Videos rock and I recommend you do them for your blog. They allow a level of connection with your audience that you really can’t get through the written word. But, for some, it may be daunting to create a video. So, I thought I’d tell you a little about how I do it.

The big point I want to get across to you is that this isn’t complicated. Don’t overthink doing video for the web. It doesn’t need to look like television (and it likely won’t).

The videos I do for this website are the “Flip Tips”. There are two kinds that I do:

1. Videos where I am simply talking to the camera.
2. Videos where I am recording my screen.

Doing Screen Recordings

Most people find that they can do screen recordings much more easily because they don’t get so shy about people seeing them. When I do screen recordings, I use ScreenFlow on my Mac. If you are on Windows, I recommend Camtasia. Once I’ve recorded a video, I will do some preliminary editing with ScreenFlow simply to add zooms and pans where appropriate. I then export to an MOV file. I import the MOV into iMovie 09, throw in the video intro and ending, the title bar with my name, and re-export to M4V.

Have I lost you yet? I hope not. iMovie comes with the Mac as part of the iLife suite from Apple. iMovie is fairly limiting when it comes to movie editing, but what it does do it does in a very slick fashion that allows for super fast, basic edits. Exporting to M4V is simply the default option for iMovie when I export for Youtube. I then take that M4V and upload it to the web via TubeMogul.

What About The Video Intro?

For those wondering about my video intro, that is pre-recorded and I had it created by Rich (my main writer for PCMech). Creating a video intro is perhaps the most complicated thing about this process. Our intro is very simplistic, however the complexity of your intro depends on your tastes.

Keep in mind that you can always hire somebody (via Elance or Guru) to create a quick video intro for you. Once you have it, tacking it onto your videos is literally a matter of drag and drop in your video editor.

Doing “Face Time” Videos

When not recording the screen, I obviously am recording myself simply talking into the camera. I use two options here:

1. The Flip Mino HD
2. A Firewire-enabled camcorder

When using the Flip Mino, I literally just hold the camera up, point it at myself, and talk. Sometimes I may mount it on a tripod for stability. I can then import the videos directly into iMovie. From that point on, the editing process is the same.

Sometimes I use the camcorder, though. The video quality is better in my office because the lens quality is higher. Plus, it allows me to use an external microphone. So, the camcorder is just an older Panasonic mounted to a tripod. It connects to my Mac via Firewire. I also have a Blue Snowball (a funky looking microphone) connected to the Mac via USB.

The picture on the left above is the camcorder I use when connected via Firewire. Pictured to the right is the Blue Snowball microphone.

When I record, I use Quicktime Pro to do a live recording. I set the audio source to the Snowball and the video source to the camcorder, connected via Firewire. I literally just hit the record button, talk, then turn it off. It automatically saves the recording as an MOV which I can then bring into iMovie.

If you don’t have a Firewire camcorder, don’t fret. A Flip Mino HD is a very nice alternative. You could even just use a standard webcam, connected via USB. I don’t believe iMovie can record directly from a USB webcam, however.

Words of Advice

This post was meant to show you how I do things. It won’t necessarily be how you do things. However, here is some general advice for you when doing your own web videos:

1. Don’t overthink your videos and try to make them look like Hollywood. It is more important to get your videos out there and connect with your audience than to try to look like a Spielberg film.
2. If you do have a Firewire camcorder, you might try using it to record straight to your computer. Camcorders have superior lens when compared to small cameras like the Flip. This leads to better quality and better handling of lights and darks.
3. You do not need a fancy video editor for most web videos. If you have a Mac, iMovie is perfectly fine. If you are on Windows, Windows Movie Maker will suffice.
4. When speaking to a camera, don’t overthink it and try to make it perfect. It is human to make flubs. Don’t over-worry about what you look like. There is no need to dress up unless your audience would expect it. If your blog isn’t formal, then just talking to the camera like you would talk to somebody in person is preferable. Practice that until you can record videos on one take without feeling compelled to re-record it.

Do you make your own videos? What is your process? Do you have any additional words of advice to add to mine? Please comment.