Modern technology has provided the means for an author to inexpensively produce his own videos by himself or with only a videographer.
Modern technology has provided the means for an author to inexpensively produce his own videos by himself or with only a videographer. Within the last two weeks I have uploaded a 5-minute video ad for Backyard Deer Hunting: Converting deer to dinner for pennies per pound to Youtube and in two days filmed 6-hours of material based on the book that will be used to make a 1-hour video that will be sold on the retail market.
My own video ad, and those that I will be doing in a few days for my other books, Crossbow Hunting and Practical Bowfisning were shot with a simple Flip camera that I bought for less than $60.
I edited the video and incorporated still photos and narriation with Microsoft Movie Maker, a program that came on my Vista laptop. It took a few trials to become proficient with the program, but I managed upload versions of the "productions" to my website and somewhat longer versions to Youtube. Uploading even a 3-5 minute video may take an hour or more, so be patient. The first viewings may look very "shakey" with stops and starts, but these conditions will correct themselves. When you post and first view your materials, let is "ripen" for a couple of days before deciding to replace it. Always reduce the file size of your still photos before incorporating them into your video. This will considerably reduce upload time for you and the viewer.
The videographer that I used for the hour-long video was Levi Hudson, who is based out of Oklahoma. He has been shooting video materians since he was 16, is passionate about the media, and this was to be the first "big" production for his company, Wolf Mountain Studios. I wrote a 31-page shooting script based on the book. In two days we filmed at 5 locations, shot 13 scenes, used over 100 props and reviewed the footage before he left Georgia. Hudson is now editing the video, adding the voice tracts and completing the production. We were fortunate in having good weather, all of our exterior shots within 8-miles and coming to quick agreements on the project. Still photography replaced the usual hunting sequences which eliminated many hours of sitting on stands. We were also fortunate in recovering a freshly road-killed deer for that segment of the production and to provide a carcass to demonstrate some of the deer-transport methods that I use.
For more information go to "Me and Joe Movie Making" on my blog, http://www.hoveysmith.wordpress.com. This video has also been posted on Youtube and is easily accessed from a link on the blog that is located in the right-hand column.