Archives
August 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
7:10:00 AM PDT
Feeling Ecstatic
Hearing The Hold Steady
Have you ever looked at the “most popular” or “most comments”? Was your video there? NO? Well, here are some simple tips on how to get the most mileage out of your viral video:
1) Keep it short! Unless you’re Ingmar Bergman or Orson Welles (may they rest in peace) and you need the full 10 minute time-limit to tell your epic Viral Tale… keep it under 30 seconds. Don’t you know that the VideoSurfer’s time is precious? If they’re not getting any payoff within the first few seconds, they’re gonna bail.
2) Don't Suck! - I’m not going to tell you what to shoot, but try and film something cool, cute, funny, or strange. Be original! But if you can’t pull that off, at least be a good copycat. Ask yourself one question: “Is my video interesting?” Chances are... it is... but is it great?
3) Choose Your Thumbnail Wisely – it’s the single most important part of your video. No matter how good your video is, no one will know if you have a lame thumbnail. Think of it as your movie poster or trailer. With a crappy thumbnail, your masterpiece may go unnoticed!
As of now on AOL Video, there is no thumbnail selection tool, but what we should tell you is that the thumbnail is automatically generated at the 4th second. So whatever frame is present at the 4th second of your video, will be your thumbnail image.
Although you can’t select the exact thumbnail on the site, there is still something you can do about it. Either edit your video ahead of time, so the frame at the 4th second is preselected, or you can use the “trim tool”.
Where is this “trim tool”, you ask? It’s actually hard to miss, so pay attention! On the second step of the upload process, after you’ve selected your file (but before you upload), look at the timeline & you’ll find it. There’s a trim tool handle at the start of the time line, & at the end. Look at the screen shot below.
What you’ll need to do, is drag the "in point" (starting point) to where you want it. Click the play button, wait 4 seconds & see what you get. If you like the image, you’re golden. Otherwise, try again.
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7:10:00 AM PDT
Feeling Ecstatic
Hearing The Hold Steady
Knowing is Half the Battle – Part I
Have you ever looked at the “most popular” or “most comments”? Was your video there? NO? Well, here are some simple tips on how to get the most mileage out of your viral video:
1) Keep it short! Unless you’re Ingmar Bergman or Orson Welles (may they rest in peace) and you need the full 10 minute time-limit to tell your epic Viral Tale… keep it under 30 seconds. Don’t you know that the VideoSurfer’s time is precious? If they’re not getting any payoff within the first few seconds, they’re gonna bail.
2) Don't Suck! - I’m not going to tell you what to shoot, but try and film something cool, cute, funny, or strange. Be original! But if you can’t pull that off, at least be a good copycat. Ask yourself one question: “Is my video interesting?” Chances are... it is... but is it great?
3) Choose Your Thumbnail Wisely – it’s the single most important part of your video. No matter how good your video is, no one will know if you have a lame thumbnail. Think of it as your movie poster or trailer. With a crappy thumbnail, your masterpiece may go unnoticed!
As of now on AOL Video, there is no thumbnail selection tool, but what we should tell you is that the thumbnail is automatically generated at the 4th second. So whatever frame is present at the 4th second of your video, will be your thumbnail image.
Although you can’t select the exact thumbnail on the site, there is still something you can do about it. Either edit your video ahead of time, so the frame at the 4th second is preselected, or you can use the “trim tool”.
Where is this “trim tool”, you ask? It’s actually hard to miss, so pay attention! On the second step of the upload process, after you’ve selected your file (but before you upload), look at the timeline & you’ll find it. There’s a trim tool handle at the start of the time line, & at the end. Look at the screen shot below.
What you’ll need to do, is drag the "in point" (starting point) to where you want it. Click the play button, wait 4 seconds & see what you get. If you like the image, you’re golden. Otherwise, try again.
Now you know! And knowing is half the battle.
- The AOL Video Team
Read our second installment.Written by uncutvideoblog Blog about this entry |
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This entry has 6 comments: (Add your own)
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Hey AOL Video Team! I'm sure I'm not alone in saying, "we miss you!" It's been a while since your last journal post :( Would you consider posting "Knowing is Half the Battle: Part Deux?" I promise not to call it a comeback. Cheers, Betty
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Linda,
Enjoy your cruise to Alaska! We look forward to seeing some video footage posted on your blog page. In case you don't know how to put video in your blog it's pretty easy. After you upload your video to the site and you are watching it on UnCut, look at the bottom right-hand corner of the player, and you'll see the text "Embed this Video". Click on it & that will pop a window with the embed code. All you have to do is copy it, and paste it into your blog page and you should be good to go!
Have fun,
- The AOL Video Team -
Hey uncutvideoblog! Thanks again for the trim tool tip... I used it to get a better thumbnail for my latest vid and it worked like a charm! But still looking forward to the thumbnail selector feature ;)
xo,
Betty -
Thanks for the tips uncutvideoblog, especially the pointers on the thumbnail! The thumbnail selector feature will be a great addition; in the meantime, specifying how thumbnails are selected and suggesting the tip on using the trim tool is very cool! Unfortunately, I fall in the "crappy" thumbnail camp for all of my vids... maybe it's time to re-upload to get thumbnails that people might actually click ;)
xo,
Betty
10/1/07 9:50 AM
http://journals.aol.com/uncut
Thanks,
-The AOL Video Team