If you’ve spent any time online recently, you will have seen the explosion in the use of video in just about everything. In particular, internet marketers have latched onto video and have begun to use it heavily for training and pre-launch. In a testament to the power of video, even many terrible videos and horrible ideas have not diminished the value and use of video.
The ability for marketers to quickly and cheaply product high quality promotional videos has become commonplace as the technology has become readily available. What used to take dedicated workstations to do can now be done on standard laptop computers.
With the prevalence of high definition cameras the quality and ability to shoot good-looking video has increased. What used to require $25,000 cameras and a dedicated cameraman can now be shot on a $150 Flip Camera or Kodak Zi8 by anyone. Even most mobile phones have high definition video cameras and enough memory to story a decent amount of video.
Aside from live video shots, screen recording technology has made it very easy for anyone to make compelling software demonstration videos or record slide presentations with Powerpoint or Keynote. As these programs cost so little, the barrier to entry on creating video presentations is virtually non-existent. These programs are also very powerful and graphical tricks that you see on television or in movies are now readily reproduced.
Sound equipment has also become much more accessible. For live video it is advisable to use a lapel microphone to achieve the highest quality sound. The audio track can then be overlaid onto the video during the post-production editing stage. For screen captures or recorded presentations, a low cost headset or USB microphone will provide good quality digital sound.
Technology has not stopped changing just in the field, the editing suite has also undergone a massive transformation. Almost all video and audio can be edited using tools like Adobe Premier Suite and Final Cut Studio on affordable Macs and PCs. At these prices, the tools aren’t out of touch for even small scale producers. In the screen capture are, Camtasia and Screenflow make producing these type of videos easy and cheap.
Today’s films produces have their handycam and laptop with them as they produce top quality high definition videos. Whether you’re trying to tell your story and get your message out in a bigger way or even if you’re just trying to market some kind of product, video can now help you do it. Once you’ve captured your message on video then it is so easy to upload your videos to YouTube and other sites for widescale global distribution.
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