A few years ago, I uploaded my first Home Office Tour after on a New Year’s Day “Subservient Chris” request. This exploration has since become an annual tradition, with me having skipped only one year (and being kindly lambasted for doing so).

For years, individuals from this community have been asking for a complete house tour – and I’ve been reluctant to give it, if only because I didn’t think it’d be all that interesting. Well, today might mark another annual tradition – a complete home video tour on my birthday.

While the home office tour was simply put online for immediate digestion, I decided to go a step further with the house tour and make it available for rental only. I did this for a few reasons: (1) to make it truly special, (2) because there’s a real value to it, (3) because it’s my birthday and I can.

For a fee, you can watch the house tour video on YouTube – though we’re still trying to figure out how to support the international community, so another viewing option should be made available soon. I’d like to (honestly) create a universal iOS app for the video and make it available at a lower price point, too – but I have no skill as a programmer / developer, so that idea will likely have to wait. We’re also going to make this available on DVD – and that link will be added to the viewing options in this post when it’s ready to go. I’m not sure anybody would really buy it, but… stranger things have happened.

Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HpEBmWrQzc

If you’re watching from outside the United States, you can find it here: http://movielocker.com/8108

If this effort isn’t seen as “successful” over the next year, it probably won’t happen again. I’d like to say I made enough from the idea to cover my mortgage for a month, though. That would be one helluva birthday present!

My House Tour Video (2011)

I’ve been a Netflix subscriber from damn near day one.

I’ve certainly appreciated having the service there as an entertainment alternative long before video streaming was a remote possibility. I’d have three DVDs out at a time and often forget I was holding onto them for months on end. You could say that I’ve wasted a lot of money on Netflix – far more than I would have spent at a local video rental store.

So, last year, I decided to drop the 3-disc option and go with the 1-disc plan plus the on-demand streaming – even though the streaming selection was seemingly stunted (though nowhere as bad as Hulu’s lackluster movie library). For the most part, that’s worked out well – but I still feel like I’m overpaying for media that I’m not remembering to digest.

This morning, news came down the pike (yes, pike – not pipe) that Netflix is staging new subscription plans for us. Yippee? Nope.

There are now 2 DVD-Only plans:

• $8 a month for one disc at a time
• $12 a month for two discs at a time

Now there’s a separate option:

• Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $8 a month

They think that this change “is a terrific value.” I think it’s a load of shit. This is “forcing” me to drop their disc-only plan altogether (based on my patterns). When I want to rent a DVD, I’ll simply make an online reservation for my local Redbox station. I’d be tempted to drop the Netflix streaming plan if there were a viable alternative elsewhere – but judging by how many documentaries my girlfriend loves to watch, that’s not practical.

I guess at the end of the day, I’m going to be spending less money with Netflix (by $2). Thanks?

Is Netflix Worth It Anymore?

There are a million guides out there that will tell you what frame rate, bit rate, codec, and editing software to use. These tips are excellent and should be followed to create as professional a broadcast or podcast as possible. Unfortunately, there are some common traits among amateur web video that find their way in to otherwise perfect productions. Here are five things to avoid when producing web video:

Clutter
If you’ve got a camera on you, it’s also on everything behind you. As a rule of thumb, everything the camera is or might be pointed at should be treated like a movie or television set. If you film out of your bedroom, take five minutes prior to hitting the record button to make the bed and arrange things around the room to look as open and uncluttered as possible. What may be a typical room to you will look like a terrible mess on camera. Viewers have a tendency to imagine the whole room based on the little section they see. If that little piece isn’t right, the whole space may as well be a cluttered mess.

Constant Movement
Video made for the web is compressed and compression does funny things to video. If you have a habit of holding the video camera with your hand and pointing it at yourself or your subject, break it. Invest in a tripod or mount that keeps the background as still as possible. This will not only improve the way your video looks after compression, but it will also improve your subject’s appearance. Each frame is given a certain allotment in terms of bits to generate the image. If little has changed from the frame before it, those bits can be used to make what is moving in the shot look smoother.

Bad Lighting
Lighting is essential to good web video. If you use a low-watt table lamp that looks alright in person, you can bet the video will prove otherwise. It’s better to have lighting that is a bit too bright than a bit too dark. Artifacts, which appear as colored specks or scattered snow, show up much more in a dark shooting environment. Give your subject some light, and if you want to make things look dark and dreary, you can do it in post using a video editing program.

Low or Inconsistent Audio
Most decent video editing programs out there will include audio controls. If you can’t actually affix a virtual audio processor and/or compressor to the audio track, take the time to normalize the audio to a reasonable volume. Audio normalization is one of the fastest and most effective ways to turn mediocre video in to something more professional. If you have the means, work out a system to mic your subject to get the best audio possible. Built-in microphones on smartphones and camcorders can work, but you are far more likely to get good results with an external mic. Because many viewers actually listen more than watch web programs, poor audio may be one of the most important things to avoid when producing web video.

Bad Camera Placement
The subject you are filming should be front and center on screen. If your web video has someone’s head at the bottom of the frame with a large space between the top of their head and the ceiling of the video, you should consider repositioning either the subject or the camera. As a rule of thumb, allow no more than 10% of the total height of the video to show space over the head of your host. If you film at a wide angle from across the room, make sure that it’s clear the person doing the majority of the speaking is the focus of the shot. No mater how cool your set is, your production will suffer if it doesn’t revolve around the subject.

Five Things to Avoid When Producing Web Video

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It’s community challenge time again! Here’s your chance to put words in my mouth. Download the raw video, open it in your favorite video editor, remix the sucker, then re-upload your video as a response to this video so we can all see the fruits of your labor. Create your own narration cards, create your own product demonstration in the middle, whatever. It’s your chance to play with me! Don’t have me unpaper the same envelope… BE CREATIVE.

What invention have you been waiting for all of your life? Which technology breakthrough (real or imagined) are you going to report on? Put on your thinking cap and fire up the tools you already have. If you can’t edit a MOV video file, you might care to convert it with your favorite video conversion tool – although, I’d be surprised if you creative types had any problems with this.

In order to create this video, I used the Silent Film Director app on my iPhone. The app is fun and simple to use. Slow down or accelerate your video speed to add dramatic atmosphere or make your creation even more hilarious. Choose from three built-in soundtracks, upload music from your iPod or from your computer to add sound to your video. Share what you’ve done instantly with your friends using the app’s built-in share features. You can even choose between six different video styles:

• 20’s movie
• 60’s home video (for the Hippie style videos)
• 70’s home video
• Black and White
• Sepia
• Vintage Sepia

The only limits to your creativity using Silent Film Director is your own imagination. The same holds true for your remix in this Community Challenge! You have the tools at hand – is your imagination and creativity up to the task? Do you dare?

Community Challenge: Put Words in my Mouth

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Someone asked recently what my thoughts are concerning the new limits that YouTube has placed upon content producers. They raised the length of video allowed to fifteen minutes for many of you. The problem is, though, that many of us don’t watch anything more than ONE minute.

Do you watch fifteen minute videos? Does anyone you know sit through clips that long on YouTube? I can understand the need to occasionally upload something longer than ten minutes – I’ve done so myself a few times. But realistically, I know that it’s very rare to have someone sit through the entire thing.

What are your thoughts? Do you feel that YouTube did a good thing when they raised their upload limits?

YouTube Video Limits

Over the weekend, I posted a new Community Challenge. I asked all of you to provide the audio and dialogue for my Stormtrooper dog-walking video. There have been several responses already, and I wanted to share the best ones with all of you.

From Uelogy22:

From DavinDaGeek:

From Falmatrix2r:

Have you been working on your own response? Make sure to upload it to YouTube as a video response to the original challenge video.

Star Wars Stormtrooper Videos

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Everyone seems to have some type of pocket video camera these days. The issue is that most of these cameras don’t have any type of optical image stabilization. Thankfully, there are products available to help, such as the readySTEADY stabilizing system.

readySTEADY fits right into your pocket and actually works very well to stabilize your camera. It is durable, made of sturdy aluminum, not plastic. Most importantly, it puts an end to the impossible task of trying to hold your pocket video camera steady for more than 10 seconds.

Do your viewers a favor: use a readySTEADY to shoot your next video. They will thank you for it.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K-37rZ19Hvg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K-37rZ19Hvg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a>

readySTEADY Portable Video Camera Stabilizer System Review

I have been using TubeMogul for quite a while now to upload and distribute the videos I create. My assistant has been having issues with the service off and on for several months now. The issue wasn’t able to be replicated the first time we spoke with engineers at the company, so it was basically brushed aside. Kat continued trying to use the service on a daily basis. Sometimes it worked – and sometimes it didn’t. Yesterday, out of sheer frustration, I sent a tweet stating that I could no longer recommend the service to others. Within minutes, I received messages from a lady in customer care named Shirley and another from the CEO of the company, Brett. They wanted to know what was wrong, and how they could help.

I admit that both Kat and I were skeptical at first. We did this entire drill several months ago. We had established it wasn’t her computer or mine causing the problems. It happened on every machine we tried, in every place we tried… using various browsers and ISPs. Something was wrong in our account itself or with the site. However, the engineer we worked with last time could not replicate the issue. Therefore, the issue must not exist!

Shirley quickly opened a ticket within the system and had Kat explain exactly what was going on. After looking through it all, she set up a Skype conference call for today between herself, Kat and one of their top engineers. Brett also reached out to Kat via email, making sure we knew that their team would do everything in their power to correct the problems we have been having.

Today’s Skype call comes and they had Kat enable screen sharing so they could see the problem as it occurred with their own eyes. Instead of repeatedly trying to explain something strange, they were able to see it for themselves. (Kudos to Skype, btw, for including the screen-sharing feature!) As soon as Kat began trying to upload a video, it failed. It was immediately apparent that there is an issue somewhere with their Flash uploader. They worked together to correct it, but are going to have to dive deeper. However… they DID find a workable solution so that we can use the site once again on a regular basis!! That is very good news, indeed.

Shirley and Narayan (the engineer on the call) took things several steps further. They noticed we were having issues pushing videos to MySpace. Yes, some people DO still use that site! They took the time to help diagnose the problem and fix it. They also enabled a few features on our account that hadn’t been before, but which will be very helpful as we continue to use the site.

I have to say… this is pretty damn awesome y’all. The level of courtesy, professionalism and customer service we received today was second-to-none. All in all, the team at TubeMogul worked with us for more than four hours to make SURE everything worked well and that we were happy. Yes, there is still an issue with the Flash uploader. That is being worked on, and they have promised us an update in the near future. We still are able to upload via other means, so it’s not a rush on our end.

Have you used the TubeMogul service before? It sure makes things a LOT easier when you need to seed content to more than one site. Take a look at all of the places that our videos end up simply because we upload there:

• Dailymotion
• MySpace
• Metacafe
• Blip
• Veoh
• SevenLoad
• Zoopy
• StupidVideos
• 5Min
• VideoJug
• YouTube

That’s not even a list of every place you can add your content to through the TubeMogul service! There are a handful of other sites which accept videos, and may be appropriate for the type of content you create – such as automobile sites!

Yes, we had issues with the service. Yes, one of those issues is still being worked on. I have to say, though, that I am beyond satisfied with the work they are doing over at TubeMogul overall, and VERY pleased with the service we received today. Thank you to Brett, Shirley, Narayan and the rest of the team.

Upload and Distribute Videos with TubeMogul

Look, I’m a tolerant man. When Pixie wakes me up and asks for a trip to the little doggy’s room at 3am, I don’t yell at her. If Wicket throws up on my MacBook Pro, I forgive him. Eventually.

But seriously, I am out of forgiveness for people who can’t figure out the name of Apple’s iPod Touch.

According to the Apple press event yesterday, it’s the most popular iPod and the #1 game player in the world. It’s been used for over 1.5 billion game and entertainment downloads. It’s cute. It’s thin. It even has an HD video camera and video editing now.

Yet people still get its name wrong. So let me explain it for you in a nice, simple way. There are even pictures to help you out.

iPod Touch

This is a cool Apple device that you can use to play games, listen to music, and watch videos.

You can even use it with FaceTime and Game Center to connect to friends who have iPods or iPhones.

What you can’t do is call it the iTouch. That is not its name. Please call it the iPod Touch.

I touch.

This is a simple sentence. It’s made up of the pronoun I and the verb touch.

You can also use those words in more complex sentences like "I touch the base whenever I hit a home run," or "When I think about you, I touch myself."

Although on second thought, if you’re touching yourself, just keep that between you and your naughty little hands. The rest of us really don’t need to know.

Eye Touch

Stop that. What the heck is wrong with you? Why would you stick your finger in my eye?

Jeepers. You do have naughty hands, don’t you?

Seriously, dude, eye touching is completely inappropriate.

Now, enough of that. Don’t make me call Wicket. He’ll throw up on your computer.

Are we clear now? The little music/video device is an iPod Touch, not an iTouch.

I won’t be responsible for my actions if you call it an iTouch one more time. In fact, I’ll take suggestions. How should I punish people who call it the iTouch?

Please Call It the iPod Touch

PopScreen is a whole new way to discover new videos – and to learn the stories behind them. Its mission is to bring you viral videos before they go viral. You don’t want to be the last person in your social circle linking to the newest must-watch clip, do you? Use PopScreen to help you discover what’s hot before anyone else in the group lays eyes on it. The video prediction engine is capable of figuring out which videos will become an online hit before they actually do.

PopScreen looks at videos from more than 10,000 sources, and it’s always looking for more. If you know of a great video resource, you can submit it on its homepage. The service indexes more than fifteen thousand videos every day. They’re then analyzed to collect data points. The data points are processed through a proprietary algorithm in an effort to accurately predict how likely each video is to go viral – and to identify which clips may be newsworthy.

One of the coolest features of this service is its bookmarklet. Drag it into your browser’s bookmarks toolbar. While you’re busy surfing the Web, you can add videos to your personal library on the site (once you’ve signed up for a free account).

You can filter the videos you are shown by checking (or unchecking) categories on the home page. You can choose from Design and Inspiration, Humor and Odd, Movies, Music, News and Politics, Sports, Tech and Science and TV, and Celebrities. Heck, choose them all if you’re feeling froggy! There’s a search bar where you can enter keywords to help narrow down the type of video you’re looking to watch.

Are you using PopScreen yet? What are your thoughts on the service and its ability to magically figure out what you want to watch?

PopScreen Helps You Discover Headline-Making Videos

This official music video for She Runs was taken from Tim Halperin’s latest album Make or Break. It was directed by Jonathan Combs and my friend Joe Childress. Not only is this a cool song, the video for it is seriously unique. It was shot as a “continuous shot” music video.

This is a single continuous dolly shot. There were no edits, despite what you may think when watching it. It only cost about $500.00 to shoot the entire film using a Canon 5D Mark II. It was meant to look stripped down like an elementary school play, and I think that they completely nailed that aspect of it.

The video received over 16,000 views in the first twenty-four hours, and has been featured on NYMag and DailyWhat. The sets were designed by Sarah Rogers and Brent Richardson. The song itself was produced and mixed by Brian Kieta.

Fantastic job, you guys! Keep up the great – and unique – work.

How To Create a Unique Music Video

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Kevin called in the other night and wanted advice on setting up a home theater. The friend of his who is trying to set things up is wondering if an Xbox 360 is sufficient as a starting point. He also already owns a 1080p television. Have you ever set up a home theater? What was your experience like?

As far as Blu-Ray players out on the marketplace, for my money it was the PS3. It has fantastic quality. Of all the players out there, I realized I wanted it to be able to do more than one thing. That’s why the PS3 made a fantastic option for me. I don’t own many games for it, but at least I have the ability to use it in that capacity at any point in time.

You could get a regular old component and perhaps spend less money. I think that overall, though, you would be happier using something like the PS3.

One place where people tend to skimp when setting up a home theater is with audio. Amazing video doesn’t do you much good if you have crap sound coming out of cheap speakers. Do your research and save money – but you also will need to spend money to have something good. You want to have crisp, clear sound.

Find the balance within your budget for good audio and good video. Together, these will make for a good experience.

I know that everyone out there has one thing they feel you need to have in that environment. Everyone has their own tips and ideas. Hopefully, the community will chip in and give their best advice.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

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Seeking Home Theater Advice

Jon has some excellent advice for those of you just getting started on YouTube. Too often, people give up before they even really get started producing content due to the haters and idiots you’ll find running amok in the comment threads. You have to remember that no matter what you do or how good you are, there are going to be negative – and even hurtful – comments. The complete anonymity that YouTube commenters have leads itself to them posting things they would likely never say to someone’s face.

You’ll get rude comments, racial slurs, and sometimes even threats to your safety and well-being. You have to develop a thick skin if you’re going to read your comments, and realize that they mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Negative feedback on YouTube videos has nothing to do with who you are as a person and what you’re doing with your life. Don’t let them wear you down.

There are several tools at your disposal. You can delete comments you find offensive or undesirable. You can vote them down so that they eventually disappear on their own. You can even block the worst offenders completely, disallowing any future comments from them. You’ll find that as you start blocking these people that the overall comments in your future videos will start to improve.

You will also get some positive stuff, of course, and even serious feedback. You’ll want to take the constructive criticism and ask yourself how you can use it to make what you’re trying to do even better. Don’t expect everything to be positive and that everyone will love you. It’s never going to happen.

Take in what people say, discard that which does not help you, and learn from the rest. You can also check out my Top YouTube Tips eBook for more information to help you be successful on the popular video site.

How to Deal With YouTube Haters

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Mark called in the other night with questions about cameras. He’s looking for a digital camera that will record in 720p. I tend to do a lot of reviews on different cameras and camcorders. Mark knows there are several I have recommended in the past, but is still unsure which he should buy.

I jokingly told him to wait for the next iPhone because it will allegedly record in 720p. More than just features, you need to look at output with camera purchases. When you see a beautiful photo, find out what kind of camera was used to take it. You can get anything from a pocket camera to an SLR. It’s the quality of what comes out of the camera that you need to be on the watch for.

Sure, you need to decide what features are important to you. If you consistently shoot in one type of setting more than others, make sure you look for something that works well in those conditions. The camera I use to record the HD videos with was chosen because it has extremely sharp, crisp and clear output. However, it sometimes has problems focusing on a specific item. Every once in awhile, you’ll see it go in and out of focus in the middle of the video. That’s because it just doesn’t like to stay focused.

It all comes down to research – just like I’ve said in the past. Decide what things are the most important to you. Read reviews online that other people have done. Don’t just read marketing hype… all companies will claim their product is the best! It’s the people just like you who are going to tell the truth about the purchases they have made.

It seems as though every six months a whole new set of digital cameras comes out. Don’t fall for megapixels or zoom. At the end of the day, it’s the quality of the lens, processor and everything inside the camera that will mean the most to you.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C1zLhoU_hKw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C1zLhoU_hKw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a>

How to Buy a Digital Camera

Check out this screen shot taken from my action figure review video a few minutes ago (clicking will take you to the original video page):

Do you see small orange blocks in the comments area?

I simply entered   #OMG     #LOL     #FAIL   into the comment submission field.

After posting the comment with these hashtags, each one of them showed up as a separate orange block of text. Clicking any one of these orange tags will take you to a global, aggregated thread for the designated tag. They appear to be working throughout YouTube now.

If you want to try it for yourself, you’ll need to place a hash symbol directly before the known acronyms in CAPS; the feature doesn’t seem to apply with lowercase characters. Apparently,  #FTW  works, too.

Kinda neat, eh? I have no idea if they’re going to be expanding this to support every popular keyword, but ATM, it seems to be for these popular acronyms. I don’t know WTF they were thinking, but I (for one) appreciate the feature!

If you discover any other orange’d tag there, let me know!

YouTube Adds Colored Tags in Comments