Looking at Video on the Web with Ken McCarthy

Howdy,

My name is Steve Blue. I am a Video Pro who will guide you through the stormy seas of Internet Video Creation. I am a jack of all trades when it comes to video production. I’ve edited and shot it all: commercials, documentaries, music videos, wedding videos, artistic video installation, professional sports videography, even large marketing multi screen presentations for CES. I help Ken McCarthy edit and post videos online for The System Seminar.

I will be posting to SystemVideoBlog, in the capacity of a Video Pro.

Trends in Internet Video are shifting everyday it seems. It can be quite difficult to keep up with the latest video technologies and services out there.   I hope this blog post will be your yellow brick road to the future of internet video. As "The Wizard of Oz" transformed movie screens from black and white to color, companies like Google and Apple, Inc. are changing the quality and delivery of Internet Video right now.

If you are a business owner, you probably outsource video creation to a professional. Some professionals, even those in the business for twenty years, may not know a single thing about internet video. Most professional videographers are concerned with the latest quality innovations, such as DVD and HDTV. Some even denounce internet video right off the bat, saying it looks horrible, so why would anyone even use it?

Picture quality doesn’t matter to the average viewer. Everyone is wowed and amazed by HDTV at first, but still content to watch the worst quality video of some guy skiing off a jump on YouTube.

But what if I told you I can create a video designed for streaming over the Internet that has close enough quality to broadcast, that the casual viewer can’t even tell the difference? I will show you how in upcoming blog posts.

Internet Video has grown up and is now moving out of the house. If you visit Apple’s iTunes website right now, you will be greeted with a message that says "YouTube, meet AppleTV". AppleTV viewers will soon be able to view thousands of YouTube videos right on their television sets. Did you know AppleTV also supports 480P, which is the standard for DVDs right now? Internet Video and Broadcast Quality are converging right now. But at the same time, YouTube also struck a deal with Verizon Wireless at the end of 2006, establishing a cell phone television-like channel for the most popular videos on YouTube. Now YouTube is moving onto the iPhone too, which means AT&T has access to the Internet Video Giant. Internet Video is now available on millions of digital devices out there. Internet Video is spreading like a virus.

It amazes me how YouTube is the most popular video sharing service by far. YouTube has 44% of total internet viewership. YouTube also has the worst interface out of all the video sharing sites I have encountered. I upload maybe 10 clips at a time to YouTube about a certain topic. It is one huge pain in the butt when I have to change preferences about them. In contrast, what makes a good video sharing site? Well, the ability to upload multiple videos at once for starters, with a large file size and duration on each clip. It’s called Google Video, which is still in fifth place lagging behind MSN, Yahoo, MySpace, and of course YouTube.

Upload videos to a cocktail of sites. I upload videos to YouTube, Google, MySpace, and iTunes. In future posts, I will detail step by step instructions on the best methods of uploading videos to these services.

When you are ready to upload to the internet, output the best quality video with the smallest filesize possible from your editing program. This can be a struggle. I use Quicktime H.264 for this task, others go straight into Flash FLV. Most of the online sharing sites use FLV and will convert most anything you give them to this format. Make sure you upload the best quality video possible to services like YouTube or Google Video. Those sites will make your video look crappier. But do not fear. Because of the Apple’s efforts to upgrade the video quality in iTunes, all the other internet video sharing sites will follow suit and gradually improve the quality of online videos. YouTube did it just the other week. If you view a movie on YouTube using their new beta interface, you will find a slightly larger screen for the video. YouTube just switched over to the H.264 standard probably because of their dealings with Apple. Why would the Internet Video Giant think of switching over their entire library to a new standard? H.264 is not just a standard for the Internet.  H.264 can handle everything from the crappiest looking online video to full HD quality 1080i.

Broadcast and Internet Video standards are converging right now.  So, in addition of making your video suitable for current online conditions, make sure you always have a master copy available that is Broadcast Quality.

I hope you just gained some nuggets about Internet Video. I will be writing articles on SystemVideoBlog.com, even with step by step instructions, that will get down to the nitty gritty about all different aspects of internet video creation. If you have questions that you’d like to see me address on the blog, please mail them to me at videopro@iuseapple.com. Due to the volume of mail I won’t be able to respond personally and I won’t be able to answer every question, but I’ll do my best.

Steve Blue

If you use YouTube to host your videos, you’ve probably noticed some recent changes to the way they do things.

To make a long story short, they’re superimposing a whole lot more stuff on your videos – and it doesn’t necessarily benefit you.

For example:

1. Viewers are offered the <embed> code and the video’s URL at the end of the video without having to click through to the YouTube site

2. Viewers can scroll through and view related videos right in the YouTube-provided player without leaving your web site.

The first feature is designed to make YouTube videos easier to share.  The second allows YouTube to, in essence, highjack your web page and turn it into a YouTube platform.

The benefits of these two features to YouTube are obvious. What I’m waiting for how is Google/YouTube will monetize this new-found ability to colonize other people’s web sites.

Maybe Google will cut web site owners in on the revenue they derive from their video services, but don’t count on it. In any event, relying on YouTube  to host business-critical communications like  ads is a very bad idea because it puts your users in a place where they’re just one easy click away from leaving your sales process.

Bottom line: If you’re depending on YouTube and other free hosting sites for your video hosting, it’s probably time to look into some better options…unless of course you don’t mind making a free gift of your web site’s traffic to YouTube (Google).

Hosting with and otherwise dealing with Internet video can be a tremendous hassle – and very expensive, but it doesn’t need to be in you pick the right service.

Here’s the one I like for hosting – and controlling – your own videos:

WebVideoZone

Here’s an extended interview I did with the creator of the service:

Interview with Joe Chapuis

Enjoy!

Ken

P.S. This is the service I recommend to Internet entrepreneurs who want to control their own videos:

WebVideoZone

Matt Mullenway, CEO of WordPress, says that 5 to 8% of all blog posts are YouTube videos.

Can this be accurate? If so, the age of the personal TV channel is upon us. It’s possible now for everyone to program their own personal TV channel.

(One of my blogs Food Music Justice – a blog about New Orleans – is running about 30 to 40% of blog posts with video content.)

That so much great art has been produced and survived…

That we have easy access to so much of it…

That the technology exists for someone to collect these images and offer them this way…

That you can push a button and see this work for free…

Enjoy!

Here’s an example of a "quick and dirty" Internet video ad.

It’s for Perry Marshall’s new book.

We shot it at System 2007 in one take with no script.

It’s a "content" ad. In other words, it contains content that is intrinsically valuable on its own and the pitch, such as it is, is woven in.

Total run time: 3:50 minutes.

My total time invested in the production: about 8 minutes.

Then I handed it off to an editor who cleaned it up, added titles and uploaded it to YouTube.

Then I uploaded a new page for the video to my System Seminar TV platform (about 2 minutes) and now I’m writing to tell you about it (another 2 minutes.)

My total time investment: 12 minutes.

The keys to achieving this kind of  efficiency:

1. Have a shooter at your events so that when you come up with an idea you can execute it on the spot.

2. Have an editor who knows how to upload video to the Internet waiting in the wings.

3. Have some kind of easy-to-use video publishing platform like a blog or a custom solution.

Once you have these elements in place, producing, publicizing and distributing Internet video is child’s play.

Here’s what the final product looks like…

Enjoy!

http://www.systemseminartv.com/page/118.html

Ken

P.S. For a free highlights version of this blog, go to http://www.internetvideomarketingletter.com/

It finally happened…

I was reading about something interesting and new and I went to look up more about it on the Internet…and instead of looking for an article, I wanted to see a video about it.

And here’s the kicker, there were none (or at least I couldn’t find any.)

So you know what I did?

I crossed the subject off my list.

Now I’m a heavy reader and a verbal guy if ever there was one, but this topic (modern uses of steam engines) was not something I was willing to invest neurons on sorting out from verbal descriptions. I wanted to SEE one of these things working and have someone explain it to me.

Question: How many millions of times a day is thing happening now? Internet users searching for video content FIRST? And then, in some cases, bailing because there is none.

A major study of 2006 online video ad campaigns reveals what a lot of us knew from first hand experience: video trumps text and static graphics.

As useful as this stufy is on one level, ultimately I’d file the study as an example of  "interesting, but missing the point."

First, the interesting part…

Read more…

When Google bought YouTube I resisted the urge to tell the naysayers who said I was overdoing the video on the web thing: "Told you so."

Because actually, these days, what’s $1.2 billion? Not much to get excited about in the grand scheme of things.

But Google including VIDEO in its main search listings. That’s huge.

I have no idea how Google is selecting videos for including in search results. From the looks of things I’m not sure that they know either, but this is a SIGN.

The Internet is heading towards becoming a video-on-demand system with text as a sideline. Mark my words.  The browser will become the new remote with an infinite choice of channels. Video will become as common as paper.

A lot of people are counting on it becoming huge – marketing to people’s cell phones and mobile devices.

I do believe that these devices – now in 75% of American homes – will take an increasingly central place in people’s lives, but I also believe that marketers who think they can impose ad models on mobile from other mediums may find themselves in for a rude awakening.

Some numbers from Forester Research:

1. Only 16% are interested in free downloads (like ring tones) in exchange for watching ads
2. Only 15% are interested in entering a code from a product or advertisement
3. Only 14% are interested in loyalty programs or frequent-shopper cards tied to their cell number
4. Only 12% are interested in listening to audo ads in exchange for free director assistance
5. Only 11% want to see ads next to mobile maps or directions
6. Only 7% want to see ads in mobile games
7. Only 6% want to see banners on the top of a mobile web page
8. Only 4% want to see text messages from advertisers
9. Only 3% want to receive cell phone calls from advertisers

Do these results mean that all these models are doomed?

Not at all. When the first banner ad appeared on a web home page there was a near cyber-riot among early Internet users. People learned to acccept them – and ignore them.

I think models that trade a value (download or service) in exchange for a consumer’s agreeing to listen to an ad might work and whether folks like it or not, there will be banner ads on mobile pages, ads next to mobile maps and directions, and advertising in mobile games.

Also, for sure, people who are interested in a product will text message a code to get more information and that may be  one of the most immediate uses for us’n.

No one wants to opt-in or be on another mailing list – unless the goodie they’re being offered is immediately relevent to their interests and passions. When that’s the case, consumers don’t think twice about sharing info about themselves.

As people who know me know, I’m a passionate fan and supporter of the great city of New Orleans.

For the last six months, I’ve spent a week per month down there talking with local rebuilding groups.

One of the groups that really stood out for me is Levees.org, a grassroots organization founded on a kitchen table by New Orleans resident Sandy Rosenthal.

We started advising Sandy on web promotion in December, showed her how to rework her site to maximize opt-ins, and encouraged her to harness the magic of Interner video.

One strategy I suggested was making a "double duty" video: a single video for use on the web site (and YouTube) and for TV. Non-Profits have the advantage of getting free  PSA (public service announcement) time on TV.

The trick is to make the video compelling. One way to do that: enroll a celebrity. Hollywood and TV star John Goodman stood up and here’s the result on YouTube..

Click here to see the video

P.S. What can YOU do with your Internet skills to help a cause that you believe in?

Ken