Friday, December 5, 2008

Start A Video Blog or Vlog

Do you think that you have the potential of Speilberg? Well, no harm in thinking so, as you have the right to think whatever you want! Anyway, why don’t you shoot some videos from your camcorder and start a video blog! A video blog? Yes, a video blog or vlog is when you make a video, link it to your blog and post it on the internet for the whole world to see. Then anyone subscribing to your RSS feed will get notified about your new video which they can then open up in their "feed reader" and view your video by clicking the link.

All you need to start a vlog are:

* A camcorder or a mobile phone or even a web cam (A web cam is fine, but a digital video camera will produce much better results )

* A computer with video editing software installed onto it.

* A blog

* An RSS feed to "syndicate" your content.

Extra tip - Use a separate microphone instead of the microphone built into your camcorder or web cam so that you will be able to produce a much better sound quality. Yes, That’s about all it needs to start a vlog!

What about the topic? You can make a vlog about anything and everything you want, but do pick a topic that you are passionate about ,so that you can continue to make episodes after episodes. Would you like to share your happiness, your talent, a humourous episode, or a product you want to market? Just ANYTHING as long as it holds the attention of your audience!

You can use a variety of video file types like Windows Media, Quicktime, Real Media and MPEG for your vlog. However, two file types stand above the rest if you want to get to a larger audience. They are the FLV (Flash Video) or SWF (Shockwave Flash) file formats so that both the Mac and PC users can view your video files.

After you are done shooting your video you can edit it in the Windows Movie Maker software that comes free with windows XP. Though you can't save it as an .FLV or .SWF, you can save as a Windows Media file (.wmv) and then convert it with converters like Pazera Free Video to Flash Converter 1.1 to any format you want.

Now that you are done and ready with your video, upload it to your blog! For your blog, you can use the free www.blogger.com service whereas to create a feed to syndicate your site, you can use the free service at www.feedburner.com.

Yes, Done! Voila! You have started your very own video blog!

A TINY TIP - With practice, you'll develop your own style.There’s no limit to creativity. Your video doesn't have to be great, just enough to hold the attention of your viewers! Happy shooting!

Next Post – How to use Windows Movie Maker to edit videos for vlog!

Copyright © 2008 Laila Rajaratnam. All Rights Reserved


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