newsonaut
Turning inner space into outer space
Friday, April 19, 2013
Videolicious takes videos to the next level
There are some great video apps for getting something quick onto Twitter and social networks, but what if you want to create something more elaborate or elegant?
Videolicious does a nice job of stitching video clips and photos together with an introduction and voiceover — just like on TV. And it’s a lot simpler to learn than you might think. The only catch is that the free version limits you to one minute. Still, that’s a lot more than the six seconds you get from Vine.
Videolicious takes you through the production step by step. Choose a few video clips and photos (that you’ve already shot) and save them. Then film yourself talking about them. As you go along, pick which clips are to be shown as you speak.
After that, a nice touch is choosing a song to give the project a mood. A few filters are also available. You then have a choice of standard or high definition. Give it a title, decide how to share it, and you’re done.
A slick, minute-long video is likely more than enough for most situations, but if you want more it’s pricey. Ten minutes plus other features costs $5 per user per month. Unlimited videos are $10.
More posts in the Video category
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Tout is the best alternative to Vine
We’ve been hearing a lot about Vine lately — the app that lets you create six-second repeating videos and post them straight to Twitter. But it’s not the only game in town.
A good alternative is Tout, which has many of the same features as Vine, but allows you to shoot up to 15 seconds and still go straight to Twitter. Even 15 is not a lot of seconds, but you’d be surprised how much you can do in that time if your creative juices are flowing. Like Vine, you can shoot short clips within the allotted time.
Unlike Vine, the Tout videos don’t repeat. Depending on your preferences, that can be a good thing or a bad thing. I say it’s a good thing. Possibly the big disadvantage of Tout is that it doesn’t have the same traction as Vine, so sharing a Tout video via the Tout app won’t get as much attention as it would with Vine.
Still, I like Tout enough that I’m hoping that it becomes at least a viable alternative.
More posts in the Video category
Friday, February 1, 2013
Why journalists are learning to love Vine
Despite the predictions of some grumps, journalists have been taking to six-second Vine videos like ducks to water. And I think I know why.
For the past few years, we — especially in the newspaper business — have been pressured to make videos to go on our websites. We’ve been told that people love videos, and that if we want the paper to survive (along with our jobs), we’d better learn how to use a camcorder.
I have yet to see evidence that visitors to news sites have any special love for videos — other than fires or other mayhem. And yet there are newspapers out there putting the screws to their reporters to create a video for every, single boring story they write.
Many are balking at the idea. They don’t have the time, the inclination or the know-how to produce a half-decent video. They know in their hearts they can’t possibly compete with TV.
But then along comes Vine. Now this is video-making anyone — even the most reluctant journalist — can understand. Just point your smartphone, touch the screen, and you’re done in no time. If you want to be creative, touch the screen multiple times before your six seconds are up.
It also makes more sense from a news point of view. A quick video that automatically posts to Twitter is a darn fine way to capture the moment when there is breaking news.
I predict journalists will soon be posting Vine videos just as often as they now post snapshots of events they’re covering. It’s video that was made for the Internet, and you won’t see anything like it on TV.
More posts in the Video category
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Vine is a great way to capture the moment of a news event
Twitter has introduced an app called Vine that makes it easy to share six-second videos — so what’s not to love?
Jeff Sonderman at Poynter sees the potential. Steve Kovach at Business Insider comes close to gushing. But Mathew Ingram at Giga Om is downright grumpy.
The first thing that came to mind for me was a reporter at the scene of a house fire. A video, even only six seconds, of flames shooting through the roof would be dramatic. What a great way to put people instantly at the scene.
That scenario has not yet come to pass for me, but I did have an inspiration at a recent press conference announcing that our city had won the bid for a major sports tournament. Standing beside the podium were four teenage girls in their uniforms, all members of a curling team. One of them had a big flag, and was waving it back and forth.
She stopped, but I signalled for her to start again and got six seconds with Vine on my iPhone. It wasn’t much, but it helped capture some of the excitement at an event that was otherwise just a bunch of officials taking turns at the microphone.
— Mark Rogers (@newsonaut) January 25, 2013
By the way, another new Twitter feature makes it much easier to embed a tweet in your blog. Just click on More, then Embed Tweet.
As for Vine, I’ll be looking for more opportunities to tweet videos. Like anything else, the more you practise, the better you get.
More posts in the Video category
