There are so many more small steps that we can take to make our videos look more professional. Most of these are free or really inexpensive but they make a world of difference.

This difference is in quality perceived by your viewers. In turn, this perception will have a noticeable impact on your bottom line, which does not necessarily have to be financial. It can be your reputation or status as an expert, artistic satisfaction, awareness raising for your favorite charity or any other measure you wish to apply.

The tips, tricks, shortcuts and whatever else you’ll find here will cover all aspects of video planning and preparation, the whole range of video production and distribution.

Enough said. Let’s get started.

How To Use This Site

Video is all about moving images, right?

Wrong.

It may seem strange but for a video, sound is almost more important that the visuals.

Let me clarify this statement.

I am not talking about Hollywood productions.

Now, that you have your USB mic or headset, or another appropriate mic, you start recording. But it doesn’t sound all that great especially the hissing Ss and exploding Ps.

It’s probably due to advice like this:

That’s really bad advice.

When you record your voice you want to capture your audience’s attention and not send it to sleep.

Sounding listless, depressed, empty, burdened by the weight of the world is as counterproductive as mumbling under your breath.

It just puts people off. And doesn’t help your video at all.

Luckily, there are a few simple steps that help you change all that.

There is a problem with my last tip, that about listening to upbeat music to get yourself into a good mood:

What if your mood drops while you are recording a longer commentary?

The Problem

You cannot keep playing your music while you record yourself. (Of course, we could do this if we had a proper recording studio. But then if we had this, we wouldn’t be here.)

The last few tips were all about pretty big things like the sound of your voice in your video and which microphone to choose and how to use it.

Today’s tip is tiny by comparison but nonetheless important. As the man said:

“Pay attention to the small detail to allow your big idea to shine through.”

I don’t remember whether it was Confucius or Plato who said this, but if it was important for these big guns it certainly should at least be considered when we create our videos.

Here is a tiny detail:

Do you have a steady hand?

I know I don’t.

When I have to pan across the screen during screencasting sessions, the line of my capture window resembles more a drunkard’s walk than a straight line.

You have two options:

Practice, practice, practice until you get it almost right, or use the lowest of low tech methods to train your mouse in an instant. It’s also totally free and easy.

Here is how I train my mouse to go straight:

Don’t you just love these amazing video introductions, all noise, the louder the better, special effects with colours exploding across the screen and whirling into infinity for at least 20 or 30 seconds until they work themselves out and slowly begin to reveal what the video is about?

I used to be fascinated by and marvelled at such artistry. No longer. I just shake my head, and when it gets too involved, I click away.

Why?

Actually, it’s two Why’s:

Why do people use these gimmicks? And why do I click away?

What on earth is a “video outro”?

It’s one of these constructions invented to confuse us. Not.

Actually, it simply is the opposite to an intro. The video intro leads into the video, the video outro is the video’s tail end.

This tail end has captured the attention not only of video marketers, but also of Youtube. And this for diametrically opposed reasons.

Just like the intro, the outro is generally used for branding but with a difference.

How often have you thought or even said:

“If only I had the right camera, video wouldn’t be a problem”?

I bet anything that you actually have a perfectly usable video camera in your house.

Just to prove the point, I checked what I had lurking at home. I found 6 cameras.

Exceptional?

I don’t think so.

I have two older ones, a Flip camcorder and a Canon pocket camera, plus an ancient webcam. My daughter has a new Panasonic pocket camera.

She actually has two more: a webcam on her Macbook (yes, I know, my daughter has a Macbook, and I create videos on a Windows laptop with free software…) and an ipod 4 with a built-in HD video camera.

Given this abundance of old and new devices, I decided to test them for you.

It is unavoidable. Mobile video is here.

From iPhone and iPod to iPad and all other mobile devices, their owners want to watch videos where and when they choose. They don’t want to be tied to their desks. With tablets forecast to outsell laptops, this trend is not going to slow down. Quite the opposite.

Are your videos ready for mobile?

Look at the format of your videos: they are generally one of four types: .avi or .wmv from the Microsoft stable, .mov from the Apple stable, and .flv for flash videos. None of these can be viewed directly on mobiles.

Of course, you don’t have to worry about this if the site you use to show your videos is Youtube. All mobile devices have an app for viewing Youtube videos.

However, when you leave Youtube the burden is on you to make sure your videos can be seen.

The safest way is to convert them to mobile video. By far the most popular format for mobile devices is MP4.

Fortunately, a number of reliable, free video converters are readily available.

In the video below, I show you my video converter of choice: