One of the biggest pitfalls of working for yourself is that you can easily get sidetracked on a project and forget to do those other things that need to be done.

I know I fell into this situation recently. A while ago I decided to convert Multimedia Profits Revealed website into a Butterfly Marketing (BM) site. Seemed easy enough to do. I had already invested in the software. It would work for a membership site like we already had.

And I was not too pleased at the support for Membership Client Pro (MCP), the software that I was using. I have been using the monthly plan for MCP. Which is supposed to keep me up to date with no effort on my part. Except support is only for 30 days from your initial order. Any further support must be paid for.

So with that in mind I decided to learn the BM script and use it instead of MCP. Which turned out to be easier said than done. Three months later I was still fighting bugs and learning. Several times I was almost done only to find an update to the script. I soon learned that once the site is running, DO NOT UPDATE. But it took me some time to learn that valuable lesson.

During that time I tried another similar script only to find that it didn’t work well plus their tech support was non-existent.

Which drove me back to BM. Yes, there are some problems with it. Partly because of the number of features it has. And often I was beta testing the script. But the big difference is that Mike Filsame, owner of BM, has invested in some top notch tech support. And once I realized that and started using them things started to work.

If you have not seen our new Multimedia Profits Revealed site you might want to take a look. Just go to Multimedia Profits Revealed.

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In my last article I talked about what to look for in a videographer. One who is going to record you on raw video.

In this article I want to go the next step and talk about YOU on camera. Most people will tell you to watch the action of people on television and mimic their actions for your video. And one of the most important steps that TV people do is to MOVE. They will move their bodies, their hands, their head, and even walk around a bit just to make the camera person work at keeping them in the camera.

Remember, video means ACTION!

But for today’s Web video, excessive movements are BAD. It causes larger video files as well as create poor looking video. And the reason you want small files is the limitation of the Internet’s delivered bandwidth.

Think of bandwidth as a hose with water. The bigger the hose the more water that can be delivered. The smaller the hose the less water will be delivered. Some people have a big hose so they get video faster. Some people have a very small hose so their video comes in slowly.

But no matter how big a hose people have, it still can’t deliver the standard video without some serious compression. In the multimedia business they call this compression/decompression “Codec”. The video is first compressed and sent to you. Then the player decompresses the video and plays it on your computer.

And believe me, while those Codecs are magic, they do require some unique approaches to make video work on the Internet. And one of the items that Codecs use banks on not a lot of motion by the on screen talent as well as for the background.

So when you are the on screen talent (sounds like Hollywood, doesn’t it) you will want to keep large movements to a minimum. One of the best ways of having movement without causing problems for the Codecs is to use the techniques of the old silent movie stars. They used a lot of facial expressions. Just watch some of those silent movies on TV to see what I mean.

Here’s something that you might not know. Silent movies were run slower that “talkies”, at something like 24 frames per second. The “talking” movies were at something like 29 frames per second. That’s one reason why watching a silent movie today seems like they have speeded up the action. It is because no one has one of those old projectors that could run at two different speeds.

Today you’ll find some “video experts” on the Internet who are moving around on camera more than they should. Don’t use them as examples. I went to the source of streaming media to get my facts. Excessive motion on camera is one of the major problems with videotaping anyone who has been used to performing on stage or on television.

Just another step in creating good looking video online.

A friend of mine, Sherman Hu, the Word Press guru, has just put a new website online. It’s about Word Press and lets you decide just where you fit as a blogger. Go to Word Press Tutorials and check it out. I know, you might not want to create your own blog. But that’s not why I want you to look at Sherman’s site. The concept he’s using is totally unique. His website was created to answer the questions of those at different levels of blogging. And this concept can be used in just about any niche.

And how does Sherman give his Word Press Tutorials? With screencast videos! I had to build this blog twice because my software got corrupted. But thanks to Sherman’s videos it was really simple to do. Just another way of using screencast videos to create a product for the Internet.

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Today there are a number of people interested in getting videos online. And while I usually talk about screencast videos, today I’m going to talk about full motion video. That’s the “home movies” type of video. And just to make sure you understand, when you make full motion videos you sure don’t want them to look like home movies.

And yes, some of the experts seem to like making home movies to make you think that it’’s alright. But start watching some of the real experts and you’ll see that their videos are done professionally. In fact, most of the big name gurus of the Internet hire professional videographers to make their videos for them.

And there is the clue.

Last year I was at a seminar when one Internet marketer came to me and said, “What would you charge to do a video of me?” I misunderstood his question and started to tell him how to do his own. He said, “No, I don’t want to know how. Just tell me how much and where I have to go to get it done.”

So before you spend lots of time becoming a videographer so that you can have video on your website, consider what the gurus are doing. They get a professional to do it for them.

That said, how do you find someone who is a professional?

t’s really easy to “become a videographer”. Just go out and get a three chip digital camcorder and some other gear and you”re in business. But is that enough?

Yes and no!

So let me give you some clues to look for in a videographer. In this article I’m going to focus specifically in the recording phase. In another article I’ll talk about the edit phase (which is more important).

Here are my tips for getting someone who knows what he/she is doing.

Camera: You’ll find that the camcorder is one of the least important items on a video shoot. I have a three chip camcorder that cost me $800. At the last seminar I went to they were using a $5000 three chip camera. While there certainly is a difference in the picture quality, when you shrink it to Web size you probably would not notice. In fact, you should be able to have a videographer use a simple $500 camcorder. Best to opt for a Mini-DV camcorder. Most videographers will be using that type.

Tripod: This should be sturdy enough so that the camcorder is not going to shake when someone touches the camera controls. Or walks across the floor. Often the vidoegrapher will use a remote control to keep from touching the camcorder.

Lights: This is the most important item in any video shoot. This is especially true if you will want to use chormakey (green screen). Chromakey is what is used by your television weather person. He stands in front of a green screen and the video has the weather map superimposed behind the weather person. The type of video you’ll be having made will not go in for dramatic lighting. So simple high wattage video lights or fluorescent lamps. The important thing is to not mix the two.

Chromakey (Green screen): The most important item to remember about the green screen is that you want it stretched tight with no wrinkles. And the on screen talent (you) should be far enough away from the green screen to not cast a shadow on it since shadows ruin the effect.

Microphone: Today many use a wireless microphone. But the most positive microphone is a wired type. However, either would be okay. But make sure any wireless microphone is tested to see if there is any stray pickup from other audio transmissions. I had one that was picking up a local radio station. The fix was sending the wireless microphone back to get a new crystal for a different transmission frequency.

Professional: The other item to watch out for is to see if the videographer seems to know what he/she is doing. See if they understand their equipment. You don’t want to be conducting a videographer training program.

These are my tips to watch for with any videographer.

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I know that a number of those reading this blog are interested in creating full motion videos.That’s where you use a camcorder and then edit your final video. From there you will want to upload your video… maybe to YouTube or one of those other video hosting companies.

But how can you create great looking video? Especially if you have no one to teach you how to create eye catching videos. Many people will tell you to watch television. But today’s television editor is not really the person to learn from. Usually they have a tight deadline and just really don’t care to create masterpieces for viewing at 7 PM.

So where can you go to get the best ideas for creating video?

Well, let me tell you about a great source for outstanding video editing.

But before I do I must tell you that these special videos do come for a profit making company. So you will have to accept that they will try to sell you something. And what they sell can make your videos even better. I know since I’ve spent several thousands of dollars buying their specials they list each week. In fact, one is on the way as I write this.

OK. The source of great video is at Digital Juice. What you want is the Digital Juice Television. You may have to search the page but I found a large ad right in the bottom middle of their page. I recommend their magazine and newsletter too. Even if you aren’t in the market for special effects their articles and announcements for the latest Digital Juice Television are worthwhile.

This is just another of the resources that I use to keep current with my video business and I do recommend their products. I’ve been very happy with them. In fact, the only problem is that I am going broke saving money on their specials

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