I had a conversation today with someone who felt that using a Flip-style video camera to record stream of thought video was better than creating video in a studio setting where you can control the video, lights and audio.
I told this attorney that it doesn’t matter what camera you use to create your video. Content trumps all else. However, if you use video equipment improperly and your audio stinks, or your lighting technique is awful, no matter how good your content is, your viewer will be unlikely to forgive you. With today’s high-definition video cameras, viewers have come to expect good quality video. However, many of the smaller video cameras like the Sony webbie and the Flip video camera have only internal microphones that pick up tons of ambient noise.
That ambient noise can destroy your entire video without you realizing it. There are some small video cameras like the Kodak Zi8 that have a microphone input so you can attach a wireless lavalier microphone and get good quality audio. I’ve also seen attorneys use regular video cameras but make the mistake of using the internal microphone to record the video.
The main problem with using a built-in microphone is that it picks up the mechanics of the video camera as well as all ambient sound wherever you are. Professionals use shotgun microphones which limit the audio pickup to directly in front of where the camera is.
YOUR GOAL
Your goal when creating attorney video is to make the technique as invisible as possible so that your content shines through. If anything is distracting from your message, your viewer will likely get distracted. The goal to create seamless video takes lots of practice and experience. If you have the time, inclination and desire to learn how to do it well, then I congratulate you. Most attorneys lack the desire and time to want to do this on their own. Instead, they will hire an experienced video production company, to help create video so the attorney only has to show up and start talking.A
I am constantly amazed at the number of attorneys who vigorously defend using a Flip camera to record their attorney video. After watching thousands of attorney videos, lawyers who use flip-style cameras and video cameras without external microphones tend to get awful audio. The only way to get any decent audio with those types of cameras is to stand very close to the camera. This means that you are standing about 3 to 4 feet away from the camera. Oftentimes this is not the ideal distance to capture yourself on video.
You must make your video techniques seamless. If your viewer is distracted whether by poor lighting, poor audio, or grainy video, you will have lost your viewer forever. Don’t make the mistake that since these small cameras are convenient and all you have to do is press the simple red “record” button that means that it is the ideal piece of equipment for you to market your educational message online.
On the other hand, if budget is a major concern, then find a camera that has a microphone input like the Kodak Zi8 and make sure to use your wireless microphone when you create your video.
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Flip cameras are an excellent low cost solution for short clips and work perfectly serialized video on the web, but nothing beats a professional camera crew for any sort of high end production.
Still, Flip cameras do more than meet the needs of most people that want to create quality videos cheaply.
Flip cameras create good quality high-definition video and if you are standing close to the camera then you can get decent audio. However, if you’re far away, the audio is terrible since the built-in microphone picks up all the ambient noise and sound.