If you've ever been caught up in an internet marketing launch over the last couple of years, you will have seen a wide range of videos used. Some of these videos are well done, informative and clever. Andy Jenkins of Video Boss fame even has an Emmy Award in editing. At the lower end of the spectrum though, there are some shockingly appalling videos which lack humour, ingenuity or subtlety. Despite this checkered record, video converts and it continues to be widely used in internet marketing.
To turn out these high quality videos as products or for promotion used to take teams of people and millions of dollars of equipment in years gone by. The high availability of good quality equipment and the low training threshold for editing software has opened the market to many newcomers.
High definition, 720p video can now be filmed with a $150 Flip Cam or a Kodak equivalent. Even you standard Apple iPhone can shoot and record a fair amount of video at high definition quality today. The days of the $25,000 betamax cameras with a dedicated cameraman are long gone for everything but the most high productions
One thing that has become very prevalent within internet marketing circles with respect to video are screen capture sessions. You can record a Powerpoint or Keynote presentation and teach people something. You can record yourself manipulating software and become a trainer. The quality of the outputs that these packages can now achieve is pretty amazing and were not even possible a few years ago in television and movies. Becoming proficient with these tools is now as easy as reading a book or watching some online videos.
Sound equipment has also become much more accessible. For live video it is advisable to use a lapel microphone to achieve the highest quality sound. The audio track can then be overlaid onto the video during the post-production editing stage. For screen captures or recorded presentations, a low cost headset or USB microphone will provide good quality digital sound.
Technology has not stopped changing just in the field, the editing suite has also undergone a massive transformation. Almost all video and audio can be edited using tools like Adobe Premier Suite and Final Cut Studio on affordable Macs and PCs. At these prices, the tools aren't out of touch for even small scale producers. In the screen capture are, Camtasia and Screenflow make producing these type of videos easy and cheap.
The internet has totally changed the game of video distribution with YouTube being the prime example, but also other sites like Viddler and Vimeo making it possible for millions of people to freely what your videos. A major disruption has occurred and smart marketers are taking advantage of the changing landscape to shift their marketing campaigns to video and better position themselves moving forward.
Video Boss is the best program ever made for educating internet marketers in how to create, high value, high converting videos. Before buying, check out our Video Boss Bonus!