Starting your own blog is a great way to let out your creative juices. While most people are comfortable and content in
writing, others express their thoughts through photographs and videos. Making your own video blog is really easy, as long
as you have the proper tools and a decent Internet connection for uploading your work. Here are a few tips to help you start
and set up your very first video blog.
Know your topic. Before you face your camera, know what you will be blogging about for this particular episode.
Others use video blogs to demonstrate a certain task while others compose animated images to be displayed as a video.
Set up a video blog that will express your thoughts and ideas.
Set up your equipment. Your next move will be positioning your camera in front of you. Check the view from your
camera if it is pleasant. Check the background if it is acceptable. It might be worth your while to use a background
relevant to what you want to say on the video for a much better effect. In addition, make sure that you have ample
lighting so that the viewers can see you clearly. Your camera must be plugged into a power source or must have
sufficient battery power for the entire recording. Double check your microphone if it is indeed functioning and run a few
test video captures before proceeding with the actual recording.
Start recording your thoughts. With your equipment ready and a topic in mind, start sharing your thoughts and start
recording. It is important to act naturally. Viewers can easily tell if you are reading a script or not. Remember, the more
comfortable, relaxed, and natural you are, the more interesting your video will be. If you will be using props in the
video, make sure they are at arm’s length to make the recording continuous.
Preview your recording. Once you are done, check your recording if the audio is good and if you are happy with the
results. You can backtrack and overwrite on some parts if you are unhappy with it or do another recording. Make sure
that you keep your videos concise since in other areas, Internet connection might not be that good and your viewers may
not be able to view your whole video.
Upload your video. When you are happy with what you have done, save the final copy in a folder on your
computer. Upload this video into your existing blogging site, which can take a couple to several minutes depending on
the size of your video and the speed of your Internet connection.
When saving your video file, keep it at medium resolution since there really is no need to have a super crisp, high
quality video if the primary purpose is to share it on the Internet. Smaller file sizes would mean faster uploading time for
your video.
One of the most popular video file types is AVI, which can compress your video into very small files that are easily
transferable to portable players such as iPods. It is advisable to keep your videos at 100mb or less. You can further edit your
videos using simple movie making applications or you can just upload them as they are.