The Flip Video Ultra has been a big hit among faculty, staff, and students who have used it this semester. The video and sound quality are impressive for such a small, easy to operate, uncomplicated device. So far it has been used to record short student presentations, capture video of projects, and to video short student-related events. I promised to write a little something about using the Flip Video Ultra camera for video podcasting, so here’s a brief overview of what to do and what to keep in mind when using it.
Shooting:
- The camera runs on double AA batteries, and video recording uses a lot of power, so buy rechargeables and keep some handy.
- It can record 60 minutes of video clips before it is full (this is the Ultra series only, prior models only record for 30 minutes).
- The Flip software will put your videos into separate clips based on when you start and stop the camera, so use this to your advantage.
- To capture decent audio, make sure the camera is not too far away from speakers.
- Digital zoom can become pixelated, so it’s best to move closer to the subject rather than relying too much on this feature.
- A small, portable, 10″ tripod is available for the Flip for $29 to avoid shaking and moving, and it also can be mounted to almost any other larger tripod.
Editing and Compression:
- The software installed on the camera will allow you to do some editing of files. (In some cases, I prefer to find the files in the folder system and take them to iMovie for more advanced editing).
- The software will also enable you to compress the video for the web. In their natural state, the video files are very large; it is important to compress them. (I prefer QuickTime Pro for much faster compression with more formatting options). Remember to compress video in the Flip software before you remove them from the camera if you are not going to use QuickTime Pro for this.
Getting Your Videos Podcast Ready
- If you are uploading these files to iTunes U or anywhere else for podcasting, bring them into the iTunes software on your computer. They should end up in the “Movies” folder.
- Right click on the “Get Info” tab, and name them accordingly, adding the correct metadata, album name, artist name, and name of the track.
- Drag to the desktop and upload to iTunes U, blogs, websites, or anywhere else that enables you to podcast your videos!
- The Flip also now lets you upload directly to YouTube, and other services, including any server you have FTP access to, right from their software. So if you choose to edit and compress using the software in the camera, this is the best choice.
