How to ‘How-To’

One question we’re often asked, via our customer comments, is how we make our videos. Specifically, what technology we use to film, edit, export and upload them. Mostly people are wanting to create something similar for themselves, and looking for advice about buying cameras or editing software. Our intention always is to create in house, informative, helpful videos at the least expense. Thus far I think we have succeeded!

As the guy behind the camera for all our videos, I present to you, the technical low down on how to ‘how-to’:

Choosing The Right Format:

I guess the most import decision is to decide what file format you are going use. This will dictate what cameras you could buy, how you manage your footage, and what editing software you can use. It will dictate the whole thing.

We decided to use the AVCHD file format, but that decision was made a couple of years ago and there may be better alternatives today (That all have technical abbreviations like HDCAM, DVCPRO XDCAM etc).

I chose AVCHD because I knew a good camera that supported it and it also worked with my favourite editing software. And as the AVCHD format is aimed at the consumer/prosumer market, it’s also a really inexpensive way to produce video.

Cameras & The (Lack of) Lighting:

I use a Sony NXCAM NX5E for all the filming. It’s a great camera with a decent lens and easy to use. Most importantly it records in AVCHD. It records direct to SD Memory Cards that I can just take out of the camera and pop into my PC.

We use natural lighting to film; a bright part of the warehouse is our stage. We found that managing lights was a real hassle and makes everything take twice as long to do.

We film and edit in 720p HD. The AVCHD format, the camera, the editing software, and YouTube can all handle 1080p HD but there is very little benefit going that high quality when we know that 99% of all viewers are going to view the video on a computer screen, and not a home theatre.

Editing & Exporting:

I use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit and export the videos ready for YouTube. I’ve used it for ages and am just very familiar with it. Importantly, of course, it edits and plays AVCHD very well. But alternatively you could use Apple’s Final Cut Pro if you had a mac. There are other editing software options but they are either cheap and cheerful (Sony Vegas) or top end production house stuff (Avid).

Whatever you choose you will need a very powerful PC (or top end mac if you are using Final Cut). Managing HD video is tough stuff for any desktop computer.

We export the videos in the H.264 (aka AVC) file format. A format that YouTube is very happy accepting with minimal fuss. We then simply upload to YouTube and manage our video embeds and brand channel from there. YouTube has a great guide to uploading in the right format.

Finally you can use a service like www.tubemogul.com to track your views and ratings, however YouTube does a pretty good job of this anyway.

So, there we have it. Hopefully some help to anyone out there looking to do something similar to this.

Tags: eSpares, Video Production