By Jason Saeler
Your-Propeller-head.com

Every internet marketer will tell you that you need to have video on your website. Many of them even tell you you need this application or that piece of hardware to do it. The problem is you can get a lot of contradictory information on what to use and why.

After talking to several clients who are trudging through this video software and hardware jungle, I decided it’s time to give a few simple tips to help navigate the video jungle.

What type of camera is needed to make your own video’s?

This is an area where you will find most marketers will be selling you something that makes them a commission; so will I. But what makes your propeller-head different is that I will also tell you that you probably don’t need a specialized video camera.

If you already have a quality digital camera, or even a moderately priced one – chances are that you can already take motion video with it. Here is how to tell:

1. Go online (search for specifications on your make and model camera) or look at your owners manual. See if the camera can take at least 30 frames per second (fps) at a resolution (screen size) of 640 X 480, and verify the format the camera saves the video in.
2. Make certain you have enough memory on your camera. A two gigabyte memory card can record approximately 20 minutes of AVI, or MOV formatted video – 40 minutes of MPG or WMV video.
3. Check if your camera can sit on a tripod. There are two basics types of tripod one is a clip on style and the other a screw on type. In order to tell if your camera will be compatible with a tripod, look at the base for the screw hole or an outdented foot (sort of like a plateau on the base of the camera).

If your own camera doesn’t meet the above criteria, you will need something that does. You can either buy a midrange digital camera that does, or a stand alone video camera. The benefit of the mid range digital camera is that it serves two functions, still shots and video.

If you have a digital camera and don’t feel a need for a new one, you can purchase a stand alone video camera. We recommend the affordable Flip Camera.

Benefits of the Flip Video Camera:

• Records for 60 minutes
• Includes Flip Video Editing software
• Available for around $120 from Amazon.com

Click Here for more information.

In addition to the camera you will also need a tripod. I recommend that you have both a mini tripod and a full sized tripod. You can find affordable tripods in your local Target, Wallmart or online at Amazon.com.

Mini Tripods:

• Flip Video Tripod for Flip Ultra and Mino Camcorders – Approximately $23.00
• Sunpak 620-786 Mini-Spider Tripod – Approximately $3.00
• Caselogic PVT-3 Mini Tripod (Black) – Approximately $4.00
• Sunpak Mini-PRO Plus Table Tripod with 3-Way Pan Head & Pan Handle – Black Anodized Finish (extends to 12.2″) – Approximately $22.00

Full Sized Tripods:

• Celestron Photo / Video Tripod - Approximately $42.00
• Sper Scientific – Field Tripod – Approximately $29.00

What type of software is needed to make your own video’s?

• Sony Vegas Video Studio Platinum Pro Pack - Approximately $86
• Sony Vegas Video Studio Platinum – Approximately $69
• FLV Producer Used to create web ready vidoes in the Flash Video Format (FLV) – Approximately $99
• FTP software or website editing software – Video training guide on downloading and installing a free FTP program $14.95

Look at some of the websites that are on the internet today. There are so many that have amazing layout designs with tasteful animation. With competition high to get and keep customers on their website, companies will no doubt continue to demand user friendly websites with a bit of “eye candy.”

This is one reason why designers will continue to create animation and graphics on a regular basis.

Computer Animation – Early animations started appearing around 1910 and were normally drawings that were photographed one at a time. It was a very intensive and long process, as there were literally hundreds of drawings for each minute of film. Of course, improvements were constantly being made with Walt Disney leading the pack.

He was the first to add sound to his cartoon animations and produced the first, full-length movie animations film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Then, with the introduction of computers, animation began to take on a whole new meaning.

For any type of graphic work, the quicker your computer processor is, the better. Extra memory is also a huge help with computer animations and graphics. You may also want to consider a larger hard drive.

Image Animations – These types of files will build up quickly and the file size for a graphic or animated movie is much greater than that of a simple text file, for example. A computer generated vector image used to create animation can be 2D or 3D animations.

Of course, if you plan to work on a computer it is also advantageous to learn about photography, lighting and movement. You will need to visualize how the pictures animations, 2D animations or 3D animations will look and then have the know-how to make that inanimate object move.

There are many different computer animation software programs that offer both tutorials and downloadable programs. The tutorials are very important, yet each software program will likely have a different interface, different menus, palettes and toolbars etc.

Graphics Aimations – ending on the type of movie animations desired, some can be wholly computer generated, while others, such as many of the 2D animations cartoons, still need to be penciled by hand before scanning to a computer to generate computer animations.

Using a computer to create animation often eliminates the need for many of the extra tools that are normally needed for the more traditional animation process. The basic tools needed to create animation by computer are a system that will be able to run the software programs you will need, and of course the ability to use the programs.