My new show is up and rolling. I’ve been working hard to script, shoot, and edit it and I’m very happy with it! Go check it out!
With this project, I set a new standard in multi-format video-podcasting presentation. My goal is for as many people to watch this video as possible and with that in mind, I’ve put it out in multiple formats and sizes. If you’ve ever had someone say, “I went to your site and it looked great, but I couldn’t make the video work,” then this is the post for you. I utilize multiple formats and sizes and functionality so that everyone should be able to watch my videos.
My first media file link is to a video that is 624×352 pixels which is the maximum a 16×9 video can be and still get onto an ipod. Because it’s first, it will be the one that aggregators like itunes and fireant will pick up first. Ipod-ish File Link
I’ve got a 500×281 video embedded right here on the page via blip.tv
I’ve also got a teeny 3gp video for cellphone users. Soon, the Make Podcast will be a zu-cast and be watched by lots of Europeans with 3gp enabled technology.
Lots of people like youtube and even though I’m not in love with the image quality of their flash encoding, I recognize their viral video capacity and so I put the video up there too. Youtube Link
And while I’m at it, I’ve uploaded it to Google Video which surprised me by looking really good! Google Video Link
And last but not least, I’ve got a link to the video in hd at 1280×720 which is big and luscious! You can see way too many details of my messy apartment in this video!
What’s the workflow on something like this? Well when I finish the video I output it 4 times: HD (which is an mp4 that is 1280×720), 624×352, 500×281, and teeny 3gp. Except for the 3gp file, I use mp4 files because they are universally accepted on all computers and can play on the psp and archos. Then I upload the HD, 624×352, and 3gp up to the O’Reilly servers. Then I upload the 500×281 to Blip.tv and use their share function to cut and paste code into the blog post to embed the video into the page so people can play it right there. The secret trick there is to change the dimensions of the video when you do the cut and past into your blog. For this you want to know how wide you can post things in your blog. I want it to be as big as possible on the Make: blog and 500 pixels is the max here. For most people 320 pixels wide will work just fine for embedding on the page and that’s the default setting on blip, so you can just cut and paste and end up with that size of embedded file and be happy. A lot of people just want to click and play instead of subscribe and so I’m happy with this “click to play” functionality.
Then I upload to Youtube and Google Video. Neither of them have a progress bar and so I usually have to walk away from the computer and eat a meal or something so I don’t have to watch the little swirly icon go around and around and around. I’ve already told a friend who works for youtube to put a progress bar onto that page! Blip has these two video sharing sites beat with the beautiful progress bar that lets you know how long it will be until your video uploads. This is really a super important functionality for people who have other things to do.
I now have a template and I copy and paste it from the last video podcast I’ve done and make all the changes to file locations. Then I write the post and put some pictures in it and try and make some sense. Often, I’ll get feedback or find little tweaks and go in and fix them. It’s important to always preview your post and click on all the links. It makes viewers upset when they don’t go where they expect to go.
So go forth, make video, export it into lots of sizes and formats and share it with the world knowing that everyone who wants to watch it in whatever way they want can watch it!
