Making Videos for Your Website, Part I

We've talked before about the benefits of having videos on your website. I've also suggested that we're currently in a window of opportunity for casual videography.

After all, there was a time when really poorly made websites were acceptable to most people. This is no longer true. Your amateur website (if that's what you have) now makes people feel less trusting of your business. And there was a time when mechanical-sounding midi files were acceptable to people on the internet. This is also no longer true.

There must have been a time when poorly-written stuff was widely acceptable, but no one now living can remember those days.

Still, I think people are still pretty accepting of amateurish video, so you might as well go ahead and put some on your website while you still can. By next year, your visitors will expect quality.

So let's say that you want to add video to your website. What software or hardware do you need?

At the lowest end of the spectrum, you can film with your phone and upload it directly to your blog, or to YouTube and then embed it.

However, video editing software is readily available. It's good to be able to add titles, soundtracks, and still images to your videos. So it's worth considering a bit of software if you plan to make much video.

If you use a PC, you probably have the Windows Movie Maker. Here's how to use it:

• Open the program.
• Import pictures and videos from your computer or your camera. This can be a lengthy process. The pictures and videos will show up on your screen.
  
• Drag the images from the screen to the Storyboard.
• You can apply effects and add transitions. You can add music, too. Watch out about copyright on the music, and don't get too carried away with effects and transitions. People may be tolerant of bad video, but there are limits.
  
• Click the button to publish your movie. It takes a couple of minutes.

You can see an example below. I put it together in just about ten minutes.




My favorite movie-making software is Corel Video Studio 2010. Like Windows Movie Maker, this program lets you use both still photos and videos in the same movie. The process is about the same, too. However, you have a lot more control over the content, and more choices when it comes to editing. Not so many fancy effects, but those are often the irritating part of amateur video, so it may be just as well.

Since you have more control, the Corel product is also harder to use, or at least has a longer learning curve. However, there's lots of online support, and the program isn't difficult by any means. It'll upload automatically to Facebook, YouTube, etc. and save in multiple formats.

Here's a very similar movie made with Video Studio:



Video Studio costs about $100, and Movie Maker probably came with your computer. If you want to take a step up from those choices, you should probably go ahead and choose Adobe Premier.

Before deciding which software to use, think about your future plans. I think we can assume that the public tolerance for poor quality in video won't last. You should probably either plan to budget for a pro for next year's videos (so don't spend much now), or to learn to do it well yourself (so spring for the software and get to work learning the skills you need).