In our recent Media for Hire episode, you saw the amazing (well, pretty cool at least) transformation of our office. While we are pretty quick here at 12 Stars Media, it did take us a bit longer than 2 minutes to completely re-arrange the office, hang artwork, and build a cabinet (even with the instructions).

Timelapse photography is a way to show something in a short time, that would normally take hours, days, weeks, even years to view at its normal pace.

Believe it or not, you don’t really need any special equipment to do a basic timelapse. To get started, simply place a camcorder (flip camera, iPhone, or any other video capture device) on a tripod and hit record. Once the event is over, just speed the footage up in post production and voila!

And that is how a basic timelapse is done. You can also use a still-photo camera to capture super high resolution images to do a “pan and scan” where you digitally move around the frame to highlight different things. The only extra piece of equipment you’d need is an intervalometer - some cameras even have this feature built in to their settings.

Timelapses are just like everthing else in photography and videography – eveyone has their own solutions and work-arounds – just find what works best for you.

If you enjoy watching timelapse and want to learn more about it, check out Tom Lowe over at TimeScapes.org, he recently released a feature length film featuring his astro-timelapse photography.

Also, for a nifty behind the scenes, check out how it took the BBC two years to complete a 60 second timelapse for the TV series “Life.”

One of video’s greatest strengths as a medium is the way it allows people on either side of the camera to connect on a personal level. If you’re looking for a way to really invite your viewers into your world, you should consider pulling the curtains and offering a behind-the-scenes look at what makes you awesome. It’s a simple and easy strategy, and allows you to work with what you already have to offer something meaningful and intimate to those on the outside.

Looking for some inspiration? Here are four ideas to get you started:

1. Show off a bit.
Television shows like “How It’s Made” and “Unwrapped” have proven that people love watching stuff get put together. You can shoot a short video showing how you make your product (without, of course, giving away too many trade secrets). Recording the process can do a few things for your company – it shows that you know what you’re doing, which can create some trust between you and your customers, and also establishes just how much expertise goes into your process. Very impressive.
 

 
2. Unleash your inner Ken Burns.
Documentaries are huge right now. If you want to give a behind-the-scenes look of an event you host, the origins of your organization, or a big change you make in your company, a documentary-style video can appeal intellectually and emotionally. Check out some example documentaries and you’ll find common elements: mood-setting music, interviews with the key people, and the live events before, during, and after. This idea may take the longest to plan and complete, but it has a large effect.

3. Mellow out.
You may have a very professional voice for your company, but if you want to connect on a more casual level with your audience, you have the option to use a more personal tone in your videos. Try sharing some video that has less to do with your products or services and more to do with your people and the culture of your company. For example, footage from a fun company outing or a simple interview that gets into the personalities and hobbies of your team members.

4. Pass the camera around.
Along those lines, it could be a fun exercise to open up your videos to ideas from your team members. Let them be an anchor in describing your company’s activities. Give them a chance to sound off. In essence, you’re letting them produce a “day in the life” video about the people who know your company at its deepest levels.

These are just a few examples of what you can do to appeal to your audience, but the sky’s the limit. How do you open up with your web videos? Share your experience in the comments!

In a blog post last week, YouTube rolled out a host of paid tools which further assimilates Google’s advertising platforms with the YouTube interface. Luckily, they’ve also included some educational resources and giveaways to bolster subscription. Here’s a quick rundown of the new offerings:

Google AdWords For Video

Google AdWords for video, which has actually existed since last September, is now out of private beta. It was previously only available to a few users.

If you have a few extra dollars in your budget, you can put your video content in front of a targeted audience in the same way that advertisers utilize paid search results.

With “TrueView” video ads, you won’t be charged when viewers skip your ad or if they have already seen your video. In other words, you pay only when viewers choose to watch your video.

There are four types of TrueView ads:

• In-Stream: theses ads are essentially pre-roll ads attached to another video. Viewers see 5 seconds of your video and then can keep watching or skip it.
• In-Slate: these ads are longer form commercials that play before YouTube partner videos, similar to a 30-second commercial that you would see before a Hulu.com program.
• In-Search: these ads appear at the top of the search results page.
• In-Display: these ads appear alongside an on-page YouTube video.

While In-Search and In-Display ads allow you to own search results and attach your content to similar (perhaps competing) videos, In-Stream and In-Slate offer you the opportunity to produce specific video advertisements and target other content as its playing.

New AdWords users can receive a $75 credit when you sign up. YouTube plans to give away $50 million in free advertising. You can request the free credit here.

Advertiser Playbook

The YouTube Advertiser Playbook is essentially a free white paper that “outlines best practices and strategies to create compelling content and build an audience on YouTube.” If you can spare the time to read all 121 pages, you may pick up a few tidbits along the way. It includes a Workbook, which contains helpful templates and checklists to help you produce your video content.

YouTube Ambassador Program

The YouTube Ambassador Program is a video series following 9 small businesses across the country who have experienced success with video marketing and AdWords for video. Although it’s nothing more than a promotion of YouTube’s ad platform in general, it is fun to see how other businesses are utilizing online video to drive traffic and sales.

YouTube for Marketers Google+ Page

If you’re a G+ user, add this page to a circle right away. While the page serves as a mouthpiece for YouTube’s paid services, you may find some meaningful interaction amongst other video marketers.

Do you plan to try any of the paid advertising options available to you as a YouTube user? Let us know in the comments section below.

While 3D TV and movies seem to be a fad that comes and goes, YouTube saw fit to roll their 3D player support out of beta earlier this month. They’ve even created a 3D channel to show off the new features.

Users can now convert any 1080p 2D video uploads to 3D. You can also upload native 3D video. It’s easy!

• Open your Video Manager at http://www.youtube.com/my_videos
• Find the video you want to convert and click “Edit Video.”
• Click the “Advanced Settings” tab under your video
• Choose an option from the “3D Video” dropdown

You have the option to either Disable 3D, Convert to 3D or tell YouTube that the video is native 3D. Either 3D choice will require a few minutes of conversion time before the video is available in 3D:

Once your video is done converting, a small 3D icon will be visible in the player bar:

You can even select from a few different viewing options:

Embedded videos won’t require any extra lines of code to enable 3D.

Here is a converted 1080p video of the Super Bowl zipline. Click on the small gear icon on the bottom-right player bar to enable the 3D button and experiment with all of the settings:

If you want to learn more, check out this guide to 3D Video from YouTube.

For Candidio producers who aspire to create native 3D videos, check out the Sony 3D Bloggie. When shopping for other 3D cameras, make sure it shoots in stereoscopic 3D. According to their guide, YouTube 3D works best with the following formats:

• H264 AVC 1920×1080 Side by Side L/R with SEI Frame Packing Arrangement metadata.
• Tip: You can use x264 to encode SEI FPA information.
• WebM 1920×1080 Side by Side L/R with StereoMode information.

Social media is all the rage. Sure it has been around since Al Gore first put the internet into beta testing but it has picked up steam in the last few years. Everywhere you look businesses big and small have an account and a presence on numerous social media websites.

I’m going to assume that if you already stumbled on the best online video blog on the internet (a tad biased there) that you already understand the value of attaching your companies social accounts to your website. Its hard to find a website without fancy Facebook, Twitter and YouTube buttons featured prominently. While those are well and good (and necessary) today I’m going to challenge you to connect your social accounts in a different way.

Instead of only allowing your visitors to connect with your social accounts by leaving your site (those button redirects) why not create a social media page? Instead of your visitors leaving your site now they can like you, follow you or subscribe to you right from your website.

“Wait a second Chris! You said people can subscribe to your YouTube channel via a piece of code? I don’t believe you.”

I was skeptical too. I’ve done my share of web surfing and have rarely if ever seen an embedded subscribe to my channel code. It happened so rarely that when I was building a social media page for the FlexPAC website I took to the search engines to find out if this elusive code existed. After some searching I found out this code did exist. Instead of easily finding it in the account settings of YouTube, however, it was buried in the YouTube developer blog somewhere.

Regardless of the ridiculous steps it took to find such a valuable piece of code I now present it to you.
 
<iframe id="fr" src="http://www.youtube.com/subscribe_widget?p=flexpacinc" style="overflow: hidden; height: 105px; width: 300px; border: 0;" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0"></iframe>
 
Copy that piece of code, replace the text flexpacinc with your channel’s name and you will have a subscribe widget like the one I created here. Now people can subscribe to our channel, see how many videos we produce and how many subscribers we have. That is much more valuable than letting someone click through to YouTube and get lost in its vast wasteland, only to never return to your site when they get mesmerized by another cat video.

Now that you have an easy way to build your subscriber list why don’t you start sending your video clips to Candidio like FlexPAC does?

When it comes to video technology, you’ve got about a billion choices to make. What kind of camera should you buy?

Which editing tool is right for you? Sometimes, all these options can lead to all kinds of crazy stress and paranoia. But when your video is all shot and produced, and you’re ready to get it online, the last thing you want to do is make another choice. Unfortunately for you, at the end of the production process comes one of the most important questions of all:

What format or file type of video should I use for the web?

When you click that little floppy disk icon to save your work, you might get a little overwhelmed by the slew of file extensions and abbreviations you find. To help you make a confident decision about how to save your video, here is a short list of common file formats for video, and what you need to know about them:

1) .mp4 is good quality with a small file size, so it’s no wonder YouTube and Vimeo prefer it. Upload .mp4 formats to either of these sites in HD with a bitrate of 5000kbps. On the downside, Windows machines can’t play .mp4 formats without the necessary codecs or a special video player (such as VLC Media Player ), but you only need to worry about that if you want audiences to download your videos. More times than not, this is probably your best option

2) .wmv is good quality with a large file size, which means it takes up more space on a computer, and it doesn’t play natively on Mac machines without outside help.

3.) .mov is high quality with a large file size, but this one doesn’t play on Windows without outside help.

4) .flv is a small file size, but it needs extra steps to bring up the quality. It also doesn’t play natively on most Windows or Mac machines. My conclusion on this one? Nah.

5) .avi is good quality with a small to large file size, and it doesn’t play natively on Macs without help. This used to be a very common format for online training videos, but most people are ditching it for .mp4, as it compresses video better. In my experience, .avi has always beena headache to export correctly and I wouldn’t recommend using it.

Experian Hitwise is reporting that Pinterest is now the #3 Social Network, behind Facebook and Twitter. While many amateur pundits may brush off the network as a girly haven for time-wasting, savvy content marketers are realizing the traffic-building and conversion potential that Pinterest has to offer.

Pinterest has actually allowed video pins since last August, but very few users have tapped the potential of sharing their videos on the network. In this post, we’ve outlined step-by-step instructions on how to create a video board and pin your videos, as well as a few ideas for content and sharing strategies.

How to Create a Video Board(s)

Create a board especially for your videos. If you have multiple types of videos, don’t hesitate to make multiple video boards:

Be sure to use the word “Video” in the name of your board so that other users know they can expect to see videos here. Select a board category that describes the types of videos that will be pinned here:

How to Pin Your Videos To Pinterest

To pin your videos, you’ll first need the short link that leads directly to your video on YouTube.com. It’s easy to get that:

1. Find your video on YouTube.com
2. Click on the Share button.
3. Click on the small Options drop-down menu near the bottom-right of the shortened embed code. Check the box marked “HD Link.” (Note: the “Start at” code will not work on Pinterest).
4. Copy the short “youtu.be” code in the slim box. Don’t use the embed code.

1. Click the Add+ link in Pinterest. Paste your shortened link and click “Find Images.”
2. Select your video board. Be sure to write a description in the text box. You can copy and paste your YouTube video description to this text field.
3. Click “Pin It.”

What Kind of Videos Should I Pin?

• Product Demos: Do you own a restaurant? Make a video for each of your menu items and pin them. Photos of food do exceptionally well on Pinterest. Since images far outnumber videos on Pinterest, imagine how well your video will do.
• How-To Videos: Pinterest is a great way to share expertise, especially in the DIY, crafts and cooking categories. A contractor could create a huge following with a video series of simple household repair tips.
• Video Tours: If you’re a realtor or an interior designer, Pinterest is a great place to show off a beautiful home. Landscapers can also show off their work.

You don’t have to do all the work, either…

Consider Creating a Collaborative Video Board(s)

A great way to take advantage of the social aspects of Pinterest is to create a collaborative board. If you’re connected with your friends, customers or stakeholders, add them to a collaborative board and invite them to post their videos. This is a great way to crowdsource content:

If you have a brick and mortar store, encourage customers to shoot a quick video of the product they’ve just bought. Reward those who share their videos on Pinterest or who add content to your collaborative board.

Ask People to (Re)Pin Your Videos

If you embed a lot of videos on your website or blog, ask visitors to pin your video. Many Pinterest users have browser plugins that allow them to easily pin website content. As you produce your videos, keep Pinterest in mind. You may find yourself making videos exclusively for Pinterest. Don’t be afraid to ask people within your video to re-pin it after they’ve watched!

As Pinterest continues to grow and evolve, video content will become more common-place. Now is the time to get in on the ground floor. What creative uses of video have you seen on Pinterest? Tell us in the comments section below.

You set out to create a super-engaging video campaign for your company, and somewhere along the way, you lost it. Maybe your budget went haywire, or you couldn’t settle on a theme. Maybe your writing is overcomplicated, and the message is getting hazy. Whatever the reason, your deadline is rapidly approaching (or has come and gone), and you still have no video to post.

You’ve over-thought your video strategy, and you need help. Not to worry – this is a common problem, and there is a simple solution…

So step back, take a deep breath, and repeat after us… “Keep it simple!”

We’ve collected just a few simple tips to help you stop over-thinking and get to the heart of the story you are trying to tell.

1. People Like You, Not Your Outfit.
If you find you’re spending too much time on production, rehearsing lines, or adjusting hair and makeup, just stop. Back away from the computer. Your audience wants your content; that’s why they’re watching your video. You should avoid letting any amount of flash or pizzazz to get in the way of your message.

2. Remember Your Roots.
If you’re stuck on story, consider taking a look at what makes you special, and share that with the world. Your company has a short and sweet mission statement that every team member lives by (or should be living by, at least when they’re at work). If you need an idea for a video, you can always talk about your company and its place in the business world. It’s not cliché; it’s valuable! You don’t need to take your mission or your work for granted. People feel they can trust a company that opens up about their values in an easy-to-understand way.

Often because we LIVE that mission day in and day out, we think it’s old hat, common sense, or that others aren’t interested. NOT TRUE! Don’t make the mistake of confusing your audience with yourself.

3. Know Your Limits.
Each and every company and campaign has different concentrations. Some have the ability to hire out the biggest and best production companies for their video strategy (but hey, remember number one?). Other groups or campaigns can only afford the time or resources to do the bare minimum. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, don’t stress about what you don’t have. There are many opportunities to spread your word with video. Did you know you can create a YouTube channel and add other people’s playlists and videos without ever having to create any of your own? Awesome, right?

If your audience can’t understand your message, it’s not helping them, and it’s not helping you. Before you add any glitter or get to work on fancy transitions, make sure your main points are present and clear. That’s more effective than anything else. And, if you need a little more help check out our Candidio service which takes all the pain out of the post-production (editing) of your videos.

It’s been a busy first quarter for YouTube. New Channel designs were rolled out to all users and an updated algorithm has refined “Recommendation Videos” results. Various outlets have reported on smaller, individual feature additions and upgrades. Here’s a quick summary:

Goodbye “Like” – Hello “+1″

Last week ReelSEO and our friend Julie Perry first noticed a slow rollout of the +1 button in place of the long standing “Like” button on YouTube players:

While this change shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone, it does do away with the simplest measure of user feedback on a video, even if it was mostly a vanity metric. One downside of the rollout is that users without a Google+ account will be prompted to create one if they try to +1 your video, which may be a deterrent. However, users did have to create a YouTube account to “Like” a video anyway. It also appears that the thumbs-down button will be phased out.

On the bright side, the +1 does increase the chances that your video will appear on Google search results, not to mention that fact that it will be displayed publicly amongst all other +1′s on a Google+ users’ profile.

Upgraded YouTube Editor

YouTube can now detect, upon upload, if your video is shaky or dark. If it notices, you may be prompted by their auto-corrector, which will stabilize and brighten your video. Of course, this won’t ever be necessary if you use Candidio, but you never know when you might need to capture an impromptu moment on your iPhone and want to share it immediately.

New Embed Toolbar

Take another look at the embedded video above. Notice the new, semi-transparent toolbar at the top of the video?

Users can now access share buttons, a shortened url and embed code right from an embedded video. Previously, they had to click-through and watch the video on YouTube.com to access sharing features.

The “More info” button will display the video description, view count, Channel info and a subscribe button. One more reason to fill out your video descriptions:

YouTube continues to make usability upgrades in an effort to bridge the divide between search, social and on-page content. Keep producing great content and you’ll have no problem sharing it across the web.

If there ever were an impossible shot, the GoPro HD Hero2 would be the camera to get it. So many factors make this camera such a valuable tool, I wonder why it took me so long to start shooting with one.

There are really three qualities that set the GoPro into a league of its own:

1) Size and Weight
This thing is small. I mean really, really small. Not only is it more compact than my Flip camera, but it’s lighter too. Because of it’s size and weight, this camera can go anywhere you imagine it. For only using it for 3 months now, it’s already been on a helmet, anchored to a rail, 50 feet above an impressively expensive glass sculpture, and taped to the top of a Hot Wheels car, plus all the usual places other cameras can go as well.

2) Image Quality and Options
Big things really do come in small packages. It’s 11MP sensor packs a punch for photos and video alike with excellent low-light performance for a camera of it’s size and unique abilities.

Video recording is available at 1080p 30 frames per second and 60 frames per second at 720p. Its new glass lens is sharper than its predecessor, and offers up to a 170° field of view – or as I like to call it “See the Everything” mode.

Timelapse photography is also possible with its self timer allowing intervals between ½ second and one minute. Coupled with it’s small size, this feature makes this camera a great option if you want to capture a timelapse without a camera constantly in the way.

3) Accessories and Mounting
Do you need a camera mounted to your surfboard? Sure, we can do that! And while we’re at it, lets put it on your car, motorcycle helmet, bicycle, chest, or just about anything else you can think of!

The GoPro comes packaged in one of three flavors: Surf edition, motorsports edition, and outdoors edition depending on your mounting needs. In addition to mounting options, you can get larger batteries (they are user-replaceable!), an LCD “Backpack” to frame your shots, and different housings to suite your needs. One of my favorite accessories is the Manfrotto Magic Arm and Super Clamp – this combination lets me put the GoPro anywhere I can clamp it.

There are many more reasons why the GoPro HD Hero2 camera rocks, and I find more everyday. The big question, though, is how will you use yours?