Web Video: Making It Great, Getting It Noticed (Paperback)

~ Jennie Bourne (Author), (Author)
Key Phrases: video effects, streaming media, daily motion, The Burg, Premiere Pro, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With millions of viewers looking to the Web as their source of entertainment and news, high-quality Web video is in demand like never before. Whether you’re an expert in video production or are just getting started, you need to know how to produce the best video possible for the Web and then make sure it gets seen by a wide audience.

Here to guide you on everything about planning and shooting, editing, choosing a distributor, marketing your video, and making a profit, author and producer Jennie Bourne takes you through the steps to getting your video from concept to prominence on the Web.

Web Video gives you practical, step-by-step instruction and advice from top experts in the field, with hands-on projects and footage available for download at the author’s Web site, www.webvideobook.tv. You’ll learn everything you need to know to create great video, get it noticed, and make it pay off, including:

• Web video production techniques for a variety of genres, including events, interviews, how-tos, video blogs, and news and dramatic shows
• What it takes to make your video a viral hit on the Web
• How to shoot high-quality video that stands out, with real-world tips from Web video professionals
• Editing techniques that draw in viewers and hold their attention
• Compression and formatting tips to make your video look great
• Advice on creating a distribution plan that fits your needs

How to profit from advertising or selling your video

About the Author

Jennie Bourne has produced hundreds of short videos for the Web and built a state-of-the-art Web video studio. Her credits include, launching PulverTV, creating video profiles for the Marconi Society and a documentary on ecological literacy, field producing for German TV, and editing news film for ABC and NBC TV. She anchored the Evening News at WBAI FM, studied film at NYU, journalism at Columbia University, and taught Web video at Rutgers University. She and Burstein are working on a documentary about Macintosh inventor Jef Raskin.

Dave Burstein is the publisher and editor of DSL Prime. An expert on broadband networks and award winning radio host, Burstein organized Web Video Summit where he wowed insiders with one of the world’s first demos of 6-MB HD video streaming live.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (August 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321552962
• ISBN-13: 978-0321552969
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #247,156 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Web Video, making it Expensive!, February 7, 2009

By	Thomas Santomartino "tomsde" (Newark, DE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This is a good book for those who want to make a career out of film, particularly on the web; where it fails is to address the hobbiest who wants to produce decent videos for the web that look good. I am intrigued by the world of web video, and although I'd like to make some money off it some day, I felt that this book was a bit beyond my needs. The author gives many helpful suggestions, and there is no doubt I will profit from her advice in many ways. I did, however, feel the author was a bit condescending to those producing with consumer level cameras and video editing software.

Although I'd love to purchase a professional video camera, industrial strength tripod, lights, expensive microphones, and $1000 + video editing suite--such investments are beyond my resources. Where this book fails miserably is teaching people how to work more successfully with what they already have. The tone is uncompromisingly in favor of professional equipment acquisitions. It also fails to mention (for the most part except in passing) less expensive, yet effective software, that one can grow into--like Sony Vegas Pro 8. Vegas offers all the bells and whistles at a fraction of the cost Adobe Premiere Pro. When it comes to cameras, she failed to mention the Canon Vixia series, which has the inputs for both microphone and headset and shoots in HiDef video. These inputs are what she insists are lacking in consumer level cameras; so I thought they deserved a mention--at least on the books website. One can purchase one of these babies for between $600-$1000 dollars; still too high for many, but offering many of the features that the pro cameras offer.

Unfortunately there are not many books on this topic available. I'd also read YouTube For You, which I found very good at helping people who are starting out; but it doesn't go much beyond that.

So if you are interested in film production and web video I still reccomend it. If you can get your mind around the idea that only professional equipment is what a serious web videographer would use, you can glean much important and often overlooked information. If you do read this book, I'd reccomend hiding all your credit cards and seeing what you can do with what you already have. Perhaps if your video goes viral you will then be able to save enough for the paraphenialia suggested and quit your day job. Until then just keep practicing!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Loaded with information, March 10, 2009

By	John A. Suda (Rochester NY) - See all my reviews

"Web Video" is a comprehensive guide to producing, showing, and marketing online video. It covers the basics of video production hardware and software, web hosting sites, building a production team, film and sound techniques, editing, media formats and compression, and more .

The author, Jenny Bourne, is an experienced and accomplished producer. She has loaded the book with lots of information about the elements of producing quality web video, including tips and recommendations about equipment purchasing and use, guidelines for shooting scenes and editing footage, and creating appealing stories. The book provides guidance on types of shooting: events and interviews, video blogs, news, and how-to videos. There are interesting interviews with accomplished video makers, sample projects, and technical materials on digital processing.

Unfortunately, this abundance of substance is not well organized or expressed. The author repeats statements many times over in different sections of the book. She cautions many times in early chapters, for example, to pay attention to compression issues, but the factors to be considered are mentioned only many chapters later and without prior reference. Much of the writing is of general statements leading the reader to wonder about details. She mentions that some equipment or studio setup is "costly" but gives no figures. In a number of sections, she talks of the differences in shooting for the web versus other media, yet provides (for the most part) little explanation or insufficient detail.

The book is geared primarily to professional-level people although it's promoted as suitable for beginners. The book is illustrated with many color photos, illustrations, sidebar materials, and set outs discussing related material to the primary text.

For readers willing to dig out content, there is plenty of useful material here.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good--just modify the advice to fit your own needs, February 16, 2009

By	Alexander E. Maas "Alex Maas" (San Diego) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Since I am planning to create a videoblog of something that is currently affecting every American, the title of this book got my attention. Since I have absolutely no experience with video whatsoever, even though I have a new videocam, I found the advice useful.

But no I am not going to spend the kind of money that is appropriate for a tv studio. I would suggest that for anyone looking for appropriate software and cannot afford the Mac software or higher--look into Sony Vegas Studio. Available from 99 dollars down to nothing, depending on the rebate situation, it is the most cost effective software for video on Windows computers.

Just look at the reviews on Amazon to find out more. A lot of people try Roxio or other software by Corel or others, but the Sony Vegas software will do what you or I need it to do, and most of these others will not.

I hope all this was helpful to someone.