Get Started Making Online Videos
Jon Boyd
North Park University, Chicago
facebook.com/drboyd
@octothorp
Assumptions
You already think video is important
A boost getting started would be nice
You've used a camera, but maybe not too much
It might be you yourself who will be making your videos (but not necessarily)
Show and Tell
An example, and then my top 10 ingredients for making videos.

Because this is all about helping YOU show and tell with video.
Pre-Production
Preparing all the pieces
#1: Have someone to brainstorm with.
#2: Train your eye by watching movies
and listening to directors’ commentaries.
casting
wardrobe
lighting
soundtrack
composition
#3: Draft a screenplay you can actually use.
Celtx
open-source
cross-platform
bit.ly/celtx
What story are we telling?
What's our desired outcome or call to action?
Whom are we helping with this video—and how?
Who will we need on camera?
What will they say — and how tightly does it need to be controlled?
What are the "must have" images, actions, and words that we can't live without?
How can we make those images, actions, and words as dynamic as possible — making them move?
What's the one thing we're saying?
Shooting
#4: Shoot with good light.
#5: Get as good sound as you can.
Avoid noisy locations
Try to control them
Invest in good microphones
Use voice-overs and musical soundtracks
#6: Shoot enough takes to be sure
you’ve got what you need.
#7: Don’t neglect releases, but
don’t be hamstrung by them, either.
Post-Production
#8: Edit to hold people’s attention.
Start out organized and stay that way.
Digital Asset Management (DAM), incl. Microsoft Expression Media, Aperture
Trust your instincts and the organic direction of the project.
bit.ly/twominutes
Editing software —
iMovie
Microsoft Movie Maker
Final Cut Express/Pro
Cut your shots together as quickly as your viewers can handle
Pay attention to transitions (both video and audio)
Don't overdo things (remember the early desktop-publishing era?)
Use titling for statements that are either especially important — or especially unimportant
Consider captioning for the hearing impaired
 
#9: Share your videos widely and watch how they do.
YouTube
Vimeo
TubeMogul
Your own .edu
Facebook?
#10: Get ready to make the next one!
(and another and another…)
Bonus observations:
Videos are not automatically good (bit.ly/2ixYYm)
Consider making videos for “internal sales,” too (bit.ly/internalsale)
Recommended reading:

Fritz McDonald (Stamats), “Making Movies: What YouTube Is Really All About,” in two parts — bit.ly/makingmovies and bit.ly/makingmovies2

John Sayles, Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan (1987, reprint 2003) — bit.ly/thinkinginpictures
This presentation: bit.ly/heweb09tnt9
"Upgrade to a North Park T-Shirt" at vimeo.com/npu
from Terminator 2: Judgment Day