PureBlogging

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be a teacher, in charge of explaining to alcohol- and sex-crazed first-year college students what it means to write a decent essay? (Your answer: “Gosh, Kevin! Only every day!!!”)

I know what it’s like. You have to make use of every possible resource to keep their attention, ranging from the simple (rewarding correct answers with miniature Snickers bars) to the complex (in-class games of musical chairs and duck-duck-goose). Every day is a challenge.

The same goes for blogging — and aside from podcasts, one of the most valuable pieces of multimedia you can add to your blog is video. Whether it’s a series of instructional movies like this excellent tutorial on replacing iPod batteries, or the daily and humorous videocasts at TV Squad (starring the uber-crushworthy Brigitte Dale), short movies are always a pleasure to the web-going public, and, if they’re done well, are a sure bet for bringing in the numbers.

But as with writing, there’s a whole boatload of rules-of-thumb and dos-and-don’ts when it comes to shooting great video. Nobody expects you to be Scorcese, but you should at least shoot somewhere north of Ed Wood. Here are a few tips to keep in mind before you fire up the camcorder.

Don’t shoot video if you don’t need to. Ze Frank does a good deal of talking directly to the camera, but that’s because Ze has great public speaking skills and rarely sounds like he’s reading off a screen. Before you start shooting, ask yourself: Why am I putting this particular piece of information/entertainment/cat-related humor on video as opposed to simply using words? Do you plan on using the versatility of video to its full potential, or are you just going to talk at the camera? If you’re making a tutorial video, will you use visuals to make your instructions more clear to the viewer? If your skills in front of or behind the camera aren’t up to snuff, you may wind up doing more harm than good. Which leads to our second point…

Spontaneity is good, but practice makes perfect. If you’ve got a script, make sure to read it in an audible voice at a measured pace. Speaking too slowly might make your viewers snicker, but speaking too quickly or quietly will lose them entirely (As much as I enjoy the delightful ministrations of Ms. Dale at TV Squad, she occasionally tends to mumble a bit, which detracts from the overall experience). If you’re looking for public speaking advice, you could do a lot worse than Speaking with a Purpose by Arthur Koch.

Lock your frame. Most people doing video on the Web seem to follow this rule pretty well, but it’s an important one and thus bears repeating. Every good piece of filmmaking results from two things: (1) Mounting the camera on a tripod, and (2) Leaving it the heck alone. Remember The Blair Witch Project? With all the screaming and vertigo-inducing camera work? You don’t want your blog looking like that. If the camera is held still, your viewers will forget they’re watching a video, and focus only on what’s going on within the frame.

Sound matters. Possibly more than you think. The microphones on the new Mac desktops seem to have a pretty good pickup range, but sadly, most consumer camcorders don’t pick up sound very well — particularly if it’s coming from multiple sources. You might benefit from picking up a camera-mountable mic with a broad pickup pattern; B&H Camera is a decent online source, but if you want to keep things cheap and simple, a handheld mic from Radio Shack, held out of frame, will do the trick.

I can’t stress enough how much bad sound can ruin a good piece of filmmaking. If your viewers are straining to hear what’s going on, they’re not giving the content their full attention, and they won’t be compelled to return for future videos — even if the content is entertaining overall. And unless you’re shooting documentary footage on the run, subtitling to compensate for bad sound isn’t going to work.

One thing to consider: Since many visitors do their blog-surfing on the sly during work hours, consider making silent videos, that viewers can enjoy without sound. Netting this often-forgotten demographic might set you apart from the pack.

Just because your digital editing app has cool titling effects doesn’t mean you need to use them. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got Morgan Freeman doing your voice-over and Conrad Hall behind the camera. If you use anything other than the most simple and direct titles, your video will look like it was made by Mrs. Himelfarb’s fifth grade civics class. The fact that Conrad Hall has been dead for five years makes this statement no less true.

Also, stick to either black or white titles with a simple font without serifs. If your background is black, use white titles, and vice versa. If you’re placing titles over a shifting background, give them a contrasting outline.

If possible, have a comely raven-haired lass star in your video. Seriously, Brigitte: Call me. My girlfriend will probably be cool with it.