The Best Online Video Tools I Recommend
To get a real handle on what it takes to create compelling videos that will convert and generate NEW leads, you should consider these tools below. All these tools are the ones I personally use to create the videos you see on this website.
A Professional Video Camera
Canon T3i Rebel Camera
I recommend either one of two options, the Kodak Zi8 camera or the Canon T3i Rebel. If you are on a budget, the first one is probably one of the best around as it has all the functionalities you need all built in. It allows you to record in High Definition and it’s user friendly. For the more advanced user who wants to record quality professional videos, I’d recommend the second option as this is the camera I currently use. Here’s an example of the video quality I get using the Canon T3i Rebel.
Something To Record The Sound (Lapel Microphone)
Have you ever watched a video on Youtube where the sound was really echoing and sounded awful? I bet you have! It’s not the most professional footage to watch and personally I click away from them immediately. Imagine if that happened for your videos? You would not be getting new leads or anyone wanting to watch your videos anymore. This is why choosing an external microphone is important as it will make your videos stand out and keep your viewers coming back. In addition the cameras I recommended above allow you to plug any lapel condensor microphone into it. Here’s the one I recommend:
- Audiotechnica lapel microphone
- Sennheiser Wireless Microphone (a little more expensive if you can afford it)
Remote Control
Photon Remote Control
I can guarantee you this will save you time and make your life so much easier! Before I had bought a remote for my video camera, I had to get up and manually click the start and stop button. That took time and furthermore, I had to edit it out which added more work.
Good Lighting Equipment
The trick to presenting a good video is making sure the object (you or someone else) being filmed is lit well. Plus if you wanted to take your video to the next level and personalise it to your audience, you can change the background to almost anything you want, simply by having a “green screen”. With the “green screen”, you can replace it with any background image you prefer with the video editing software, and I’ll recommend them below.
Other Necessary Equipment
Tripod for your video camera
In addition to the above pieces of equipment I recommend, these are just as important. The tripod allows you to mount your camera on a horizontal surface and enables you to set up just about anywhere. A SD Memory card with a size of 32GB will ensure you can capture all your footage without having to swap out cards. As a guide, the Kodak Zi8 allows you to record up to 4 hours, and the Canon T3i can record just over 1.5 hours.
Software To Edit Videos
As I outsource all my video editing, these are the tools my team uses to create professional videos that you see here on Outsourcing Live. I simply upload these files to a private hosting solution such as Dropbox or SugarSync and my video editing team does the rest. I personally recommend and use Screenflow to record my screen captures and presentations. On the other hand, my video editor uses Adobe Premier Pro to add special effects and does all the cuts for the videos.
- Screenflow (Mac)
- Camtasia Studio (PC)
- Adobe Premier Pro (Mac & PC)
Where To Store Your Videos
Youtube and Vimeo Hosting Solutions
Two locations I recommend to store them. The first one is the largest video network in world owned by Google, called Youtube. It’s also the 2nd largest search engine for content in the world. The second is a paid hosting solution that you can upload videos that you may want to keep private or for commercial reasons. Lastly, the third option is also a paid solution that allows for unlimited downloads so if you are getting a lot of traffic, this would be a better solution compared to a pay as you go hosting option such as Amazon S3. I personally use this service for all my videos and podcasts to be distributed via iTunes.
A Powerful SEO Customized Website Solution
If you are wondering what powers the Outsourcing Live website, it’s this powerful theme called Thesis Theme. What this theme allows for you to do is to customize your layout and also optimize your website for search engines. That way it can be found quickly and loads up extremely fast. One of the reasons why I switched over to using Thesis for Outsourcing Live is because of it’s flexibility and functionalities. I highly recommend installing this theme as a foundation to ensure your website is optimized and then customizing it to fit your audience’s needs.
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