Video on the Web

David Lee King took 10 minutes at the beginning of his presentation to make a short video - just to show how easy it is. All you need is a camera, video editing software, and some time.

• Still cameras with video modes work about as well as video cameras.
• Editing software can be free (Windows Movie Maker - you probably have it on your PC and don't even know it; Jump-Cut), low-cost, or pricey.
  
• Save in your selected format: mp3, flash, m4v (iPod), mov, etc.
• Store online at blip-tv, YouTube, Internet Archive, etc.

It's important to plan: why make this video? Who is the audience? What is the take-away message (storyboard here)? Who will do it (who's not scared to be in front of the camera), who will hold the camera, and who gets to edit, and how to control ambient background noise.

Videos can share a message, train, change perceptions, give a tour. My first thought, of course, was to try a database tutorial, but someone cautioned that we may need the vendor's permission to show screen-shots of a product. Nevertheless, it could be a fun way to share messages with our public - holidays, friends book sales, new libraries ...