Jefferson Graham - Video Nation: A DIY guide to planning, shooting, and sharing great video from USA Todays Talking Tech host

Video Nation
A DIY guide to planning, shooting, and sharing great video from USA TODAYs Talking Tech host
Jefferson Graham

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Copyright 2013 Jefferson Graham

Senior Editor: Karyn Johnson
Developmental Editor: Jacqueline Aaron
Copy Editor: Jacqueline Aaron and Kelly Kordes Anton
Production Editor: Becky Winter
Composition: Danielle Foster
Technical Editor: Nancy Blair
Proofreader: Kelly Kordes Anton
Indexer: Valerie Perry
Interior Design: Claudia Smelser
Cover Design: Charlene Will

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

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Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-83287-0
ISBN-10: 0-321-83287-6

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

To my wife, Ruth, and my parents, Jerry and Judy.

I need to send a number of shoutouts to people for their help with this book:

To my loving wife Ruth, who watches all my videos and then tells me to brush my hair and stop talking so fast. Shes also my number one fan. Im hers too. And thanks to my artist/photographer son Sam Graham for taking the great back-cover photo.

The terrific folks at USA TODAY, especially Jeremy Teres, for pushing me to go further with video than Id done in the past and helping to get the Talking Tech spin-off, Talking Your Tech, launched. A round of applause as well for Geri Coleman Tucker, Nancy Blair, Sam Meddis, Steve Elfers, and Ed Baig.

Sean Fujiwara and David Medill, who have assisted me on most of the Talking Tech and Talking Your Tech video shoots discussed in this book. Thanks for the creativity, skill, and, most of all, for helping to carry all those bags.

The team at Peachpit, my editors Karyn Johnson, Jacqueline Aaron, Kelly Anton, and the above-mentioned Nancy Blair, as well as marketing pros Damon Hampson and Laura Pexton Ross. Ive never seen a smarter publishing company.

Cris Bennett, Linda McLaughlin Figel, Margot Farris, Patty Gibson, Julia Levee, Nigesa Kamae, Richard and Lisa Goldstein, and Reza Hosseini all let me photograph them for the bookthanks for taking the time!

Judson Coplan, Monica Sarkar, and the rest of the amazing Apple teamthanks for always being available to answer questions, even on the weekend.

My mom, Judy Graham, for agreeing to have her son interview her for the book and use the video clips for ; her life partner Mike Ansell for participating; and my dad, Jerry Graham, for buying me my first camera and guitar at age 13 and starting me down this path. Also thanks to my brother Jez for being my favorite subject to photograph growing up, and to Lily and Catherine as well.

Speaking of guitars, some words of thanks to my favorite guitarists: Pat Metheny, Jim Hall, George Benson, and Robben Ford for keeping me company musically while writing the book.

To my photo palsStephan Cooper, Brian Valente, and Syl Arenafor the fun shop talk over the last few months. Stephanthanks for the great cover photo.

Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Buster, Charlie, Harold, Lucy, Bugs, Daffy, Popeye, Donald, and Huey, Dewey, and Louiethanks for all the laughs.

Jefferson Graham is a longtime technology columnist for USA TODAY and host, producer and editor of the USA TODAYs Talking Tech and Talking Your Tech video shows, which feature interviews with tech newsmakers, reviews of the latest gadgets, and celebrity visits. Apple products such as the iPad, iPhone, and Final Cut Pro X were seen early on Talking Tech, one of a small handful of outlets to get early peeks at the new Apple releases. Recent guests on Talking Your Tech have included Selena Gomez, Carson Daly, and Jeff Dunham; tech stars such as Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and Pandoras Tim Westergren; and, YouTube breakouts iJustine and the Annoying Orange himself, Dane Boedigheimer. All the shows are produced professionally on the same DIY budgets described in this book.

Jefferson is the author of nine books, including Vegas: Live and In Person and Salesman of the Century (with infomercial legend Ron Popeil). He is also an accomplished Manhattan Beach, Californiabased portrait photographer, videographer, and jazz guitarist.

All kinds of people today are creating video for the web. Whether youre a small business owner, a blogger, or a web show host, or if youre simply doing some marketing for your company or yourself, right now you may be all on your own in learning how to put that video together, make it look good, and get it to go viral.

Learning filmmaking and production techniques can be a daunting task because most books and resources cover productions with big budgets and multiple crew members. Resources that cover only the camera or video editing arent particular helpful either if you dont know the basics about video production.

This is where Video Nation comes in. I wrote this book to provide the layman with real-world, practical advice, from what I learned over the years producing a minimum of two videos per week on a DIY budget for USA TODAYs Talking Tech and Talking Your Tech shows.

In this book, youll learn what equipment you need to get started to create your own one-man band productions, including advice on shooting with DSLRs, point-and-shoot cameras, and iPhones. Youll get the best techniques for setting up, preparing questions for, and interviewing a subject. Ive included detailed descriptions of working with sound and lighting for a variety of indoor and outdoor scenarios. Youll even get to take your video to the next level by using multiple cameras.

Once youve shot your video, I give you step-by-step instructions for using editing programs such as Apple iMovie, Adobe Premiere Elements, and Final Cut Pro X. After that, youll learn how to upload your video to YouTube, create a channel, market your video with Twitter and Facebook, and earn money from your efforts. Throughout the book, youll get tips on developing fresh new ways to promote your business or yourself.