Web Video Secrets Podcast - WebVideoUniversity.com

Adobe Photoshop is the application everyone uses to edit images.  In fact, it's synonymous with image editing (i.e. "they Photoshopped all of the tattoos off him"). But now you can edit video with Photoshop too. And for many people it might be the easiest solution to use.  But how do you edit video in an image editing program? Through Adobe's newest incarnation of Photoshop...CS6.   It's still in beta, but in this short video, I show how quick and easy it is to edit video in Photoshop. To give it a try yourself, click here to download Photoshop CS6 beta.

Want to guarantee that your screen recording videos will look crystal clear on YouTube?  It's very simple to do when you follow a few rules. And the first thing you need to understand is that screen recording video (recording what's on your computer screen) is very different than video recorded by a camera. But rather than boring you with technical differences between the two, I'll sum it up like this; video from a camera can be resized without losing quality...screen recording video always loses quality when you resize it. That means if you want crystal clear screen recording video, you need to record it at the same dimensions you'll display it at on the web.  That's the big secret to crystal clear screen recording video. For example, if you plan on displaying a screen recording on your web site at the dimensions of 960x540, you would record your screen at 960x540 too (so there is no resizing happening). In the case of YouTube, videos are displayed on YouTube at 360p (640x360).  So if you want crystal clear screen recording video on YouTube, you'll record your screen at 640x360 and then upload your 640x360 video to YouTube. Confused?  Just watch the video above and it will immediately make sense.  And you can even check out the YouTube videos below, which demonstrate the varying quality YouTube visitors see when recording your screen capture videos at various sizes: Click here for 360p (640x360) screen recording on YouTube Click here for 480p (854x480) screen recording on YouTube Click here for 720p (1280x720) screen recording on YouTube

Yesterday Avid released a new video editing app for the iPad, called Avid Studio for iPad.   It's meant as a direct competitor for Apple's own iMovie.  And in the short amount of time I've been able to use it, I'd say Avid Studio is already the winner in this competition. All video editing software titles, whether they be desktop or mobile apps, pretty much do the same thing.  But in the Avid Studio vs. iMovie competition, Avid has a couple of weapons that Apple can't touch. First, with Avid Studio for iPad, you have access to all of the media on your iPad. That means for example if you download videos, movies or TV shows from iTunes, you can access and edit those files in Avid Studio. With iMovie that's not the case...you're limited to what the camera captures or what is imported via the camera connection kit. And second, Avid Studio for iPad allows you to export your projects and then open them up in Avid Studio for PC.  That means for example you can do some quick, on the go, mobile editing of your videos on the iPad and then export your projects to iTunes or iCloud.  You can then access those projects using Avid Studio on your PC to continue on with more power-hungry editing.   Again, Apple offers nothing of the sort. Is there anything wrong with Avid Studio for iPad? Not really.  The app has crashed on me a couple of times while using it (but mobile Safari does that as well).  And there are a few bugs here and there.  But that's common for brand new apps. There is one thing I wish Avid would do though; make a Mac version of Avid Studio! They've got the Windows and iPad markets covered.  So why not close the loop with a Mac version too?  I'm certain it would be an instant hit. To learn more about Avid Studio for iPad (currently just $4.99) look for it in the app store or click here. * Note to anyone who will be using this app.  Don't expect great performance if you have an iPad 1.  Video editing (and all resource intensive apps) need an iPad 2.

It seems for whatever reason when you work with video, you end up sending a lot of links to people.  Really long links.  That's where URL shortening services come in...services like bit.ly and tinyurl.com.  They take those long links and make them tiny.  That makes things easier for everyone. But you don't need to use third-party services to shorten links.  You can shorten links right on your own web site. That means instead of having a link that looks like bit.ly/UasfD you can have a link that looks like yourdomain.com/UasfD. You can do it at no cost.  And there are major benefits to doing it this way. So what are the benefits and how can you do this?  I share everything in the video above. Click here for free Yourls software Click here for Yourls plugins Click here for Yourls support  

The title of this post is actually a bit misleading.  What it really means is that there are 3 things you really need to think about before you ever upload a video to or use YouTube to host your videos. Of course with every ying there's a yang and YouTube is no different.  So there are also 3 compelling reasons why you would want to upload your videos to and use YouTube for hosting. What are these 3 pros and 3 cons of YouTube?  I cover  them in this short video.  

The most common question I get asked, bar none, is what video camera to use.  So here's a list of the top video camera's for 2011. Actually, best is a subjective thing, so I'll call this the top video camera recommendations for 2011. Below are links to each camera mentioned...these are not affiliate links, but links directly to the camera maker's web site: Point and Shoot  - Apple iPhone 4S Traditional Video Camera - Any Canon Vixia Micro Four Thirds Camera - Any Sony NEX DSLR Camera - Canon 60D Pro or Prosumer Camera - Canon XF 100, JVC HM 150, Panasonic HMC 150 * As with any video camera, if you want to see footage from a particular camera, compare footage between cameras, etc., the best thing to do is go to Vimeo and search for the camera(s).  

Ever get tired or frustrated trying to shoot video using your camera's tiny LCD screen? Or ever get annoyed by people huddling around your camera's tiny LCD screen, trying to see what you're shooting or watch what you've shot? Plugging a bigger screen into your camera, which solves these issues, is very simple.  Problem is, most people go the wrong route with grossly overpriced equipment. Specifically, they'll use field monitors, which are portable monitors that plug into your video camera and give you a bigger screen to look at.  Many field monitors can sit on top of your camera and some even run off of batteries. The gotcha is the cost.  The cheapest field monitors, like this one, cost $200-$300.  And the best ones, like this one, cost well over $1,000.  But no matter the price, when you actually look at what you're getting for your money, field monitors tend to be a rip-off (unless you're a professional production studio that relies on them daily). A far better alternative for the average web video producer is a simple LED monitor.  This would be the same type of monitor you use with your computer.  Say for example, like this one. LED monitors are pretty inexpensive.  They are super thin and light weight.  They have big screens.  They use little power.  And they provide excellent image quality.  Which makes them a great choice to use as a monitor for your video camera. Plus, when you're not using an LED monitor with your camera, you can use it as the monitor (or second monitor) for your computer. The only gotcha is you'll need an LED monitor with an HDMI port.  And your camera will need an HDMI port too.  Without these HDMI ports, you won't be able to connect your camera to an LED monitor.    

Canon DSLR's have become very popular for shooting video.  But they also come with a few hassles.  For example, since these camera's lack auto-focus while recording video, recording yourself (where you are both the star and camera operator) can be a chore. That is, it can be a chore if you don't use the nifty little RC-6 remote control Canon offers.  With this remote, you can have your camera auto-focus on you before the video starts recording.  In addition, you can also use the remote to control when the camera starts and stops recording video. How do you use the remote for these things?  I demonstrate how in the video above. And...the above technique not only works with the Canon RC-6 remote, but with the older RC-5 and RC-1 models too.  By the way, the Canon RC-6 remote works with the T2i, T3i, 60D, 7D and 5D Mark II.  Here's a link to it on Amazon. Please note: The remote can only auto-focus before you start shooting video.  It cannot be used to auto-focus while a video is recording (Canon DSLR's do not currently support continuous auto-focus in video mode).  

There's a big misconception with green screen video that I see all of the time.  A misconception that usually costs people time, money and a lot of stress. In fact, people are usually pretty surprised when they see professionals shoot green screen video...because it really brings this misconception to light. So what is this misconception?   I share it in the video above.  And once you know it,  shooting your green screen videos will become a lot easier.  

Mobile video is the fastest growing segment of web video.  But finding quality statistics on how long people are watching and what devices they are using has been hit or miss. Until now.  Ooyala, a premium online video platform that receives over 100 million unique video views a month, has drilled into 3 months of their own data and come up with some pretty surprising findings on how people are consuming video with mobile devices.  Findings that anyone who publishes video really needs to know. What are the findings?  Just watch the video above.  And to see Ooyala's full report, click here.  

Last week Amazon released their much talked about new tablet, the Kindle Fire.  A lot of the press surrounding the Kindle Fire was focused on how it fares against the iPad.  But it's not truly an iPad competitor, as technically, it's like comparing apples and oranges (no pun intended).  In short, the iPad is like a Mercedes while the Kindle Fire is like a Hyundai. What is important is the fact that Amazon has priced the Kindle Fire at just $199 and a lot of people are buying it (some reports say 4 million will be sold in the first quarter of it's availability).  And with that many eyeballs on the Kindle Fire, it's important to make sure your web video will play on it. And in the video above, I share exactly what you need to know for making your web videos playable on the Kindle Fire.  

There are lots of ways to create photo, audio or video galleries on your website.  Some are easy, some are not and some don't seem to work half of the time. In this video, I share a very simple, yet elegant and powerful solution that works particularly well for video galleries.  I also want to point out that this solution works with self-hosted videos, videos from YouTube and videos from Vimeo. Click here to learn more about the solution featured in this video.  

This is something I get asked all the time. Someone will be shopping for a video camera but can't decide between multiple competing cameras. While technical features are usually easy enough to sort out, ultimately people have a single question in mind; which camera will give them the best video quality? Want to know the answer? Just watch the short video above.  

When it comes to increasing your website's profits, the first thing most people think of is traffic.  As in, "if I can double my traffic, I will double the amount of money I'm making". And technically, there's nothing wrong with that line of thinking.  Except getting traffic (especially doubling it) takes time, money or both.  And if it's coming from search engines or affiliates, it can disappear overnight. But what if there was a way where you could double or triple your income...without getting any extra traffic? Sound like a gimmick?  It's not.  You can do this by increasing your website's conversion rate.  For example, if 1 out of every 100 visitors buys on your site...and you increase that conversion rate to 2 out of every 100 visitors...you have just doubled your income without getting any extra traffic. So how to you go about increasing your website's conversion rate? In the video above I interview Paul Bryant, an under-the-radar-conversion-rate-guru who shares some actionable tips anyone can use to boost their conversion rates. By the way, Paul also offers a complete training system (with over 12 hours worth of step by step videos) on how to double or triple your website conversion rates...fast.  Click here to get the full details on Paul's course.  

Many videos can instantly be improved by adding background music.  And while there are plenty of sites that allow you to purchase music for this, the problems are you can't customize the music or have it automatically trimmed to fit the length of your video. There are software packages available that do allow you to customize and trim music.  And while these packages are fairly inexpensive, the gotcha is that you must purchase expensive music packs to use with the software. But now there's an online service that gives you the best of both worlds...royalty-free music tracks that you can find online...while also being able to customize and trim those tracks to fit your video.  The service is from SmartSound and it's called Quicktracks.  Below is a link where you can test it out for yourself. Click here to check out SmartSound Quicktracks