Video on the Web:

David Lee KingDigital Branch & Services Manager

Topeka & Shawnee County Public Librarydavidleeking.com

A Primer

between blip and youtube, it’s been watched over 34,000 times

Rocketboom is a three minute daily videoblog based in New York City. We cover and create a wide range of information and commentary from top news stories to quirky internet culture.

We differ from a regular TV program in many important ways. Instead of costing millions of dollars to produce, Rocketboom is created with a consumer-level video camera, a laptop, two lights and a map with no additional overhead or costs. Also, Rocketboom is distributed online, all around the world and on demand, and thus has a much larger potential audience than any TV broadcast. However, we spend $0 on promotion, relying entirely on word-of-mouth, and close to $0 on distribution because bandwidth costs and space are so inexpensive. While TV programs have traditionally been uni-directional, Rocketboom engages its international audience in a wide range of topical discussions.

I actually got a mention on Rocketboom last year – I took a photo of those AT&T billboards and dropped it into flickr… and they mentioned it and me… wow.

Rocketboom has been around for a couple of years – 1st video, Oct 26, 2004 - (Amanda Congdon)

In that time, they have:

Gotten over 400,000 viewers PER DAYGone global – this screenshot is from Rocketboom JapanThey are on Tivo and iTunesThey sometimes get $40,000 for including a commercial – and they have 100% creative control of that commercial…

And the creators got in a fight. Notice “2.0”? Where’s Amanda?

Amanda was Unboomed

You might have heard about this in the news – this spat made every major newspaper, and she was interviewed on CNN because of it.

All from a videoblog done in someone’s apartment livingroom. Wow!

Time Magazine

Many Types of Web Video

News Video

TV Shows

Web Shows

Screencasting

Machinima

Lifecasting

Mobile Live Video

Videoblog

How do you find them?

How do you watch them?

Simple answer

just click on one!

More involved answer• Need a computer & web (broadband

required)

• Need a video player

• windows media player, quicktime, flash

Video player – podcasting is pretty much all done in mp3 format, so it’s kinda standardized. Not so with videoblogging.

Video aggregator – it not only reads content, like bloglines… it also knows what to do with enclosures. When it finds an enclosure in the blog post, it can automatically download the media file for you, and even drop it onto your iPod for you.

Coolest way to watch?• Video aggregator

• iTunes, Fireant, MeFeedia

• syncs to iPods, etc

• PSP

• Apple TV or Tivo

PSP = PlayStation Portable

How do you create them?

time

Need a video camera

• Mini-DV camcorders

• cheapie web cam and mic

• mobile phone (moblogging)

Hint - some laptops have built-in videocameras and mics...

Need video editing software• Free & Cheap:

– Apple’s iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Avid Free DV

– Quicktime Pro

– Power Director

– Ulead’s Video Studio

• Pricey & Powerful:

– Adobe’s Video Suite

– Final Cut Pro

online video editing

• get an account

• edit videos online

• eyespot, jumpcut, motionbox, The-N, VideoEgg, Grouper, VMix, etc.

Need a blog

• any will do

• enclosures for rss 2.0 feed

• feedburner is easy and free

Formats

• Not easy like podcasting and mp3 files

• quicktime .mov

• iPod .m4v

• Flash

– Many video sites use flash (YouTube)

– Hard to download for later viewing

Hard to download flash – I lied a little. You can, if you find the right software… not sure if that’s legal, though. Just sayin.

http://www2.zamzar.com/ - one place to convert files…

Oh yeah – you also need an idea!

Storage and Access

One: store them yourself

• ... if you can handle the bandwidth

• Going to need a server packed with memory

• Possibly a media server – Quicktime/WMV type thing

Two: Let someone else store them

• Ourmedia

• blip.tv

• Internet Archive

• others

Lots of video sites popping up: youtube, blip.tv, ourmedia, internet archive, vimeo, etc (this can be another slide)

Notice who’s there – Google, Yahoo, Myspace, and AOL…

What can libraries do with them?

Show some examples…

1. Anything Goes is the title of The Orlando Poetry Troupe's performance at the Orlando Public Library as part of National Poetry Month events.

2. Finny the Fox Comes to WPL Meet Finny the Fox! He lives at the Columbus Zoo and visited the Library as part of the Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales reading program. He is an example of an African fox, the world's smallest fox. Watch Finny! Find out which types of food he likes to eat and whether he sleeps during the day or night. Can you guess the name of his favorite toy?

From Westerville Public Library Podcasts.3. Kenton County Public Library - Off the Shelf - Reel Reads

Learn about the Library's Reel Reads program where books and movies meet.

This is key!

Traditional ideas…• book talk

• Bibliographic instruction

• PR for the library

• Showing off exhibits

• Interviews

• Film your events

• Tutorials – how to use the catalog

These don’t have to be boring!screencasting!

More interesting ideas:

• Cultural memory project – video history rather than oral history

• Local news – happy news from around your branch

• Collaborative – video contests for teens

• environmental: discuss environmental issues and nature (invite the zookeeper)

• behind the scenes: what goes on at the library?

Overview of Studio - i at ImaginOn

A multimedia production studio where teens bring stories to life! Teens can express themselves through video in Studio-i! Visitors will produce both animated and live action videos, and combinations of the two. Techniques include: blue screen technology stop-motion animation paper cut-out animation claymation shadow puppet animation 2D (cel) animation Live action digital videos, such as newscasts, reviews of movies/books, Family Video Logs, talk shows and game shows can all be created in Studio i.

Slightly whacked-out ideas:• Travel:

– videoblog local attractions

– anyone going out of the country?

• Political: invite local candidates in to discuss something

• Hobbies / Lifestyles: lifestyles and hobbies (patrons, staff, prominent citizens) in a TV Magazine format

Need more info?

Books

Books! There are currently 4 books out about videoblogging. All done by videobloggers.

Groups.yahoo.com/group/videoblogging/