it’s important to know how much needs to be filmed at the outset.

3. Know your image. What sort of image do you want to present to your customers? While watching your corporate video, your customers will be left with an impression of what type of business you are and what to expect when doing business with you. If your television program happens to be radically down-market than your up-market product suggests, then you create cognitive dissonance in your prospects. This will mean that your viewers will be left with an uneasy feeling that something isn't quite right with your company and will automatically distrust your message. To avoid this, make sure the quality of production reflects the quality of your product/service. This can involve using a professional camera operator with broadcast quality gear to having a graphic artist design maps and titles.

4. Messages. One of the key areas to work out is what communication messages you need to get across. Work out the 4-6 key messages and develop the video around these. If you have too many messages people will tune out. Essentially, make sure you give information that your audience wants to know (not what you think they ought to know).

5. Script. The script provides the backbone to any video project. It’s always worthwhile spending extra time refining the script. As a rule of thumb, it needs to be completed before any filming begins. The best kind of script is short and sharp and revolves around your main messages. The quicker you can get your message across, the better the result. Avoid putting everything into the script, as wall to wall voiceover is quite tiring (and boring) to watch.

6. Assign a contact person. A designated person from your firm will need to be available to work with the video production company. The production house will need script information and approval, help in organising shoots, copies of your logo and other relevant materials and someone to view a draft of the video and then finalise. This person will also need to make sure that the look and feel of the video best represents your company.

7. Get expert advice. A good production company will be able to advise you on the best format for your needs such as the music, the filming, editing style and how the schedule will run. They will also be able to take your brief and come back with a range of suitable suggestions. Don’t stress about the technical issues. That’s the job of your producer.

(c) Marie-Claire Ross 2005. All rights reserved.

Marie-Claire Ross is one of the partners of Digicast. Digicast works with organisations who are not satisfied that their marketing and training materials are helping their business grow. She can be contacted at mc@digicast.com.au. The website is at http://www.digicast.com.au

A professionally made corporate video production can greatly enhance your company profile and can be used in a variety of applications. Listed below are a number of the most common uses for corporate video.

Promotional Video Production

A promotional video is a dynamic, fast moving commercial, often with a musical accompaniment, and can be used to promote any of the services or products that your company has to offer.

Promotional videos are used for a variety of purposes. They can be used to engage the audience at the introduction to a multimedia sales presentation, conference, or training seminar and are also very often used running on a loop on exhibition stands and in company reception areas. These promotional videos can also be incorporated into CD ROMs and DVDs as an introductory piece.

Promotional videos can be highly effective and powerful at communicating your company's strengths in a dynamic and exciting way. The same video promo can also be used for a variety of applications, thus reducing filming expenses.

Executive Broadcast Video Production

One of the biggest problems facing directors of large multi-national companies or plc's is attempting to communicate on a personal level with their immense and geographically diverse audiences. Executive broadcast corporate videos enable the senior member, or members, of a company to dedicate a couple of hours of their time to being interviewed, and tackling any major questions or issues which may have come to light. By using a corporate video, they save themselves the huge cost, and time, of travelling from place to place attending conferences in order to achieve the same result.

An Executive Broadcast can be used for a multitude of corporate and training video applications, from welcoming new employees to a company, to communicating new management strategies or simply sharing your vision of the companies' future with your staff. Corporate video production can provide the ideal means of explaining your businesses core values to the customers, and can even be the perfect medium for communicating price sensitive announcements to city institutions and the press etc. There are many other uses for executive broadcasts and video production companies will work with your business to create tailor made executive broadcasts to suit your company.

Customer Testimonial Video Production

Customer testimonial videos are recorded interviews where a customer is asked to give their feelings on a product or on a company's service. Customer testimonial video production is becoming increasingly essential in the current business climate. Customers often like to hear the opinions of their fellow consumers, and customer testimonial corporate videos can be the ideal way to communicate this information.

Customer testimonial corporate video can be in the form of short clips of customers describing their reaction to a product or company, or maybe longer interviews of customers dealing with specific or more in depth viewpoints.

Customer testimonial video production can be used for a variety of purposes, from forming part of a video promotion, as an endorsement on exhibition stands, as part of a general sales presentation, or even to be used on an e-business card, and then given out at events, exhibitions, meetings etc. Customer testimonial videos can even be useful when assessing one's own business, as they can be used to create video case studies of customers, and thereby assess the product from the customer's side.

Conference and exhibition Video Production

Conference and exhibition video production can take the form of entire programmes of their own, or just as short clips to be incorporated into another, longer corporate videos that report on conferences or exhibitions that companies have held.

When a company has a large event, or exhibition, it is not always possible for all the people who need to attend to be there, but with so many issues being discussed and products being demonstrated, with conference and exhibition videos, these events can reach a much broader audience. The relaxed environment at these type of events, enable a much more laid back attitude to come across from the people being interviewed, and it is easier to get an honest opinion, something which can never be undervalued in any business.

Once filmed, conference and exhibition videos can either be put onto DVD for video presentations, or distributed on CD-ROM, through the internet or via your company's intranet.

Once an event has been filmed, it can be put to a variety of applications, from the obvious use of providing a record of the event for all who were unable to attend, to taking simple sound bites of interviews for incorporation into sales and marketing presentations. Conference and exhibition corporate videos also provide a great opportunity to capture presentations from guest speakers that the people who couldn't make it to the event would miss out on. A good corporate video production will reflect the atmosphere at the event, and can be an excellent way to encourage staff and/or customers to come to these events in the future.

Video Production for Tourism

The medium of video is unequalled in promoting the full tourist experience to potential visitors, with video production being an ideal way of marketing the amenities, attractions, and individuality of a city or tourist destination on an individual, local or even international level.

In the form of a CD ROM or DVD, the potential scope for video production for tourism is immense. A video will allow viewers to interactively explore a given destination, take a virtual tour around a hotel or enjoy a guided trip around a city with a well known presenter.

Most reputable video production companies will offer to create a tourism video, DVD or CD ROM as part of a larger marketing package, creating eye-catching packaging and inserts to complement the promotional programme.

I-MOTUS is one of the UK’s leading corporate and training video production companies. Our team uniquely combines proven business savvy with some of the television industry’s brightest creative talent to provide a fresh approach to the most challenging of marketing and communication briefs. http://www.i-motus.com/ - IM01EZ

A major problem with the running of a large corporation or PLC, is the increasing expense of staff training programmes. Training videos are exactly what the title says - videos made for the purpose of staff training.

When a company has a large and geographically diverse audience, it can be extremely expensive to either send experienced trainers to all of them, or pay for each individual to attend training courses. A training video can dramatically reduce these costs, and make the training information immediately available to all members of staff.

Training video production can be presented in many ways - from a series of specifically filmed programmes, to the filming of training seminars and important presentations that have taken place at these events and conferences, which can then be edited into video form so that the benefits of these seminars are massively increased.

Once they have been filmed, training videos can either be delivered on CD-ROM for computer based presentations, or VHS and DVD for television presentations. Training videos are often incorporated into part of an overall training programme depending on the needs of the company.

Training videos are very often used for induction purposes for new staff and most people will see at least one of them in their working life. However they can also be used for a multitude of other applications. For example, if a new piece of technology is introduced into your company, then a training video is the ideal way to get the information on how to use it across your entire workforce as quickly as the technology needs to be incorporated. It could take weeks to train the staff in individual or group sessions, so costs can be saved on both training, and time. Training videos can also be used to train staff on new policies, health and safety issues, customer service standards, or simply the latest sales features on a new product. When you have to train a wide and geographically diverse audience, training videos can be the ideal means of getting the information through your company in the fastest and most cost effective way.

Every company must offer their employees training from the initial training at orientation to ongoing development. "The way you train your new employees is important in not only enabling them to do a good job, but also with their retention. Recent studies have shown that when a new hire is adequately trained in the beginning, they feel more confident in their job and therefore will stay with you longer." - Peggy Morrow, 'Training for Success'.

Video has long been recognized as a valuable teaching medium because it can effectively convey to students an instructor's visual clues, for example, gestures, posture and facial expressions that aid communication and comprehension. Decades of research show body language is the single most important element in verbal communication. MediaPoint Technology Boosts Streaming Video as Training Tool. In good times as well as bad, one of the biggest hidden expenses for many businesses is the cost of bringing new workers up to speed or training existing employees for new job duties.

A detailed training video is one of the most direct routes to lower employee training costs. Not to confuse an 'occupational procedures video' with a job description is another valuable tool for any organization. Job descriptions outline the duties to be performed by employees. A training video demonstrates exactly how to do those jobs.

Such a video can be extremely useful in recruiting and interviewing job applicants. But more importantly, it can streamline employee training and all new people to become more productive more quickly. The out-of-pocket payroll savings alone can be substantial. Suppose it takes eight weeks to bring a new employee up to speed in a particular job, and the person's supervisor must devote 25% of his or her time to training during that break-in period. A good training video should reduce the necessary training time by at least 20%.

Aside from these training cost savings, there are other reasons to develop procedures videos for your organization. Indeed, the very process of preparing such a video will provide invaluable insight into the operations of your business.

I-MOTUS is one of the UK’s leading corporate and training video production companies. Our team uniquely combines proven business savvy with some of the television industry’s brightest creative talent to provide a fresh approach to the most challenging of marketing and communication briefs. http://www.i-motus.com/ - IM02EZ

If you're looking to get into videography and video editing as a hobby, the options can be daunting. Here is a small question and response that may help you get started in this fun and rewarding hobby.

What type of camera do you recommend?

Response: For a beginner, a Canon single CCD camera will suit you well. It has a cost range of $500 to $700. Canon is well respected at all levels of video camera quality and has probably the best quality for the price at the low end.

If you want to start out with something more professional, you may want to look into the Canon GL2 which is a low end 3 CCD (1/4" each) camera running about $1500. This camera is great for an enthusiastic hobbyist or a beginning special events videographer.

If you're looking to make some money on the side (or as a career) with your camera doing special events such as wedding videography, you may want to look into the Sony VX2100, a high-end consumer 3 CCD (1/3" each) camcorder, running at a price between $2100 and $3000, check out prices here. The high definition capable version of the same camera is called the Sony HDR / Fx1 and goes for $3700 at all major retailers.

What is CCD?

CCDs are imaging chips. CCD stands for charge-coupled device and is a light sensative circuit which stores an electrical charge representing each tiny part of an image. The difference between low and high end video cameras is usually determined by the number of CCDs (one or three), and the size of the CCD. In video cameras the number of CCDs determines the clarity of the picture in low lighting (most indoor) situations. The size of the CCD is directly linked to the amount of "color bleeding" present in the video.

It is also interesting to note that for video cameras, unlike photography cameras, the size of the pixels is far more important than the number of pixels. Fewer pixels that are larger make a better video camera. It is also interesting to note that as you go from low-end to high-end cameras, you will be getting fewer "extras" on your camera such as the ability to take "still photography".

Next question: What video editing software would you recommend?

Response: Pinnacle Studio 9 has many great features for beginning in photoediting. It runs between $70 and $90 at major retail stores. It gives many options and is very user friendly. If you're looking for some more advanced options in lighting, transitions, and sound editing, you may want to consider the more professional editing software Pinacle Liquid Editions for around $600.

This article may also be found at http://www.researchtechs.com/videoediting.htm

About The Author

Jim Wagner

Contributor to http://www.ResearchTechs.com

Enjoys anything Tech.

Majoring in Computer Science.

jim@researchtechs.com

When creating Multi-Media Content, Flash or Video Clips for a client's web site or CD Rom Project, the last thing you want is to get him in trouble with the law. If there's a need for music in a project, using royalty free music is essential.

Here are some general music tips that you may find useful:

1) Finding the right kind of music

There are hundreds of choices when it comes to royalty free music and making the right decision can be hard. After all, most TV production companies have music supervisors on staff whose only job it is to select appropriate music for projects. Selecting music is an art in itself. In general, you will find that your clients would prefer to use something they heard on the radio, something from their favorite album etc. Unfortunately, that's copyrighted stuff and licensing an N Sync song for your next 'how to' video or CD-Rom may cost you a fortune. What you want to do is find buyout music that sounds similar to today's popular music. It's a little harder to find than your typical 'canned' music. A lot royalty free music may sound like music from a 70's sitcom or worse, a cheap porno flick.

A good place to check out is http://www.buyoutmusictracks.com All their tracks are created by established record producers with grammy and gold record credits so you get music that sounds as up-to-date as what you may hear on the radio.

Our tip: Always use music that sounds just a little more energetic than you think you may need. You may listen to the music over and over while you're putting together your project while the end user may only hear it a few times.

2) Less is not more in production music

When you are looking for background music for a project, choose music with some impact. I know it is supposed to be background music but if you choose high energy tracks, your whole project will leave more of an impression. Listen to a sampling of today's TV commercials and you'll find that most of them use very powerful music. You want your work to create an impact and keep viewer's attention and a strong, powerful soundtrack can do that.

3) When 'legal' music is not legal

The usage license on your buyout music CD may be very liberal but it is not a license to steal. You can use royalty free music on all of your projects and as you have the legal right to use the music, your customers can be assured not to get into legal troubles.

However, that license is only extended to you, the purchaser. You cannot transfer that license by copying your CD and giving it to somebody else or by selling the CD. This may be news to you but there's no such thing as a 'used buyout music CD' If you don't purchase the music from the producers of the music, it won't be legal still. So, next time you browse Ebay for royalty free music, make sure you are buying a new CD, not a used one or it will be useless to you.

4) You get what you pay for

While we're on the topic of Ebay: You may find offers for entire 4 or 6 CD libraries for $75 or other ridiculously low prices on Ebay. The truth is, these CDs may not even be worth that low price.

One good quality royalty free music CD will cost you between $29 and $69 (some even more) If it's less than that, here's what you are likely to get:

1. Discontinued titles that have been around for 10, 20 or more and not only sound dated but may also have already found its way unto hundreds or thousands of other projects during the years to make your own project sound dated.
2. Homegrown CDs that are created in somebody's bedroom studio. You can easily recognize these CDs as they usually don't have any 'real' instruments on it, only synthesized stuff. You can clearly hear the difference between those CDs and something produced in a real studio with real musicians. Our tip: Check out http://www.buyoutmusictracks.com for music. Each of their CDs is only $29.95 and each title contains between 30 and 48 real studio recorded tracks.

5) CD or Download?

With the event of high speed internet, you don't really have to wait anymore to receive your Royalty Free Music CD in the mail. If you need tracks fast, you can now download buyout music from the net. You can choose only the tracks you need and get to use them within minutes. Single downloadable tracks usually cost a little more money per track than buying a whole CD. On the other hand, you don't have to buy a whole CD if you only need one or two tracks.

My advice, if you are buying music to 'keep on the shelf' for future projects and for your customers to choose from, buy physical CDs. If you need just one or two 'perfect' tracks or if you are on a deadline, downloadable purchases may be perfect for you. I don't know if I have to mention it, but purchasing a Mariah Carey track from Itunes or Napster for a buck does not entitle you to use the music. You have to download your music from a buyout music company so the track is licensed to you.

6) Make your own

You may think, 'are you crazy? I'm not a musician' You don't have to be a music genius anymore these days. Programs like Acid and Apple's Garageband allow you to create original music by using 'loops' Loops are pre-made musical chunks of drums, bass, guitar, strings, whatever, that you can put together like a mosaic to create your own music soundtrack.

The advantage is clear. By creating your own music with a loops program you can make absolutely sure that nobody else is using the exact same music on their project. This will give you 'original' music at Buyout Music Prices. All you need is a good musical ear and a couple of loops CDs to get you started. You can find lots of loops CDs and more info at http://www.acidmusicloops.com Their Groove Construction Kits are a great way to get started with music loops. And here's the best news, you can download the Acid program for free. Just visit http://www.musicleads.net/articles/freestuff.html for free (and legal) downloads of Acid, Protools and many other great music and sound tools.

I hope that these tips were useful to you. You are free to use or re-print this article in your newsletter, ezine, or on your web site.

About The Author

Alan Steward - http://www.musicleads.net

Alan Steward is a producer and engineer with many credits in the Music, Video and Television production world.