This 3:46 video shows you where to get FREE Royalty Free Video Clips.

In order to edit together a compelling video, you need to have quality video clips to use.  Shooting them yourself is not always an option due to budget, time and travel constraints.  In those cases, Royalty Free video clips are the answer.

WHAT ARE ROYALTY FREE VIDEO CLIPS?

Royalty Free video clips are shots that you pay a one-time fee for in exchange for the right to use them in your projects.  Most royalty free video clips come with a limited license, you do not OWN the clips but you can use them in certain ways.  Contracts differ (so ALWAYS read them) but generally speaking, Royalty Free licensing lets you use the clips in any project that you do not then turn around and sell as a royalty free video for others to download and use.  In other words, I can not take royalty free shots, repackage them superficially, then sell it as my own product.  What the R.F. video companies are trying to avoid is someone using their own clips in a competitive way against them. Other than that, you can use the clips in any type of project.  Videos  you give away, and videos you sell.

Using Royalty Free video clips is usually much less expensive than shooting them yourself and it is certainly faster.  If I need a shot of an Egyptian pyramid, you can rest assured that paying $75 or $100 for a royalty free shot is faster and cheaper than me humping it over to Egypt with a video camera!  (Although no doubt the trip would be fun and I am sort of bummed that I can not go!)

Having said that, paying $75 or $100 bucks for every single shot of a 5 minute video is going to get expensive.  (If a shot lasts 10 seconds, you’d need thirty shots to fill five minutes.  30 x 75 = $2,250.)

Since I edit a lot, I am constantly on the look-out for quality royalty free video clips.  I have amassed a huge library of R.F. clips because I simply never know when I am going to need that pyramid shot.

I discovered an awesome resource the other day for FREE Royalty Free video clips that I wanted to pass on.   What is better than free? Free AND high quality with lots to choose from.

The clips at Bottled Video.com are professionally shot AND completely free.  As of this writing, they have a total of 10,604 clips to choose  from.  Not only are all the clips free, but you do not even have to sign up for an account.  There are no upsells and no obligations.  They do not even have your name and email address so they could not upsell you even if they wanted! 

HOW DID SUCH A GOOD DEAL COME ABOUT?

My first question was: “How can they do this?”  Being the cynical sort, I figured there had to be a catch somewhere.  So I asked David Schmerin, the owner to explain.  Turns out, he has been in the video business selling Royalty Free clips for a very long time.  He has been so successful at it that he now is in the enviable position of being able to turn his business into philanthropy.  Below, I have pasted his exact response to my email inquiry.

INTERVIEW WITH DAVID SCHMERIN, OWNER OF BOTTLED VIDEO.COM

Just about 20 years ago I started a web site called Wrightwood.com which is the oldest royalty free stock footage site on the internet. While
Wrightwood.com is still up and running, over the years we expanded into a site called GotFootage.com where instead of licensing royalty free stock footage collections we created the first site to allow individuals to license and download individual clips. From there we expanded to GotFootageHD.com which is the same as GotFootage.com but licenses only HD materials.

Here I am now some twenty years later… One day something happened to me. I received a call from a student looking for a deal on one clip because they just didn’t have any money and I sort of just snapped. Suddenly it seemed like every person over 20 years I had to say I could not help if they didn’t have any money was weighing in on my shoulders. I turned to my wife and partner and said that I have a lot of Karma to make up for. Since money was no longer an issue in my life, BottledVideo.com was born.

Right now we currently have just over 10,500 clips on BottledVideo. Every clip on BottledVideo is from our private library and more clips will be added from our pay sites to the free site every week until all 100k clips in my library are available for free.

So the short answer is no I do not make any money from BottledVideo.com nor is making money the goal of the site. The goal of the site is to give back to the next generation for everything those who came before have done for me, my family, and my life.

THANKS DAVID!

I personally applaud David and his team for being so generous.  They do not have to do this but I am glad they did.  I spent all afternoon yesterday downloading clips.  I like the fact that these clips are REAL, not staged.  Staged shots look staged and sometimes that is perfectly OK, but I am a reality lover so I prefer unstaged.   They have real doctors performing real surgeries.  Real soldiers.  Real cops.  Real chefs.  The list is very long and David promises it is destined to get even longer.

So head on over to Bottled Video.com and start downloading!

Thanks for reading Video Production Tips.

Lorraine Grula

Internet Video Gal

Who wouldn’t? 

Video Production Tips, in conjunction with the fine folks at WeVideo, are  holding a contest to see who can edit the most compelling video with the WeVideo system.

First prize is a Sony HD Bloggie video camera, the MHS-CM5 to be exact. It retailed for $350.

Second and third prizes are a one-year FREE PLUS membership with WeVideo, an $83 value.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN?

It’s simple.  All you have to do is go to WeVideo and set up a free account.  (That is NOT an affiliate link)  Play around with it, do some editing.  Then, email me with a link to your finished video plus an analysis of WeVideo.  How does it compare to other video editing you’ve used?  If you’ve never edited video at all, tell me whether you found it difficult or not and that sort of thing.

You do not have to tell me that you LOVED WeVideo to win, I am looking for a thoughtful critique.   Something that shows you actually used WeVideo and are not just submitting a video you entered in some other contest last year!

CRITERIA USED FOR JUDGING

I am looking for creativity and storytelling with your editing.   Your video does not necessarily have to be a highly complex wonder that took tons of time and includes every editing technique known to the world.  But I am looking for clever, creative storytelling.  WeVideo features lots of royalty free music and easy graphics for you to play with.  Use them creatively to make your points and tell a story.

I am not going to be judging the individual video clips and their quality so you can use royalty free clips or video you shot yourself.  You can even use still pictures.    Or 100% graphics is OK too.  This is an EDITING contest, so do not sweat the shooting part of the production.

You MUST use WeVideo to edit your video.  A video edited with any other system does not qualify.

I am writing this post on Monday, November 7, 2011.  I will announce the winner on Christmas Eve so you have nearly 2 months to think and edit!

I will post as many video entries as as I can so we can all learn about storytelling and video.  As I often say, storytelling is the heart of any video.  So many video courses concentrate on the technical stuff, which is important of course, but not nearly as important as storytelling.   Storytelling is what connects with your audience.   They do not care what kind of camera you used or how you set your lights.  They just want to see a memorable video that touches their emotional buttons.

To learn more about the WeVideo system and how it works, click here for another VPT blog post.

Good luck to everyone and if you have questions, leave them in the comments section below and i will answer them here for everyone to see.

Thanks for reading Video Production Tips.

This 4:51 video describes the new, in-the-cloud online video editing system called WeVideo. 

I’ve just announced a contest involving WeVideo.  Click here for details.

NEW ONLINE VIDEO EDITING PLATFORM

We Video is  a new online, in-the-cloud video editing membership service that allows you to use their servers and video editing software system to put together your video online.  Anytime you have an open project inside WeVideo, you have easy access to essential elements like royalty free music, transitions and pre-animated graphics.

If you are looking for an easy way to edit video without buying or installing anything, then WeVideo would be of interest to you. It’s in-the-cloud nature allows you to edit from any internet connection, even if all you have is your Smart Phone or Touch Pad.

Pardon my amazement at ability of having access to full video editing through a telephone!

WeVideo Makes video editing accessible to everyone with internet connection

WeVideo is on a mission to give everybody the capacity to edit professional-looking videos easily and cheaply. We Video is a video editing system that is all online. There’s nothing to download, no software to buy or install. All you need is a membership to we video. You can start with a free account to see if you like it. I signed up the other day to see how well their system works. I found their claims to be very true; it was indeed amazingly robust and fairly easy to use. I was editing instantly after uploading my clips. Now, let me say that I do think it helped that I already know how to edit video and the WeVideo system is very similar to standard video editing software. So it was easy to find my way around, but if you are not as familiar with video editing, then it will take a bit more time to learn, but honestly, it is still quite easy and you can absolutely master their system.

WeVideo is not an automated editing system like Animoto, although they do have a feature called the video wizard which will automate part of the process if you wish. But generally, we video is more like standard video editing, it’s just that you do it in the cloud, and not on your own computer. So you have complete control over how your finished video looks, which is not the case for automated systems like Animoto. But of course, WeVideo will not be as fast or brainless as Animoto either. So both systems have their advantages.

Here is the process of using WeVideo in a nutshell.

First, I uploaded some video clips. WeVideo can accept clips taken on any device, camera or telephone, so that compatibility alone is pretty cool. Once the clips were in my account, I created a project and put the clips into the project.

Essentially, it is a drag and drop system, so you just put whatever clip you want to use down in the timeline in whatever order you want. The timeline of course is where you build your finished video, that is standard for all video editing systems.

Now, one cool thing with WeVideo is that they have royalty free music ready for you to use, all you have to do is select a clip and put it in your time line. They also have sound effects, transitions and easy titles and graphics. Some of the titles are even pre-animated. They also have a system where you can record audio and upload it as you record. I was able to use my webcam to upload some narration. I had to bring the volume control down pretty low to keep it from over modulating, so if you’re getting a lot of red in this volume meter, take it down a notch or two. But t his is a great feature, being able to record and upload the audio right into your project.

WeVideo gives you multiple video lines and audio lines, so make sure and put stuff on the correct line. Graphics and titles go on top of the video. As you can see, the music can be brought up and brought down, all you have to do is click on a point and move this line up or down. This is how you will mix narration and music. You also have lots of options for transitions, which you place between two clips. The WeVideo system lets you add as many lines as you need.

Once you are done editing, you can easily export from we video straight to YouTube, Facebook or other video destination sites. You can also post the video on your blog or website. Or, you can download it to your computer. This saves you the headache of having to convert and upload the video yourself. It’s already online, and WeVideo will automatically create the correct video file format.  That alone is a big help.

Who would benefit from using WeVideo?

All-in-all, WeVideo is a good solution for people who want to edit video but do not want to invest in a huge and powerful desktop computer and the software it takes to edit. You can access We Video from any internet connection, so you can now edit video on your smart phone or tablet!

You can also invite others into your account for collaborative editing and sharing of clips. WeVideo is pushing this aspect quite hard. They’ve got a growing community so you will find plenty of like-minded people on the site you can collaborate with or learn from.

We video is brand new, it’s still in beta but the system worked flawlessly for me and I was truly impressed!  WeVideo  makes video editing accessible to anyone and it’s so easy a child, or even a grandparent can use it!  Make your videos more fun to watch with video editing.

I hope this information helps you make better videos! I’m Lorraine Grula for Video Production Tips.  Thanks for reading.

This 13 minute video tutorial shows you how to use mattes and layers in video editing. 

WHAT ARE MATTES AND LAYERS?

Mattes allow you to cut out portions of a shot.  You can then put that cut-out shot on top of another shot so that both images show on the screen at once.  That’s called layering.  Any time you see more than one image on the screen at once, like a logo on top of a product shot, that’s  layering. Often, the shot on top has been shrunk or matted in order to let the image below show too.  Other times, the shot on top has a transparent background to allow the shot below show through.

(In case you are not already aware, in video editing, the shot on top is what shows.  If it has not been shrunk or matted, it will completely cover up what is underneath.  To allow what is underneath to show, you have to somehow eliminate some of the top shot.  The video tutorial shows this if this text description does not make total sense.)

Both layering and matting techniques are demonstrated in this tutorial.  Additionally, I show other ways to alter your shot, like sizing.  Final Cut is the software used in this demonstration, but since most video editing programs are more alike than they are different, the techniques shown will probably be similar to whatever program you’re using.

Using mattes and layers are both fairly advanced video editing techniques but they certainly are not difficult once you know how.  Layering in particular is extremely common.  If you place words on top of a shot, that’s layering.  Many of the videos I edit will have 20 or 30 layers. Not all video editing programs can handle that many layers but advanced programs can handle up to an infinite number.  I can not fathom needing to use more than 50, no matter how complex your project.  Generally speaking, I use at least 5 or 10 layers in a basic video.

Final Cut has a variety of mattes and they are accessed by selecting the correct filter.  Some mattes will give you a specific shape and others allow you to mold a shape.  Mattes are different than eliminating the background using green screen or by lowering the opacity.  (Opacity is related to transparency.  If you lower the opacity of a shot you can see through it.  If you bring the opacity down to zero, the shot will disappear.)  If you want to cut an object out precisely,  you need to use green screen or have a completely transparent background.  Mattes are more like a cropping tool.

The video tutorial dissects and analyzes the timeline I created when I edited together a Mother’s Day video using still pictures of babies.  If you want to see the final video, here it is!

I hope this tutorial helps you learn more about video editing.  If you have questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below.  I will answer all the questions in order to help all readers.

Thanks for reading Video Production Tips!

Lorraine Grula

Internet Video Gal

On the other hand, if you have incompatible files or if there is a breakdown in the system, it can seem next to impossible to transfer your video.

The problem could be either a software or hardware issue.  Here is a quick checklist of potential problems.

Cable: Video files are transferred using either a firewire cable or a USB2.  These cables are not indestructible by any stretch of the imagination.  Cheap cables sometimes do not work for the get-go!  If you have successfully transferred video in the past and all of a sudden your system stops working, it could be your cable has a break in it.  Or, the ends of the cable might no longer be functioning.

Fried Out Ports: This is extremely common.  The ports going into  your computer or, the one on your camera might be  fried.  Something as seemingly minor as a tiny electrical spark can blow a port.  This is why you ALWAYS WANT TO HAVE YOUR CAMERA OFF WHEN PLUG IT IN OR OUT.  If the camera is on, electricity is flowing through it.  Yanking the cable out of the port without shutting off the camera first can cause a spark that might destroy your ports.  I have seen this happen A LOT.   I have seen cameras rendered unusable because the output port is blown.

Basic Incompatibility: A computer and a camera might not be able to communicate due to incompatibility.  If you are trying to import data in a file version that your software does not accept, then you will get the error saying it’s not recognized.  The only real way to solve this is to get some different software or a camera that shoots in a different format.

In any of these situations, the error message will read that your computer does not “recognize” your camera.   This means that the computer is unable to read any data off the camera.

STEP-BY-STEP

Timing is another factor to consider.  Some software programs will not read the camera if you have the program open first and then turn the camera on.  So, plug in the camera first, turn it on, and then open the program. If it is compatible and all the ports are working, your camera should be recognized right away.  If it doesn’t, then you need to figure out if it is a software issue or a hardware issue.

I hope this information  helps you make video!

Lorraine Grula

Take a gander at this video full of the incredible super slow motion footage just released by Footage Firm.

Unbelievably, they are GIVING away the footage and you just have to pay shipping.

Slow motions shots can grab a viewers attention in a way standard video can not.  Slow motion is a great effect that can be used creatively in multiple ways.  Problem is, high-quality slow mo is NOT that easy to get.  That’s why this Footage Firm collection is such a great deal.

Footage Firm used the incredible Phantom HD Gold, a high-end video camera so sophisticated and expensive there are only 150 in the world!  It costs about $150,000.  Needless to say, getting the slow-mo footage from Footage firm  is quite a bargain compared to that!

Phantom HD Gold High-End Video Camera

Getting a good slow motion shot takes sophisticated equipment plus really good lighting.  If you’re trying to shoot slow-mo on your own, you don’t necessarily need something as high-end as the Phantom Gold, but don’t bother wasting your time trying to get good slow mo with your basic cheap model camcorder.  It won’t happen.  Here is why.

Standard video records at 30 frames per second.  Standard motion picture film records at 24 frames per second.  Virtually everything that moves  goes WAAAAY too fast for that.  If you look at standard 30-frame-per-second video of a moving object, each individual frame will look blurry.  There is no way to get rid of this blur once it has been recorded.  Especially in a lower light situation, a standard model camcorder will record blurry individual frames of anything moving .  It looks OK played back at regular speed, but if you slow it down the blur becomes real obvious and even overwhelming.

To get great slow motion video, you have to record at a rate MUCH faster than 30-frames-per-second. Inexpensive camcorders simply will not do this, more expensive ones will.

The Phantom HD Gold is the best of the best.  They tout it as “not just a high-speed camera.”  The sales literature describes it as, “an instrument that gives the cinematographer 35mm depth of field either at HD or 2K resolutions with stunning results. The Phantom HD GOLD combines the visual quality of high-definition imaging with the high frame rates of specialty cameras.

This kind of camera is meant for high-budget productions.  Videos like TV commercials, music videos, or motion pictures.  Let Footage Firm spend the money on this camera, you can just buy their video clips.

The Phantom HD GOLD allows you to select any frame rate from 1 to 1,000 fps in increments of one frame-per-second at HD resolution. Shift the frame rate a little and move the scene to a slightly future viewpoint.

Shift the frame rate a lot and move the scene to some long passing moment in time. With the Phantom HD GOLD camera’s shutter, variable to 1/500,000 second, and radically adjustable framing rates, you have seamless control of the duration, speed and time of a story element.

Short of using a camera like the Phantom Gold, most video cameras in the $1,000 and up range do allow you to vary the shutter speed.  Make sure and shoot with PLENTY OF LIGHT.   You need more light with a fast shutter.

To get exceptionally good slow-mo, recording at 1,000 frames a second or even higher is recommended.  How high can you go?

The high-speed photography pioneer Harold Edgerton of M.I.T. shot his famous pictures at speeds of up to several million frames a second.  He used the highest speeds for his atomic bomb shots.  Other shots like this bullet-through-the-apple below were done at a mere hundred thousand frames per second.

You can get reasonable quality slow-mo without going to those extremes.  If you record at 1,000 frames a second and then play it back at the standard film rate of 24 frames per second, or video rate of 30fps, you get a fantastic looking slow motion effect.   Each frame is crisp and clean with little blur, unless your subject is moving AWFULLY FAST.

On all the video cameras I have ever used, controlling the shutter was a simple matter of flipping a switch.   These cameras allowed you to set the shutter at any one of about ten different speeds, up to a pace of 5,000 times per second.  These were $10,000 dollar or higher video cameras.

As technology improves, this feature is coming to less expensive cameras.  The Casio Ex-F1, retailing for just $1,000, was touted as the “world’s fastest camera.”  They, of course, mean for the price range.  It was actually a digital still camera that shoots video.  You can check out the quality by watching the goose video below.  Obviously not as good at the Pahantom gold, but it’s $149,000 cheaper too!

For still shots, the EX-F1 records 60 frames a second. When shooting video, you can set it to 300, 600, or 1,200 frames per second.  For the price, this is a remarkable achievement.  You will get smooth slow-mo video of most moving objects at these speeds.

Of course for the absolute EASIEST and LEAST EXPENSIVE way to get high quality slow motion footage is to order it from Footage Firm.  They have glass breaking explosions, water dripping, and other liquids, like paint splattering.  It’s fantastic video.

Thanks for reading Video Production Tips

Lorraine Grula

Internet Video Gal

The amount of RAM you have on your computer is probably the single biggest determinant in how fast your editing system runs.  More, obviously, is better.  (RAM stands for Random Access Memory.  The more you have, the more capacity your computer has to run a large amount of files at the same time.)

How Much RAM do you need?

512 MB of RAM is considered the minimum requirement today.  Granted, some programs say the minimum requirement is 128MB but honestly, that quantity will probably leave you a bit frustrated.    It is actually best to have several GB of RAM space.

Next to the CPU, RAM is the most important element in your computer for determining speed. Even if you have a fast CPU, a lack of RAM will leave your edit computer performance sluggish.

Why is that?   If you don’t have enough RAM, you can’t have a bunch of huge files open at once.   Video files are of course some of the largest files of all.

When you open a file, the hard drive delivers that file and puts it into RAM where you can work on it.  The next file you open will also be loaded into RAM.  If there’s not enough RAM to store both files, the first file will be taken out of RAM to make room for the second.  This takes time and slows your computer down to a snail’s pace.  And of course, if you actually need both files at the same time, then what?

FREEZE UP AND CRASH!!!

So,  if your edit computer is too slow, or you experience a lot of crashes, probably the simplest and least expensive way to fix that is to put in more RAM.

Thanks for reading Video Production Tips.

Lorraine Grula