F
Filmosity
Guest
Ok, in response to this thread, I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of how to get your shows up as a vidcast. I'll write a more in-depth tutorial later for those who are interested.
First things first: YOU DO NOT NEED AN IPOD TO LISTEN TO PODCASTS. Don't worry, it's a common misconception. I won't hold it against you.
Next, a definition: A podcast is an audio file, most often mp3, that is automatically downloaded to a user's computer via an RSS feed with enclosures. Technically, any file can be downloaded via RSS, but podcasting specifically refers to audio content. A vidcast is a derivative of podcasting, in that video files are downloaded instead of audio files.
The Basics
You're going to need to do some prepwork first. Podcasting and Vidcasting ain't easy, so it's best to get all the technical stuff out of the way first.
1) Get a blog. Any will do. Blogger and WordPress are two popular ones.
2) Set up your RSS feed. FeedBurner is a good free service that will automatically do this for you, and give you an easy-to-remember URL for your feed.
3) Prep, shoot, and edit your video. Keep it relatively short, as the attention span of most vidcast viewers is fairly short. People are finding they don't want to watch long shows on their iPods. Also, file sizes in video can be pretty huge.
4)Export your video. This is the tricky part. I'm finding that the best way to do this is to export as either mpeg4 (.mp4) or .m4v as these offer the best quality for file size. You could do wmv or whatever, but iPods won't play those. Apple was smart/evil enough to require that iPods only take mp4 or m4v. Actually, m4v was developed (I think) specifically for the iPod and vidcasts. You can export an m4v file directly from Quicktime 7 Pro.
5) Upload your file to a server. It can be anywhere, as long as your RSS feed's enclosure points to it. Liberated Syndication (www.libsyn.com) is a good place. It's cheap, and comes with unlimited bandwidth. You also get a blog there, if you're so inclined to use it.
6) Post to your blog with a direct link to the video file. If you've used FeedBurner, the service will automatically update your RSS feed, and viewers podcast aggregators will automatically download the file. It's great in all its automatical goodness.
7) Publicize your podcast. That's a whole long, drawn out mess with lots of drama and intrigue. I'll get into it in the SF magazine.
8) Submit the feed to the iTunes Music Store's podcast directory. Again, long, drawn-out drama.
9) Bask in your vidcast glory.
So yeah, there are many more intricacies to the vidcast/podcast world, but this should get you going. One more important thing: Vidcasting, by its very nature, is a chronological beast. This means that you don't just put up one video and nothing more, and call it a vidcast. One file does not a vidcast make. You have to keep at it. Enjoy your new hobby, but - as with any hobby - make sure you have the time, money, and resources to keep it up.
Look for a full tutorial soon, possibly in the upcoming Student Filmmakers Magazine.
Chris
First things first: YOU DO NOT NEED AN IPOD TO LISTEN TO PODCASTS. Don't worry, it's a common misconception. I won't hold it against you.
Next, a definition: A podcast is an audio file, most often mp3, that is automatically downloaded to a user's computer via an RSS feed with enclosures. Technically, any file can be downloaded via RSS, but podcasting specifically refers to audio content. A vidcast is a derivative of podcasting, in that video files are downloaded instead of audio files.
The Basics
You're going to need to do some prepwork first. Podcasting and Vidcasting ain't easy, so it's best to get all the technical stuff out of the way first.
1) Get a blog. Any will do. Blogger and WordPress are two popular ones.
2) Set up your RSS feed. FeedBurner is a good free service that will automatically do this for you, and give you an easy-to-remember URL for your feed.
3) Prep, shoot, and edit your video. Keep it relatively short, as the attention span of most vidcast viewers is fairly short. People are finding they don't want to watch long shows on their iPods. Also, file sizes in video can be pretty huge.
4)Export your video. This is the tricky part. I'm finding that the best way to do this is to export as either mpeg4 (.mp4) or .m4v as these offer the best quality for file size. You could do wmv or whatever, but iPods won't play those. Apple was smart/evil enough to require that iPods only take mp4 or m4v. Actually, m4v was developed (I think) specifically for the iPod and vidcasts. You can export an m4v file directly from Quicktime 7 Pro.
5) Upload your file to a server. It can be anywhere, as long as your RSS feed's enclosure points to it. Liberated Syndication (www.libsyn.com) is a good place. It's cheap, and comes with unlimited bandwidth. You also get a blog there, if you're so inclined to use it.
6) Post to your blog with a direct link to the video file. If you've used FeedBurner, the service will automatically update your RSS feed, and viewers podcast aggregators will automatically download the file. It's great in all its automatical goodness.
7) Publicize your podcast. That's a whole long, drawn out mess with lots of drama and intrigue. I'll get into it in the SF magazine.
8) Submit the feed to the iTunes Music Store's podcast directory. Again, long, drawn-out drama.
9) Bask in your vidcast glory.
So yeah, there are many more intricacies to the vidcast/podcast world, but this should get you going. One more important thing: Vidcasting, by its very nature, is a chronological beast. This means that you don't just put up one video and nothing more, and call it a vidcast. One file does not a vidcast make. You have to keep at it. Enjoy your new hobby, but - as with any hobby - make sure you have the time, money, and resources to keep it up.
Look for a full tutorial soon, possibly in the upcoming Student Filmmakers Magazine.
Chris
