Are you posting videos in your blog? If so, how are you recording? Is the quality professional or does that matter? How are you posting or embedding or do you link to an external site?

A goal for me is to do more “head & shoulders” video even though I’m one of the folks @nickmessenger refers to (I don’t do it well:-))

One tool I plan to use is at http://cueprompter.com/ which allows me to script out want I want to say, alter the speed to my inflection style, and record. This should help with the “ums” and “y’knows”

Another thing I’m going to try is an interview style, where I look off camera and transition between points. Pretend Morley Safer is interviewing me, perhaps:-)

@deairby Hi Dea! Excellent question. Quality is an issue, but actually the audio quality of your videos has a bigger impact than the image itself. For recording a cheap, but effective choice is the Kodak Zi-8 or a similar pocket HD camcorder (Samsung, Sony, and Canon also make excellent cameras, but depending on your budget these can get pricey). Then, you can get a cheap lavalier microphone (also known as a lapel mic) like the Audio-Technica 35S for $25 or less. Just make sure that whatever camcorder you use has an external microphone jack (many Sony cameras do not), because you ally don’t want to use the camera’s mic.I also agree with @adigaskell about using a 3rd party site like YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.TV, etc. to host your online videos. You can embed the videos in your blog posts and won’t use up any where near the amount bandwidth you would if you host the videos on your own.Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions!

@donpurdum @nickmessenger @adigaskell @mikesansone @joelgrobertson Great feed back, so much great information, thanks. The only video I have done was for my kickstarter project and I used a borrowed video camera without an extra lavalier. Of course the version I used was about #45! There were still somethings I’d change but it worked, I raised the money.Nick, what is the link to your blog so I can see!

@kristi-hines Screencasting would be an awesome fit for what you do. Let us know when you find the perfect software.

@joelgrobertson why thanks for checking out my kickstarter site and for the Jing info! By the way, my cookbook IS available for sale if you want to make those great looking dishes yourself! http://www.thebaronyork.com 

@mikesansone  Love cueprompter!!
@joelgrobertson  I have a Flipcam, which has no external mic jack, so I’ll take your advice and get a Kodak Zi8 and Audio Technica 35S mic.  Will that mic also work with the Logitech camera on my desktop, or should I purchase a desktop mic for that?  I want the sound quality of both my static and action videos to be great.

Anyone have experience with lighting?  I’ve been advised that 3 lights (pretty reasonable on Amazon) are adequate.

@mikesansone just checked out the link for the cue prompter and I love it! When you film do you use your computer webcam or another camera?Thanks for sharing that link.

@bethnovick The Kodak Zi-8/ lapel mic would be the simplest solution for you. However, the AT 35S should work on your computer too. I’m assuming the Logitech is a webcam? Not sure how the software would work with an external mic, but if it doesn’t let you use one, you could download a free audio recording program like Audacity and record your audio separately. Then, you could sync picture and sound using either Windows Moviemaker (for PC) or iMovie (for Mac). You just connect the microphone into the mic input of your computer and press record for both the audio and video. Just make sure you “slate” the sound if you go this route. This means that while recording both audio and video, you clap your hands together. That way you can match up picture and sound easily.And as for lighting, 3-point lighting is all you need. That includes a key light, fill light, and a backlight. You could get simple clamp work lights from a home improvement store. You’ll have to practice a bit to get them positioned properly, but they can definitely improve the quality of your video.And to just help out a bit more with the lights:Key light = Main light source it shines almost directly on the subject from the front.Fill light = Is used to decrease or eliminate shadows on the subject. It’s positioned at a side angle somewhat near the key light, but is also at a lower position than the key.Back light = just like it sounds, the back light shines on the subject from behind. It’s purpose is to separate the subject from the background.Hope that helps! If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask or message me and I can direct you to some helpful tutorials.

Great conversation, I’m taking notes. 

As for cueprompter, @deairby, I use it most often with a separate camera when I capture interview-like shorts. If I use with the computer’s webcam, I make sure have plenty of motions with my head so it looks less like I’m reading.

@deairby  Your video was lovely.  So glad you got your funding!

@bethnovick I’ll send you a private message with some links. And thanks for visiting the site! We do a weekly podcast and My Bodyguard was a movie we were thinking about covering in 2012. : )

Hi @deairby – I’m answering this as a big blog reader, rather than as a blogger.

It’s the audio quality that determines whether I’ll watch past the 5 second mark.  Ums and uhs don’t bother me but poor sound will drive me away.

The worst ones I’ve encountered are from public speakers who provide short clips of live presentations they’ve done as a way of advertising their services.  Sometimes the sound is so bad, it makes me think they’d get more business without showing video clips.

I do use video in some of my blogs and plan to do more of the same.

A wonderful inexpensive tool to use is JingPro by TechSmith (http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html). The cost is $15.00 a year. The paid version provides you with more options, like sending to your social channels and an easy upload to YouTube.

In my case, much of what I do is instructional so I love the fact you can screen capture. However, you can use it to create video of just you and/or both. 

Another program you might like for the purpose of creating a quick video blog is http://www.Cinch.fm. It’s a free service – you can upload pictures with your audio posts and you can share your posts from Cinch to Facebook and Twitter. 

As @KristiHines mentioned you can also record from within YouTube. 

@blogsbyheather @donnagilliland such helpful information, thanks

@donnagilliland Does Jing Pro follow your mouse around the screen as you video cast? The problem I’m having with the free version of Jing and every video casting software I’ve tried so far is that – when I want to record a region of my screen – I can only record a fixed region. The inability to move around my screen makes the software programs I’ve tried a no-go! 

thanks to all of you experts! this is a collection of wonderful information

@BrittannyHighland I would be glad to. Here’s a link to a quick JingPro video I created on how to control what appears in your Google+ Hovercard. http://youtu.be/Bhga6hfyxbU

Let me know if you have additional questions – I am glad to assist.

I took a course on video/documentary making at local PBS station and just started sharing what I learned on my web site. I was surprised that the topic started getting “likes” and comments.

If you are just getting started look up VideoTrafficAcademy for inexpensive training/coaching.

I use video on every single blog. I also add a short text description so if someone doesn’t have time for the video at least they can get some valuable information.

@Jamericanspice Don’t give up so soon! Believe me, it get’s easier, as it takes a little while for your brain to get use to seeing you. Once it does, the inner critic in you will quiet, and you’ll be able to reach more people with your uniqueness : )

I am very interested in adding video to my blog posts. I’m looking for video options for a tutorial (me navigating a process) as well as a webinar type option, thinking Brainshark for that one. Any advice?

Also why does one choose Vimeo over YouTube?

Thanks!