In Part 1 of ‘How to create web video’, we talked about camcorders and the core features which will make creating web video simple, yet high quality. The final and most important requirement of any camcorder was the need for an external microphone jack.
An external microphone? Sounds like a good idea …
Strangely enough, its not the video camera that will determine whether your published video is perceived of high quality, or not. There’s so much web video out there that you might even say that its a distinct advantage to have a personal quality with the “home made” feel. But throw in dodgy audio and its all too “home made”. So we’ve now established that you need a digital video camera with an external microphone jack.
Lavalier (tie-clip/lapel), shotgun and cartoid microphones
Firstly, if its just you, talking or presenting to camera, the best microphone is a Lavalier microphone, otherwise known as a tie-clip or lapel mic. This will significantly reduce or remove background noise, leaving your dull mono-tone to sound crisp and clear. Sure, you can get all fancy with a wireless set-up, but then you’re talking serious money when a wired mic suffers from less interference, delivers superb results and costs £20! I would only advise on a wireless solution, if there is a genuine reason why you can’t use a wired lavalier. When you come to buy your wired lavalier, you just need to make sure you have a long enough cable (20 metres is not too much!) and the correct jack plug. In our case, we have an Audio-technica ATR3350, which has a 20 metre cable, a 3.5mm jack plug and cost £20. Bargain.
But if you’re planning on holding any sort of conversation in your videos, you should consider either a cartoid or a shotgun microphone. A cartoid microphone picks up audio in a heart-shaped pattern (think of a reporter’s microphone), whereas a shotgun microphone picks up audio from a single direction. You probably will be well served with a reporter’s mic.
Lighting and illumination
Whether you need additional lighting or not is obviously partly dependent on what environment you’re filming in. If you’re outside, you will probably do well by utilising the sun. If you’re indoors, you’ll need to find yourself a space with a plentiful supply of natural light and/or good internal lighting. Your results should definitely be good enough, but you can get some pretty inexpensive and effective studio lighting / softboxes (try looking on eBay) which will give you added flexibility and provide a truly professional-quality feel.
Video editing software
There is a wealth of video editing software out there, so I’ll cut to the chase and say that my personal favourite is Pinnacle’s Studio 14 HD. The latest incarnation is a nice improvement on previous versions and where other software seems to try and over-complicate the process of editing and publishing, Studio 14 HD has all the features you need, but just as importantly, none of the features you don’t. A good selection of montage overlays, transitions and editing tools with simple, intuitive publishing options. You can even publish straight to YouTube. There may be many other video editing software options out there, but its absolutely intuitive, does everything you need to do. And all for £69.
One final thing to remember is that, when editing any sort of video, you’ll need to make sure your computer is up to the job. Minimum specification is recommended as 2 GHz processor, 2 Gb RAM, DirectX® 9 or 10 compatible graphics card with 64 MB.
The final thing I cannot advise on, is how you shoot your video, how you set-up the shot and how you structure your video, but one thing is certain, if your equipment is up to the task, you have all the prerequisites of a high quality video production. The rest is up to you. Action!
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Bigplanet Internet Marketing
http://www.bigplanet-multilingual-seo.com
info@bigplanet-seo.co.uk
Tags: best camcorder, best equipment, camcorder microphones, create web video, lavalier, lighting, pinnacle studio, review, softbox, video editing software