file size, and under 10 minutes in length.
You Tube ultimately converts video to the Flash video
format for streaming via an Internet browser and typical
broadband speeds. So, if your editing program allows for
final rendering in that format, you should be good to go —
but even then, you’ll probably need to tweak the settings
to find the best mix between quality and file size.
Otherwise, You Tube will convert .MPG, .AVI, .MOV, and
. WMV formats, but you may not like the distortions
imposed during the conversion process.
Is There a TV Show in Your Future?
Once your video has been rendered, you’re ready to
upload it to You Tube, via their extremely easy-to-use
interface. Be patient, though. It could be 15 to 20 minutes
— or more — before your video completes the uploading
procedure. And then another 15 minutes up to an hour or
two before the video is online, after it’s been processed
and cataloged by You Tube itself.
Will you be happy with your first effort? No doubt,
you’ll see lots of errors you wish you could improve — but
that’s as good an excuse as any to do your second video.
Is there an online TV series on electronics in your
future? There is if you want it to be! NV
Check it Out!
Nuts & Volts wants your videocasts!
Go to www.nutsvolts.com and submit your
electronic projects video. We’re especially interested
in anything you’ve built from a Nuts& Volts article,
but also any electronic project, tutorial, demo, etc.
that would be of interest to our readers.
You may just see it posted on the NV video blog!!
Further Reading
Needless to say, one article can only scratch the
surface of videomaking, even for You Tube. Whole
books could be written on the topic of video making
— and fortunately, several have. Here are a few
that I’ve found helpful:
✦ Producing Videocasts by Richard Harrington and
Mark Weisler (Focal Press, 2008). Most books on video
are written for those who wish to produce corporate
videos or are independent filmmakers. As its title
implies, Producing Videocasts is written specifically
for those who wish to enter the world of online video.
✦ Setting Up Your Shots, Revised Second Edition
by Jeremy Vinyard, Illustrated by Jose Cruz (Weise,
2008). An illustrated guide to the grammar of
Hollywood, with specific examples of Hollywood films
for each composition and camera trick described
herein. In addition to providing visual inspiration
galore, we’ve been conditioned by a century of
Hollywood filmmaking to understand certain shots
and angles mean specific things. DIY video making is
often about breaking the rules — but it helps to know
what they are beforehand.
✦ Bluescreen Compositing by John Jackman
(Elsevier, 2007). From Adobe’s Ultra 2 to zillion dollar
Hollywood shoots, this is an excellent primer to get
up to speed fast on all facets of chromakey.
✦ Producing Great Sound For Film & Video by Jay
Rose (Focal Press, 2008). There are a great many
books on sound, but most of these are geared
towards musicians. Many DIY videos have surprisingly
mediocre sound; here’s a thorough introduction to
sonically set yours apart from the pack.
September 2008 53
