Video Marketing - editing software and cameras?

[Laura @ Altius Group]

Hi all,

I'm currently looking into creating videos for marketing purposes, but could do with some advice as I'm not vert techy! Could any of you recommend types of the following that you think I should be using:

- Video editing software

- Good quality video cameras (varying budgets welcome at the moment - we're exploring all avenues)

We would be filming mainly buildings and landscapes - we sell businesses such as hotels and pubs and would like to begin to offer a video advertisement service.

Any help or recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Thank you,
Laura

 

[trebor8]

Maybe in the wrong section of the forum but in any case.

video editing software: the Adobe suite - namely both Premiere Pro and After Effects are excellent software for editing videos but are expensive and a bit of a steep learning curve to master.

video cameras: the Sony A1e and MC50's are pro-summer broadcast quality video cameras. Fairly easy to use in auto mode

There are a plethora of cheaper software and cameras out there- both of my suggestions maybe overkill, depending on your budgets and time needed to master them, so, you may want to consider outsourcing, especially on the the video editing side.

 

[nitro23456]

trebor8 knows his stuff with video editing so listen to him.

I can also recommend an excellent video editing freelancer, but they are not on here as far as I know.

 

[Newcott]

The Adobe suite is a good shout - there is a ton of online tutorials to get you going. You could also look at Adobe Elements 9 but its a little watered down and you could find yourself outgrowing it quickly. Saying that if its simple building promo's your doing it should be fine - I think they are offering a 30 day trial at the moment free of charge.

Camera's - do you have a rough idea on budget? The Sony A1e is a great bit of kit but might be worth looking at something that records straight to a digital (memory cards) to save you the trouble of transering to a PC.

 

[ExpoPublishing]

It may not be exactly what you're looking for, but could be worth having a look at...

www.animoto.com

 

[Ross Webster]

Regarding software.

If you have (or can get your hands on) a Mac, then iMovie is recommended. It's specifically designed for less-techy people, and in comparisons with other software in this regard it nearly always comes out on top. I used it several times and am always pleased at how quick I can get good results.

I am most comfortable with Adobe Premiere myself, but I can't recommend it unless your already adept with similar software, or are up for a fairly steep learning curve.

 

[Laura @ Altius Group]

Thank you all for your input so far, it's been really helpful and very much appreciated.

 

[newsvend]

Hi Laura - we have produced both simple and complex commercial videos using Final Cut Pro - the next step up from iMovie, and found it to be excellent.

 

[RevaxMedia]

I use Camtasia / iMovie.

 

[Digital Ark]

Look at Pinnacle Studio. Cheaper than Adobe and still has many good features. It is also quite simple to use.

Simon

 

[Nick Jones]

Hi Laura,

I provide a simple but effective video production service if you're interested. Not based a million miles away from you either

If you'd rather go down the DIY route, I recommend the JVC GY-HM100. Second-hand they cost around £1500 and the image quality is excellent. They're small and fairly easy to use too. It might sound like a lot of money but it's worth it.

Video editing wise, I recommend Premiere Pro CS5, although as a previous poster mentioned, it's not cheap. If you're a sizeable company, however, it's worth investing in decent kit if you want to do it properly.

 

[Neky]

I would definitely agree with those that are suggesting that you use Adobe. I have been using it for over a year and it is very simple and does everything that I need it to do.

 

[robinzurk]

well there are some video production in UK which can help you with the same. for more information you can internet research

 

[robinzurk]

well there are some video production in UK which can help you with the same. for more information you can do some internet research

 

[robinzurk]

well there are some video production company in UK who can help you with the same. for more information you can do some internet research

 

[RickieSee]

Sony Vegas is good too.

 

[jitendra1990]

I'm a New Media designer who owns the full Adobe package. If you feel like outsourcing the work to someone else then feel free to give me a shout

 

[hdwedj32]

Hi Laura,

I put the first full video presenter driven website on the internet in 2008 and here is what I use -

Sony Z7 HVR shooting at 24fps in 1080p.

The Adobe suite for editing and post (Premier and After Effects)

I also use Final Cut Pro and Motion on the mac.

A greenscreen set for chromakey production.

One thing to consider, with broadband speeds getting better you can now look to deliver your videos in full HD, it would be up to you as you would take a hit on bandwidth costs, however web video is now de-facto and users are looking for good quality video.

You could always host off You Tube by uploading and embedding and letting them deliver the video.

Also would you deliver using progressive or RTMP (real time pure streaming)?

Apple devices wont display Flash delivered video so you will need to consider how to get around this, I use a HTML5 Video fallback.

Also don't forget about SEO for the videos you produce, it can help with you rankings and make you stand out from your competitors.

Make sure you can get the You Tube channel for your business name as well.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Dave.