Embed Your Way to Simple Video Delivery Anywhere You Need It

Delivering quality video content to websites or to one of the plethora of mobile device platforms can get messy. But there is a simple way to solve this vexing technological dilemma using nothing more than good ol' cut and paste.

Recently I've been looking to common, reliable delivery options such as YouTube and Sorenson360 to simplify the task of reaching audiences with quality video. Leveraging these platforms, a user can easily speed up video deployment and maximize audience exposure without heavy javascript, complicated XML lists, or expensive software modules.

The trick is to use the embed codes provided by these streaming services. Simply select, cut, and paste your video content anywhere HTML is accepted. This process is easy and accessible as the major mobile device platforms offer free YouTube support via a preloaded app.

It's important to consider that YouTube and services such as Sorenson 360 have specific pros and cons. The simplest strategy here is to use YouTube for videos you want everyone to see and share. Think marketing videos or weekly informational programming which have a goal of reaching the largest audience possible (YouTube boasts about 100 million viewers a day). Then, use a service such as Sorenson 360 to deliver high quality monetized media assets to customers; specifically, videos that need to maintain ownership rules or usage agreements.

Each service deploys video content using simple embed codes and each service offer valuable audience viewing data. Both services also deliver quality experiences and flexibility of delivery options. Embed codes also add benefits in today's social media culture. You'll be able to easily saturate social networking websites and valuable information venues with simple cut and paste deployment.

One final venue to consider is iTunes. Delivering video, audio or mixed feeds of content using iTunes is an easy way to reach an audience, specifically iPhone and iPad users. The content must be free unless licensed by Apple, but iTunes is easy to integrate into a website that doesn't yet serve up HTML5 content.

Simple, just the way delivering great video and multimedia should be.

Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all!

Connecting Community

A few months ago I was asked to produce a video featuring the volunteer work of Greeley of God. The experience is like taking a missions trip in your own backyard.

The goal of Greeley for God is to feed and connect the homeless and working poor to community resources in Greeley, CO. The focus of the video is not to make people feel bad, but to help viewers to understand a need of the community they live in. Producing a story makes an impact on false perceptions that people may have about a given issue. The video shows that volunteering to serve a meal is a simple way to do something about a never ending problem in every community in the world. Viewers no longer have to feel intimidated by the homeless problem.

MXO now works with Premiere Pro CS4.2

I downloaded and updated my copy of Premiere Pro CS4 to version 4.2 and found the I/O updates working very well.

I loaded a project and went into sequence settings from the top menu. Then I programed the sequence to use the MXO box I have tied to my MacPro system. The MXO box now works perfectly with both my SD Sony 24" reference monitor (dwnconverted from a 720p timeline) and 23" HD Apple cinema display. I can also monitor audio via the MXO box. I've been waiting for MXO I/O support since 4.0, so this new update is a very welcome improvement. Now I can work with Premire Pro 4.2 and have an acurate frame/color and audio reference. The set up also works with Adobe Soundbooth.

As a note: I don't recommend FCP and Premiere Pro to be open and sharing the MXO at the same time. This causes the MXO to go offline and Premiere Pro/Final Cut Pro will sometimes crash. You have to work with each program one at a time to avoid the problem.

Happy editing.

Apple or Windows?

I've been asked this question a lot lately as I use Apple tools every day to make a living as a Media Services Producer. The best advice I have is to shop around; check out both systems in a live environment where you can play and get to know each system. I know that advice doesn't sound exciting, but each system offers a very different experience. Either way you're about to spend a lot of money, so you should test drive before you buy.

Be sure to think about the experience and preloaded software options you plan to use the most (iLife verses the Windows tools and Microsoft Office verses iWork). Also think about capacity and everyday use considerations. If you're like my family, you'll need at least 200-500GB of hard disk space for all the photos we take. Screen size may also be a big factor for those of us who have replaced our cable box with a laptop.

Not surprisingly, I would buy a Mac. While they're not for everyone, the Mac experience is fun and the interface is much easier to use. You also won't have to hassle with common computer viruses and there are many great tutorials and classes available to help you get the most out of your Mac. There are also a wealth of great utilities that can speed up video and web workflows without breaking the bank. The Apple experience isn't perfect, but I can count on my Mac to give me something to look forward to every workday.

One Mac buying tip: if you need a lot of RAM like I do, buy the Crucial RAM instead of the standard Apple RAM. Using Crucial RAM, I upgraded my MacPro from 4GB to 16GB at half the cost of the Apple RAM upgrade. Worth checking out if you need the extra memory for all those great Adobe applications.

Connecting with Customers

Video clips in a sales presentation are powerful. Each visual speeds up the pace of the delivery and adds credibility to your sales message. The key is to use the right sound bites from the right source right on cue. How can one marketing video budget deliver those sound bites with a complete 6 minute knock out sales overview to bat clean up?

The video in the YouTube link is a short story I produced on a recent assignment. The primary goal was to produce a 6 minute long overview of two products working together. The secondary goal was to produce multiple short (10 to 15 seconds long) sound bites that could be used in specific points of a sales presentation.

I spent three days in California with a sales director and regional sales representative visiting two locations for the interview and set up footage. The first day was spent collecting all of the interviews for the project. Later that day I was able to export movie clips with embedded time code for the sales director to log. Having the key points from the interviews as a reference for the story, I was able to move more efficiently in the task of gathering meaningful visuals and natural sound to tell the story. By day 3 I add the footage I needed for the 6 minute video. At the airport, the sales director emailed to me a complete shot list of the requested short soundbites. I was able to turn around a handful of clips for use in a sales presentation the next day.

The next week I produced the 6 minute video and invited the sales director over for a review session. The video was a success and the fast turn around of short soundbites added a sense of relevance and energy to sales presentations before I even had a chance to unpack.

One modest budget, multiple ways to help the team win.

Mobile Me Pro?

Yes, your Mobile Me account is an easy way to collaborate with clients and other professionals. Sure, you can use other services such as box.net or yousendit.com for large batch jobs. But, if you already pay for a Mobile Me account, then you have a great FTP service at your fingertips.

Let's see it in action.

Count and compress your files and log in to me.com are the two steps to sending files using your Mobile Me account. First, identify how many files you need to send. If you only have one file to send, then jump ahead to the log in step. But, if you have a project file and several art files, or several video files for review to send, then you need to compress those files into a handy .zip file. With a Mac, compressing files is very simple. Just select the files you want to compress, right or control click on the group and select "compress" from the pop up menu. Your Mac with automatically compresses the files in to a neat, easy .zip package and you're ready to upload to Mobile Me.

Step 2, log in to your Mobile Me account using a web browser of choice. Remember that you can log in to your account from any computer, so you can FTP files from your MacBook Pro laptop or Mac Pro workstation depending on where the files live. No dealing with slow internal networks or jump drive juggling files is necessary. Next, head over to the iDisk icon and select "Public" from the menu. I usually make a new folder to upload the .zip file to keep things organized. Select the upload icon from the top tool bar and select the .zip file from the location on your drive of choice. Once the file is uploaded, select the file and then select "sharing options." The sharing dialog box is loaded with helpful features. For example you can email the shared link directly from dialog box. You can also set a password for sensitive files and set a time for the shared link to expire. Get options for professional users. Hit "Share" and your file is live.

How easy was that?

You recipients are now one click away from the file(s) you want them to use or review. Management is easy and you can even use the links in your HTML snippets for easy web sharing on your website. At $100 a year (that's about $8.33 a month), Mobile Me is a great value for professionals who need a flexible and easy to use FTP, email and basic hosting solution.

Check out other articles on this topic here.

Enjoy the Journey with Arron Chambers

Stories from the Journey
Are you enjoying your journey through this life?

Arron Chambers hopes so, but if you’re not—or if you could use some encouragement along the way—he hopes you’ll tune in to his new TV program, Enjoy the Journey with Arron Chambers.

The program aired in:
Greeley
Comcast 17 (KWHD)
Denver
Comcast 53 (KWHD)
Colorado Springs
Comcast 51 (KWHS)

Watch the show at:

http://www.journeychristian.org/media/tv/familyFirePlan/index.html

Thank you for watching.

MXO2, P2, XDCAM EX and Long Form

About two weeks ago I wrapped up a four day training shoot with a couple of talented educators. We recorded more than six hours of two angle footage each day, which will make a stunning distance learning video collection in a few months.

I rented a couple of HVX200p cameras from the Boulder studio we were shooting at. I did so thinking of the convenience of the rental and the lower cost of direct in house renting. The problem was the studio only had two 32GB and four 16GB P2 cards available. I could’ve rented more P2 cards from a shop in Denver, but that would’ve defeated the cost benefits of shooting with the in house Boulder cameras in the first place.

In the past I’ve rented the Sony EX1 and I’ve never been worried about record time. The SxS cards work perfectly with my MacBook Pro. Each 16GB card held over 50 minutes of 1080 footage. Transferring to my CalDigit VR hard drive was quick and easy; in less than 15 minutes per card. All of that is great, expect I wouldn’t have access to an EX1 for this shoot; what to do?

Enter the Canadian built Matrox MXO2 with Express 34 PCIe adapter. I’d been using the MXO2 for a couple of months for editing back at the shop.

I decided to try out the in-field capturing capabilities of the MXO2 to compensate for the lack of card space and slow P2 to MacBook Pro transfer times (as much as 45 minutes per 32GB card). The MXO2 was attached to my primary talent angle and I recorded to P2 with the jib mounted angle.

The first step is to open up the OSX system preferences screen and navigate to the MXO2 utility. I configured the input setup for Component and XLR audio. Next I loaded a new Final Cut Pro project and choosing the MXO2 DVCProHD easy setup. I hit record now on the capture screen and I was able to record as longs as I had hard drive space (1.8TB). I could have recorded in ProRes HD, but I choose the DVCProHD setting to maintain consistency with the other angle.

The MXO2 performed flawlessly and I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the production schedule without it. P2 is a nice format, you just have to plan well ahead to consider card space and transfer situations. Adding an MXO2 made it possible to use the lest expensive rental option without compromising our talent’s time.

Adobe Encore, Beyond DVD-Video

At first glance Adobe Encore didn't seem like much of an improvement over my copy of Apple DVD Studio Pro. But, I've found a new reason to consider using it over the aforementioned DVD production staple. Flash capability in an easy to use DVD interface with endless HTML editing possibilities.

I'm not a Flash programmer, but I compress, format and embed content using Flash standards every day. Adobe Encore allows me to build simple flash interfaces for the web or DVD-ROM without having to rebuild from an already existing DVD-Video interface. Case and point: I was asked to assemble a DVD-ROM with a collection of customer testimonial interviews for our sales team. They wanted to click through clips in a browser interface and have the option of downloading iPod ready QuickTime and Windows Media files of videos they choose.

With this set of requirements I knew I was looking at some kind of interactive interface. Enter Adobe Encore. All I had to do is populate my Premiere Pro sequences in the Encore assets panel using dynamic link. Next I used Photoshop to assemble a simple, but professional interface that included links to QuickTime and Windows Media videos. Encore allows the author to enter any HTML hyperlink you can program, including commands such as d://videos, which points to an asset at on the disk. Unfortunately, there's no way to preview hyperlink actions until you burn the project. Also using a d://videos location will prompt a warning stating that the hyperlink is invalid, but the link will work.

With the links established and the rest of the DVD built, you're ready to have Encore encode the Premiere Pro assets to Flash. Just tell Encore to build the DVD project in Flash and the end product is collection of files including an index.html file. The index.html file is the homepage for your Flash presentation, which you can edit in an HTML editor if you feel the need.

I assembled the collection of files Encore produced on to a DVD using Toast software. I then added the "videos" folder containing the QuickTIme and Windows Media files and a simple autorun script asking Windows to open the index.html file when the disk is found. Burned a few copies in Toast and sent them off to the sales team.

This format is simple to produce and provides a great experience for the enduser. There are other ways to deliver a web-like experience for the enduser, such as using an HTML editor or a program like Flash Professional. The advantage of using Encore is speed and lower production costs. There are a lot of possibilities for developing low cost web experiences on a DVD-ROM. I'll be using tools like Encore to explore more possibilities in the future.

Celebrate Recovery Story

This video is part of a promotion package that was produced in 10 hours. The goal was to attract attention and clear up the misconceptions surrounding the Celebrate Recovery ministry. These overview short stories offer the perfect balance of length/cost and professional appeal. Adding one of these short stories to a website weekly or biweekly is a great way to build visibility and a regular audience.

Fast turn, low cost, high impact. A value grand slam.