One of the most common questions we get from beginning video producers is “how do I get my video to be more like what I see in movies and TV?” It used to be that everyone was looking for that 24p, shallow depth of field look that film has, but with modern DSLRs that look has become so common it’s no longer an issue for most people. While there’s a lot that new videographers can do to increase the professionalism of their video, the number one thing that separates the amateurs from the pros on the web is audio. You could (successfully) argue that good lighting, editing, and composition is also very rare on YouTube, but in the age of guerrilla filmmaking, even the pros are neglecting many of the fundamentals. If you ever watch reality TV, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. On YouTube, and sites like it, you’ll find videos with varying degrees of production quality. The line that separates amateur from professional is drawn between good and bad audio.

One thing that you will hardly ever see (or hear) from a professional production, however, is bad audio. Why is this the case? Why is a medium that is so heavy on visuals so reliant on audio? The big reason is that humans are very good at absorbing information from a visual source, but not as good with audio. If we see video that’s lacking details, but can easily hear what’s going on, our brains will fill in the blanks where the visuals are lacking. That’s why whenever you see grainy, pxililated dash cam car chases on Silliest Police Chases 19, you can hear every police siren, tire screech, and metal crunch (these sounds are all added in post, but that’s another story). The video itself is ugly and hard to make out, but by being accompanied by good sound, our brains complete the picture for us.

Because we use sound so much to interpret video, bad audio, or audio that is difficult to hear, is extremely frustrating for the viewer, even if the picture is crystal clear. Consider a talking head recorded with the on-camera microphone. It doesn’t matter how great the lighting is, how emasculate the set is, or how crystal clear the picture is; if the viewer has to strain to understand what the person is saying, you can bet they’ll click to the next video. Conversely, if the same person is recording to VHS, in their garage, with natural lighting, but is wearing a lavalier mic, and every word can be heard clearly, the viewer is much more likely to continue watching.

So why is good audio so rare on YouTube? Let’s ignore the videos of cats and planking, where sound isn’t really an issue, and focus on scripted content. Firstly, YouTube directors just don’t think about recording sound when they’re planning their production. This goes back to humans being visual creatures. Just remember that that only means that we need extra help when it comes to audio. Secondly, recording good sound is an added cost on top of the cost of the camera, tripod, lights etc. Thirdly, YouTube directors may simply be inexperienced with audio equipment and be unwilling to invest time and money for a tool they’ve never used before. If that’s the case, there are some great resources out there to help you learn the ropes.

Good audio won’t make up for bad content on YouTube, but if you’re confident in your production, having good sound will elevate your production quality to a level above most everything else on the web. If you pick up an affordable mic and shoot once or twice while capturing good audio, I’m confident you’ll find that it makes such a big difference in your production quality, that you won’t even consider shooting without it again.

We live in an age were most every family in America owns a video camera and editing software, even if they never sought out either. Anyone with an internet connection can put their video online where it can be seen by everyone on the planet. The web has given anyone who wants it, access to far more information than any film school alone can provide. The world of video production has entered a golden age. There are no more excuses not to pursue whatever goals you hope to achieve with video.

In the late ’90s, when the average middle-class American could purchase video editing software to run on the home computer they already owned, it was clear that we were entering a new era of video production. Consumer camcorders were already common, but with non-linear editors entering people’s homes, so too, was a quality of production reserved only for professionals or those willing to spend thousands on uni-tasking equipment.

Consumer video production stayed at that point for about 10 years, as individuals shot SD footage on their home camcorders and edited on their PC or Mac.  In the last few years, however, we’ve seen a surge forward in the process of consumer level video production. It’s a result of computers and cameras getting cheaper, and moving into every electronic device in the home.

When The Blair Witch Project came out, people were amazed that someone could shoot an entire film that would be released world wide, on a simple consumer camcorder. Today, an iPhone 4S could easily take better quality video and cost significantly less. The only reason, I believe, that we haven’t seen a nationally released film shot entirely on a smartphone yet is simply because an upgrade in picture quality and functionality can be purchased for under a thousand dollars.

It’s not just the cost of quality cameras and accessibility of editing software that is bringing good looking video to the masses, it’s also the size. It turns out that a fluid-head tripod capable of supporting a 3lb camcorder doesn’t cost a lot of money. The same can be said about slider dollies, jibs, and even stabilizers.

Of course some equipment is as pricey as it’s ever been. Lights and microphones, for example, don’t seem to be getting any cheaper, but we live in the age of the internet. It’s much easier to learn from others about how to build your own lighting rig, or even record studio quality ADR straight into your laptop or iPad.

Cameras and editing systems are getting cheaper by the day, and the free flow of information on the internet is making it easier than ever to break into video production. As a result, Hollywood is losing its hold on the film industry, which is a good thing for both consumers and producers of great video.

At CES last last month, Videomaker awarded Nikon’s D4 DSLR “Best of Show” for it’s impressive array of features like an ISO range of 50 to 204,800, 1080p video with an uncompressed HDMI output, and an FX-format (36mm x 23.9mm) sensor. Like so many videographers and still shooters alike, we can’t wait to start shooting with this powerful new camera.

And now Nikon is introducing a number of new models to its Coolpix lineup to which video producers looking for affordable, easy to use, entry-level cameras should pay attention. Particularly, the Coolpix P510.

The P510, the replacement for the P500, boasts a 42x wide-angle NIKKOR lens (24-1000mm) with advanced optical image stabilization. The camera matches this lens with a 16.1 megapixel CMOS sensor. And much like Sony’s NEX3 and NEX5, Nikon’s P510 3.0 inch (931K dot) LCD screen tilts up and down for improved viewing of shot composition.

And what about video?

The P510′s video capability includes full HD (1080p) with stereo sound. The NIKKOR lens on this camera is capable of a whopping 42x optical zoom and this expansive zoom capability can be utilized when shooting video. The presence of VR image stabilization means that video should stay clear even when the zoom is pushed to the extreme.

This new camera, along with the rest of the upgraded Coolpix line, is now available. At an announced price of $430, the Nikon P510 looks to be a camera that both photographers and videographers alike may want to consider adding to their toolkit.

We frequently get questions from video creators about the rules for making use of other creators’ work in their own projects.

If a piece of art was created so long ago that its copyright has expired and it’s since fallen into the public domain, you’re free to make use of it any way that you want. (To learn more about using archival footage in your videos, check out our  informative Archival Storytelling book) But if a piece of art is still under copyright, you’ll want to make sure that you’re in the clear. Most U.S. Creators are aware of a legal doctrine here in the States called “fair use,” an exception to copyright law that lets you make use of copyrighted material for your own artistic purposes. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of confusion about exactly what constitutes fair use. Let’s try and clear up some of the misconceptions so you can better understand when you can incorporate others’ material into your videos.

(First, please be aware that nothing said by Videomaker should be construed as legal advice. If you’re really worried about your rights, you should consult an attorney or legal expert before you make any rash decisions.)

Here are some common misconceptions that we see from video creators:

“This counts as Fair Use because I gave credit to the original artist.” Giving credit where it’s due is always a best practice – and just good manners. However, giving credit does NOT instantly bestow fair use protection upon you. At best, a polite tip of the hat may encourage the original artist to allow you to use their work for free. But this is entirely up to the artist’s discretion. They don’t have to let you use their work just because you acknowledged that they are the original creator and, if they don’t like what you’ve done, they can still try to make you remove it.

“I’m not making any money off of this, so it must be fair use.” Again, whether or not you make money can be a consideration in fair use, but it is not dispositive. In fact, some fair use works can be sold for profit. The fact that you’re not profiting may again make the original artist more sympathetic to your case, but it doesn’t mean that you’re automatically covered by fair use.

“I found this original artwork on the Internet, so obviously it’s free for me to use.” Just because an artist places his or her work on the Internet does not mean that they are giving you carte blanche permission to use it as you will. The same copyright restrictions that apply offline still apply online.

Again, acknowledging that you don’t own the original artistic work, giving credit to the original artist or using a work without any intention to profit will often encourage an original artist to let you use his work, but it does not necessarily mean that your work will fall under fair use.

You’ll always want to make sure that you’ve got your rights protected when you put together a video project.  Besides Archival Storytelling, you can get more help in keeping your project legally in the clear with our Indie Film/Video Legal Documents DVD.

Shooting and working in 4K is nothing new to professional film makers and compositors, but with the announcement of the JVC GY-HMQ10 being priced at under $5,000, 4K is finally within reach of prosumer and hobbyist videographers. However, most TVs and computer monitors will still max out at 1080p, so what’s the point? Personally, I don’t see 4096 × 3112 pixel TVs entering the average American’s living room any time soon, since if you’re sitting ten feet from the screen, the TV will have to be 80 inches before you’ll be able to see the difference between 4k and 1080p.

Even if your final output is still 1920×1080, you’re still going to get quite a bit of use out of 4k footage once you’re in post production. 4K footage is a whopping four times as many pixels as 1080p, and if you’ve ever had the experience of editing HD footage down to a final SD output, you know those extra pixels are a glorious luxury to have. It’s not uncommon to have a shot you’d like to crop and re-frame in post, and if you have four times the pixels, the amount of flexibility you have is enormous.

Additionally, shooting high resolution for green screen keying will make your keying process much simpler. With four times the data, your keying software should have an easier time differentiating the green pixels you want to key from the edges of your subject. Similarly, if you plan on doing any motion tracking, a more detailed image should help your tracker to stay on the points you’ve defined.

Now for the bad news. Much higher resolution images means much bigger files. The JVC GY-HMQ10 shoots to a variable bit rate h.264 file, which should be manageable, but if you’re editing in Final Cut Pro and have to trans-code to ProRes, file sizes are going to be enormous. If storage is a problem, plan on shooting in 4k selectively, and sticking to 1080p for the bulk of your footage.

It’s worth noting that with files being compressed to h.264, much of the color data will be lost. We’re excited to get our hands on some GY-HMQ10 footage to see exactly what we can do with it.

Video shooters of all expertise levels, from novice to pro, are always looking for the fastest way to get big chunks of data off the camera and into their editing programs.  For the majority of us, that now means pulling images and video off an SD card and onto our computer’s hard drive.  In managing this process there are usually three primary considerations: speed, capacity, and compatibility.  Leveraging both 2.0 and 3.0, Verbatim has announced its new USB 3.0/USB 2.0 Universal Card Readers and USB 2.0 Pocket Card Reader – compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems.

(For years USB 2.0 was the standard. Then USB 3.0, launched in 2010, increasing transfer speeds by a factor of 10.  For more background on USB, read the Videomaker article about USD 3.0.)

Universal Card Readers

These new readers support a wide variety of memory card formats and are 100% compatible with all USB ports. Verbatim indicates that the USB 3.0 device delivers transfer speeds of up to 5GB/second, while the USB 2.0 version transfers data at a rate of up to 480MB/second.

Memory cards supported by both the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Universal Card Reader include: CompactFlash Type I & Type II (CF), Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), miniSD, microSD, Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro (M2), MultiMedia Card (MMC) and xD-Picture Card (xD).

The USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Universal Card Readers are available for $14.99 and $24.99, respectively.

USB 2.0 Pocket Card Reader

Sporting an integrated USB cable, Verbatim’s  Pocket Card Reader is just as its name suggests. The portable, pocket-sized multi-functional reader supports a wide variety of formats, including compatibility with SD, Memory Stick and MMC interfaces.   Memory cards supported by the Pocket Card Reader include: Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), miniSD, microSD, Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro (M2), MultiMedia Card (MMC)

The Pocket Card Reader is available for $9.99.

As the transfer speeds of readers like these increase and the compatibility of the readers with a multitude of card types adds to their versatility, videographers will find them more and more indispensable.