When shooting video podcasts, light is probably your most important factor.
Digital video needs light and often times, lots of it. You can help a bad video camera look better with a well lit scene or make your high end video camera look professional by knowing some basics about lighting.
Below, you see a screenshot from an upcoming YouTube video I’m working on where I talk about the 12 minute recording limit on most Canon DLSR’s.
In this lighting setup, I’m using a large window as my “key” (main) light, a small LED light for a “fill” light and I’m illuminating the background with a simple “can” light (a cheap aluminum tin purchased at any hardware store with a household bulb placed inside).
I’m playing around with mixing color temperatures (Kelvins) as well as using an extreme angle. Experimenting is a great way to find your own “look.” [click to continue…]
I’ve spent hours culling through all the video tutorials I could find to help you get a better understanding of specific audio production concepts.
The videos on this page all deal with the concept of compression and help you understand how to go about using this effect in your audio editing. Underneath each video, I’ve described what, for me, was the primary takeaway from each video (i.e. what made me post it here).
William gives a great breakdown of the basics, explaining compression controls very clearly. His demo is on a drum track but you get a chance to really hear what he’s talking about.
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Learn the basics of podcasting from how to decide on a topic to choosing gear, software and hosting for your website and media.
You’ve decided you want to start your own podcast and now you need to know how to proceed. In this episode we go back to the beginning and walk you through the basic elements needed to create a podcast.
Your first step is to decide on a topic. Pick something you know well and love to talk about to no end. This will help to keep you motivated over the period of many episodes.
Are you going to produce an audio only show or a video podcast? In both cases you’ll need gear that allows you to capture, edit and compress your digital media into a podcast friendly format. The basic gear for an audio podcast is a microphone (I recommend a dynamic mic), a mixer and some headphones. I’ve made the basic assumption that you already have a computer.
For video, at a minimum, you’ll need a video camera and some editing software. However I highly recommend including an external microphone that plugs into your camera. Good audio, even in video podcasting, is as or more important than the image you are capturing.
Finally you’ll want to purchase some basic hosting for a website and your media files.
Make sure to listen to part two of the basics of podcasting (episode 52) where you’ll learn about creating a graphic identity that represent your show, creating a future proofed RSS feed for submitting across the web, and how to get your podcast listed in podcast directories such as iTunes.
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There are any number of reasons why you might need to convert a video from one format to another. In the case of video podcasting perhaps you need to make your file compatible to work on Apple devices or you need to take your original file created specifically for iTunes and make it more compatible with any type of media player. These are just two of the reasons why a video converter can be an important piece of software in your podcast production tool box.
In many cases, because the web often deals in flash (flv) files, you may need to convert them to another format which works better for your particular needs. In this episode I give you a brief introduction to some of the free, cross platform (Windows and Mac) tools I use for converting video file formats.
If you are having an issue with iTunes, or any other podcatcher, only showing your most recent ten (10) or less episodes and you are using WordPress to feed your podcast, this is the fix for you. Even if you are also using feedburner, changing this simple setting will allow more episodes to appear in [...]
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When you create your album artwork the graphic that represents your podcast (also referred to as show art or ID3 image), make sure you use a high enough resolution so that it displays well on large screens. I recommend making your show logo 600 x 600 pixels. This is a square image that will display [...]
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With the recent update of the Powerpress plugin for WordPress, your podcast can now be HTML5 and Apple device friendly. HTML5 player for non-flash devices This is an important point because of the iPhone’s dominate spot in the mobile market and the rise of the iPad as the primary tablet device of choice (at the [...]
The Powerpress plugin for WordPress was updated a few days ago. This plugin does much more than you need it to and can be used in many different ways. One of it’s most exciting new features is the ability to place an html5 player on your site, essentially making your podcast non-flash or Apple friendly.
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Learn what options you have when choosing a microphone for your video podcast productions. In most cases audio is as important or even more important than the quality of your video. Find out the different types of microphones that you can use together with whatever video camera you have to get the best quality audio [...]
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On this episode, Soundcloud.com announces that they will soon be supporting RSS feeds for their audio hosting service. I discuss what I think of the service for use as a podcast audio hosting solution and how you can get into the Soundcloud beta to be a tester for this new feature. Learn what options you [...]
In this lighting setup, I’m using a large window as my “key” (main) light, a small LED light for a “fill” light and I’m illuminating the background with a simple “can” light (a cheap aluminum tin purchased at any hardware store with a household bulb placed inside).
