The look on my puppy Alki’s face says it all… My Flip Mino is dead. Toast. Nothing more than a paperweight. It seems I left it in the pocket of my pants, and, well, the Mino is not waterproof. More like water-poof.

When my wife pulled it out of the washer, water was literally dripping out of the case. I did manage to get it dried out, but the battery won’t hold a charge and the lcd in the back has this really cool crackleture texture on the screen. Granted, not all that cool considering it no longer works.

Honestly, I am very bummed. The Flip Mino has become a mainstay for my HD – on the fly – shooting. It was in my pocket because I shoot with it all the time. I even had it on the day I met Alki last month. I was going to feature it in my class at the University of Washington, and I will certainly talk about the technology, but this is one wrench I wasn’t planning on pulling out of the works. Rats.

A few months ago LoiLo rolled out an editing program that is worth serious evaluation, if for no other reason than marveling at their provocative approach to a very traditional process. Who knows what the future holds for editing software, particularly with the anticipated release of a new and improved MovieMaker by Microsoft and the revamped iMovie09. Certainly simple editing with your mobile phone is no longer science fiction with the release of the iPhone 3GS.

Watching this video, and I had to watch a number of times to fathom all the changes they have put forward, I marveled at how they are turning the process of editing onto its ear. Most of today’s software  utilizes bins, source/record windows, sequences and clips for the work flow. This is a paradigm rooted firmly in film editing, right down to a nomenclature established nearly 100 years ago. It is refreshing to see how the Super LoiLoScope MARS software not only rethinks, but executes an entirely new editor.

From what I can tell on the site the price point is not bad, at $88. That drops it into the somewhat crowded field of entry-level editing software. Here is a page with descriptions and  instructions, along with the download page. I should note it is only available for the PC.

I have to believe it would be an amazing kinesthetic experience to run this application on something like MS Surface. The opportunity to physically manage and move the pieces of your story would bridge the gap from cognitive to intuitive creation. Just the process of zooming in and out of your workspace would change your entire approach to editing.

One of the greatest values from the software may be the features listed at the end of their video demo. The ability to nimbly convert your source footage into easily distributable formats is invaluable. LoiLo appear to have taken the guesswork out of moving your 1080i AVCHD content into the smaller and more compressed 720 MP4 files for upload to YouTube. The same ease of flipping from one file flavor to another applies in down-converting your footage for mobile devices, and burning a DVD. The time it takes to compress your files becomes a screamingly fast experience when you tie the software to a GPU accelerator like the NVIDIA CUDA card. They claim speeds of up to 10x to flip files.

Looks like I know what I will be playing with for the next few weeks. It certainly looks promising.

Apple has just announced a new version of the iPhone: the iPhone 3G S and it includes the easy to use video recording I speculated on last month. This is a game changer for social media, particularly social video.

Mashable is posting about how this will have huge implications for application developers. The new hardware will support video capture and trimming so that functionality can now exist within third-party applications, much the same way that photo capture does today.

A very interesting post today in the WindowsLiveWire blog about the efforts behind developing the next phase of Movie Maker. The plan is for a release later this year, and after looking at some of the development efforts I am guessing they are hoping to not lose users the way Apple shed them with the release of iMovie08 in 2008. I am hopeful they will get it right.

Absolutely worth a  look if you want to see where the good folks over at WindowsLive think consumer editing is moving in the next few years.

The folks at Patahouse have posted a nice explanation and demonstration of Canon’s recent firmware upgrade for the Canon D5MarkII on their blog. They have posted an HD video up on Vimeo that seems to show Canon has addressed a few of the camera’s shortcomings. They have even gone so far as to generously provide the Magic Bullet pre-set for the demo’ bleach-bypass look (if you happen to use the Magic Bullet plug-in with Final Cut Pro.)

At first glace Canon’s firmware update appears to have minimized some of the “jelly” image problems when the camera is moved excessively while shooting. The folks at Patahouse even shot the bit at 1/4000 of a second, the new superfast shutter speed that is part of the update.

Here is hoping the big consumer editing applications can start catching up to these evolving acquisition formats. FCP & Avid have been keeping pace, but entry level applications need to understand that these cameras are having a significant impact on the expectations of consumers. As we have seen over the past year, most of the entry-level editing applications have significant problems with AVCHD and 3ivx. And if the applications don’t do a better job of integrating these evolving formats consumers will speak with their wallets and push for the development of other solutions.

OK folks… All of you passionate about shooting your own videos, creating your own movies, and getting the most from the experience, settle in for a moment. This post is long, but by the end I think you may view your practice of storytelling a little differently.

Storytelling is in for a change. Truth be told, storytelling never stops changing.

When we create personal videos and home movies we are using the same basic tools used to create every movie, every television show, and every viral video out there. The nuances and details of the craft evolve, but the camera is still the same basic concept that Lincoln patented with the zoopraxiscope in 1867.

A big part of my life is creating television programs. I am again honored to be nominated for an Emmy award, this time for my work on the PBS series BizKid$. I mention this because I try to bring the same sensibilities used to make network programs to the fun task of creating personal videos.

People believe there is a line between personal and professional video. There may be a technical line. But for storytelling, there is really no line to cross; it was blurred out long ago when home videos became fodder for primetime television. So what we talk about here, in this blog, are the same issues my peers face every day when making TV. Granted the stakes feel a little bit higher on a crowded set, but there is no less anxiety shooting your kid’s school play than there is shooting a documentary in a foreign land. That is as long as no one is shooting real bullets at you.

But social media is changing storytelling once again.

One constant is that with every technological leap comes a corresponding leap in how we tell stories. As professional producers and directors we spend less time as content creators. We are gravitating to the role of content aggregators.

For 30 years people have paid me for my point of view. That is the interesting part of working in media. It is a cool job because people see value in my point of view. What I notice, what I learn, what I see and how I present that information is of value to the larger community. My peers and I are blessed to make our living creating stories. And we are intimately involved with the entire process. The craft is as much about research, interviews, shooting, writing as it is about seeing the completed work on the screen. But all that is changing.

Much of the content is now being created by you, the Average Joe, or Jane, or Jens, or Janouk. The push in storytelling is moving towards personal stories created by you.

Consequently, and much to the consternation of my peers, the pros are gravitating to the role of content aggregators rather than creators. We are often repurposing other’s content. We are creating channels. We are telling our stories using the work of others. It is a big shift.

Perhaps like Twitter, where the potential is not in the volume of data but with the sifting of data, the viewers will tire of a sandstorm of content and gravitate to better content filtering tools. Perhaps the “value add” will once again be about relying on another to craft a new point of view from the 1 million videos that are a hundred miles wide and one inch deep.

For producers and directors we may eventually reemerge as storytellers in a new medium… one where we filter and reassemble content for new meaning. We will learn to rely on others to gather most of the content and we will create new meaning by synthesizing the sources into deeper stories.

We can use these new tools to create “Social Media”, because after all, all media is social. What differentiates this new storytelling from traditional television and computer interaction is the manner in which we present the information. This interaction results in the creation of shared meaning.

This next paragraph is a bit chewy, so bear with me as I wander over to a rather academic definition. It is the Grad School lecturer in me wanting to frame this idea accurately.

Social media are online communications in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author. To do this, they use social software that enables anyone, without knowledge of coding, to post, comment on, share or mash up content. Often, users will form communities around shared interests. Users “engage” in this information media by sharing stories, experiences, advice, understanding, reactions and life’s daily moments. The tools that have been created for this “wisdom of the crowds” connect and aggregate this information so it can be presented in a new light. Social Media is all about the sum of the parts.

What does this all mean for video and film storytelling? I am not really sure.

For now I think it means we have some great tools available to us for telling our personal stories. There is no reason any more to shoot something and put it in a box in your closet. There are wonderful ways to craft your story, to put it on the web, to distribute to your friends, and maybe, just maybe, distribute it to the world.

Sure my co-workers will grouse about the competition, and we will worry about our future, but that shouldn’t (and isn’t going to) stop you. You are riding the swell of the next really significant technological wave. Get ready for a really wild ride. You could be the next Louis Lumiere. It should be fun.

Hmmm. This essay turned out a little longer than I planned. If you made it this far down the page and agree or disagree please let me know.

In a follow-up to last week’s post about video uploads from your phone and the impact on cellular phone networks comes an article in today’s Wall Street Journal. Yet another portent of doom about unlimited data plans going the way of the dodo bird.

The Wall Street Journal's math is interesting. Current iPhone users (including this author) consume two-to-four times the data of a non-Apple mobile handset user. Hey, if it is unlimited, the thinking goes, let’s use it for everything. From apps to music to movies to email to GPS to SMS to the really novel use – phone calls. To ensure networks have the capacity to offer these services, particularly bandwidth-heavy offerings like video streaming and upload, carriers will have to make heavy capital investment.

The WSJ says that, “carriers should abandon unlimited data pricing plans.” Still, I doubt this will happen in the near future. AT&T is fighting to stay the exclusive iPhone carrier until 2011.

But the data requirements of turning your iPhone into a portable media distribution hub by adding video uploads could exacerbate demands on an already taxed system.

If Apple does not add video creation, edit and upload on the next iteration of the software it will be worth asking if the real reason is data. It is clear they have all the parts to make it work, but do they have a data path that will support the demand?

Bobbing around in the sea of speculation about the potential implementation of video capture, edit and upload to the iPhone comes the news that the next generation of Android will also enable YouTube uploads. Jonathan Matus, Product Marketing Manager for the Android Team, posted news this week that the next generation software will allow users to record and play back videos whenever they have their phone. Not really news, as camera phone videos have cluttered newscasts for years. The twist? Users can upload them to YouTube directly from the phone by tapping “share” and selecting “YouTube”. Not that I know anyone with an Android, so it will difficult for me to give this feature a spin around the block. And watching raw footage is often tedious at best.

But these recent news kernels are beginning to give shape to an interesting potential phenomena… Micro Vlogging. The Android, the iPhone, even an Eye-Fi Wi-Fi SD card stuffed in your video enabled point and shoot still camera can bring an immediacy to video on the web that has previously been limited to lonely teenagers with a web-cam. Go anywhere, do anything, show it now videos on the internet.

I am not saying it is a good thing. I am not saying it is a bad thing. I am only saying it is a thing to be considered. It could have profound impact on our interactions with the web. More likely the impact will be subtle. But just like SMS begat Twitter, and shaped the format of Facebook status updates, and enabled micro-blogging, perhaps this Dick Tracy mobile video technology will begin to shape our tweets and status updates. 12-seconds is already way out in front on this idea, having created a Twitter/YouTube-looking mashup that allows you to post short videos. Micro Vlogging.

The other thing driving this new feature set on phones is the predictability of companies needing to sell the next gee whiz function. Elina Chen posted an interesting consideration on Facebook earlier this week. She pointed out that, “since most mobile functionality & applications are easy to create… demand for streaming video shoot/edit applications will be an added value for smart/tech-savvy, elite who seek the next newest, ‘wow’ feature.” She goes on to note that there is, “One key variable factor - 3G mobile networks standardize & become widely accessed by end-users.” She is right that the evolution will be shaped by the cellular networks that support it. This demand for the latest and greatest communication tools could have a significant impact on the 3G network.

I believe the robust data requirements of pushing video to-and-from phones on a mobile network connection probably acts as both an attraction and a potential liability for implementing this technology. If users start pushing an avalanche of video bits from their phones across the network the potential impact could bring the system to its knees. I would guess this has been one of the principal roadblocks to implementing video on the phones. The data could potentially slow down all the other bits of information we have coming to us 24 hours a day.

So what do you think? How will truly mobile video shape how we interact with the web? With our social networks? With our phones? And ultimately, each other?

It has been fun following all the hand-wringing and unbridled speculation about the next generation iPhone. As we all know the update comes in June, but the rumor that keeps catching my eye is the idea of using your phone as a production studio.

Many cell phones have video recording capabilities. And with cameras like the Flip capturing HD video on a device that is half the size of an iPhone, the notion of capturing high definition 720 content is rather near-fetched (wouldn’t that logically be the opposite of far-fetched? But I digress). What tickles my fancy is the rumor that Apple could include a simple editing application with the next software releases. Think of it as an “iMoviePhone”. Just think, you could capture, edit and distribute in one fell swoop. Just make certain you have the hard drive space to manage all that digital flotsam that will start swirling around in your phone. Time to purge the latest “Scrubs” episode so you can shoot little Julie’s first bike ride.

Will it work? Why not? All the parts are there in the phone. If you look at Pure Digital’s success with the Flip you can argue that the consumer demand is there. And Apple has been filing patents for the parts they need. It will be fun to see how, and if, this shakes out. It could be one heck of a tool if they make it work. Of course, it is all conjecture right now. But that is the fun part. Imagining what could be…

The New York Times reviews the Panasonic’s Lumix GH1 digital camera. This is a new Micro Four Thirds format camera that does so much more than just snapshots. I want you to know about it because the GH1 has a significant breakthrough: full, unlimited-length, 1080p high-definition video, with autofocus. Yes, autofocus. Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II and EOS Rebel T1i, Nikon’s D90 and other similar still cameras-turned video cameras all lack this one huge feature: The ability to autofocus on the fly, to free up the user to frame the shot and hold the camera steady.

Sure, pocket cameras can also capture video. I did daily video posts three years ago from Paris using my old beater Nikon 8700. But this camera offers an enormous range of creative photographic controls and lenses. And we are talking full HD, not the deeply flawed 720 variety. Full raster 1080p.

Panasonic has also addressed what may initially seem like minor details but are a huge factor in bridging the gap between camcorder and high-quality video camera. For one, they have added an external mic jack. With a little work you can create videos that don’t suffer from the pain of great images and dismal sound. Additionally, the camera has an image stabilizer, scene presets, and an HDMI jack.

I can imagine the waiting list will be significant this May when the camera start shipping. I won’t be surprised to learn it is as long as what we saw when Canon rolled out the 5D Mark II. 

This raises the bar for cameras significantly, and really changes the game. Hmmmm… I think I need to go check my bank account. Wonder if I can fit $1,500. into my budget?

Tripods suck. OK, there I have said it. I feel better now. I mean, really, using a tripod when shooting your video can put a damper on the creative juices, deflate your storytelling ch’i.

Tripod Basics Video

Unfortunately, tripods are a necessity if you’re serious about shooting. As I mention in this episode’s video, it’s as simple as that. We all know they’re big, bulky and a pain in the neck, but if you want to get rid of shaking video, then it's time to find and use a good tripod.

These three-legged creatures support an otherwise unstable marriage between man and machine. A stable tripod creates sharper videos by damping out vibration. In fact, a tripod is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve your videos. Period. End of story.

Well not quite the end, because as you see below I have lots more to share about tripods.

What Kind of Tripod to Buy?

The tripod you choose depends on the weight of your camera. Light weight camcorders can use lighter weight tripods, but I would not recommend it. And obviously, as you can guess, heavier video cameras need heavier tripods. Most tripods will be rated by how much weight they can support. The closer your camera is to the top end of a tripod’s rating the more wobble you will have. A good rule to keep in mind is get the stiffest and lightest one possible by choosing one with as few sections as possible, 2 sections is better than 3.

The best tripods are made out of materials that are effective at damping out vibrations. Carbon fiber or wooden tripods are more effective at absorbing vibrations than metal tripods. Carbon fiber tripods are generally 30-40% lighter than their metal counterparts. And much lighter than the wooden ones.

How stable is your tripod when the legs are fully extended and the tripod adjusted to a comfortable height for you? Does it wobble? Does anything seem loose? Remember, after using it over time, parts will get worn. If something is a little loose or wobbly when the tripod is new, it will be lost or broken sooner rather than later. Try to avoid the plastic models. Yes, they’re lightweight and cheap, but do you want to trust it with your camera? A heavy tripod is a stable tripod. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation also says a heavy tripod gets left at home. So be realistic about how much weight you are willing to drag around.

Finally, the head is the part of the tripod that connects the camera to the legs. Heads come in two varieties. Some are a simple flat piece of metal with a bolt poking up in the middle. But most have some sort of mechanism for adjusting the attitude of the camera (tilt up and down, side-to-side, pan in a circle). When you are purchasing take a close look at the tripod’s head assembly. It could be a ball and socket construction, or it could be a more expensive contraption filled with a sort of hydraulic fluid (it is called a fluid head and used to create those smooth professional camera moves.) Unfortunately, many heads are not removable from the leg assembly so you are stuck with whatever is there. As you review the options you may decide to go for a very different solution where you purchase the head separately from the legs. The downside to buying your system as components is it tends to be more expensive.

So once you have chosen a tripod that meets your needs there is one more thing. Use it. Really, just use it. Your videos stand a great chance of going from unwatchable to compelling. OK, perhaps not compelling. But at least you won’t need to hand out Dramamine to the viewers before they watch your show. And that makes a world of difference.

One final note, my kids were mortified when they saw the lamp I picked up from the thrift store for this video segment. It is a beauty, for sure. I think it is a lemon tree and I can’t bring myself to part with it. But after the snide comments I got from my 13 year-old daughter it is now on the market. I am taking offers. Get creative. What do you want to trade?

I would guess that by now many of you have seen the amazing footage that is coming out of Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II and EOS Rebel T1i, Nikon’s D90, and Panasonic’s Lumix HG1. The big image sensors and incredible glass in these second generation digital cameras means the user can capture footage that rivals cameras costing 10-15 times as much. But outside of using a tripod, the ergonomics of shooting with one of these can leave a lot to be desired.

Well Redrock Micro is looking to make the most of a very opportune situation. They have come out with the DSLR 2.0 line of its Hybrid Cinema Rigs. These are filmmaking machines that can facilitate some serious movie making. DSLR video finally brings film quality production to the mainstream. Granted, you better plan on spending at least $1900 on a rig that will give you basic production tools. But if you are serious about making that indie-film you have always dreamed of, looks like Redrock is providing a piece of the puzzle.

It seems my previous post sparked a number of conversations and even a little confusion. “Curt on Cape Cod” cross-posted my frustrations to the DPReview website. That conversation instigated a number of interesting threads, none of which really touched directly on my dilemma. The folks there didn’t really get the problem.

I will say that the companies who make this technology “get it.” To their credit the folks at PureDigital have been terrific at helping me to discover a smoother production flow… E-mails and phone calls from a company that wants to get it right. Cineform has been presenting options that show promise. And the MovieMaker team has been engaged. Nice to hear from the heavyweights. But I have yet to find the Promised Land.

The purpose of this blog is to make movies that help people make better movies. Consequently, I want to make a video that presents you with an easy way to shoot, edit and distribute this HD Flip content. I got the shooting one done, and I am averaging about 1000 views a week. It seems folks find it helpful. But I have spent a month researching the edit function of the Flip HD and it is driving me crazy. I can imagine how those who don’t do this for a living feel.

Warning! The following content may drift off to a place with a bunch of arcane technical babble. I’ll try to keep it from being to eletro-wonky. No promises.

The challenge I have been exploring is the mismatch between 720p HD files and consumer editing products. This is not a problem with your typical AVCHD 1080i file that is pumped out of countless file-based consumer video cameras. This is about a standard that is not supported as a standard for acquisition, only distribution.

When you watch HD video on YouTube and Vimeo it is 720, not 1080. The files may have started as the larger 1080 picture, but not when you see them. The movie’s canvas size is smaller so there is less data to push down the pipe to the users. Somebody has to pay for the bits and the infrastructure and ad revenue can only support files that are medium sized, not huge 1080 frames. Even the HD from your cable service is 720 MPEG.

When you upload a file to a big internet hosting service they scale it down to fit their smaller 720 format. For now the picture is “good enough” for the web.

So what have I learned about editing Flip 720HD content so far?

1) I still have few working solutions on the PC. I am trying to discover why Cineform’s NeoScene is stripping audio from the files I convert. There may be the need for an additional application from them to get it to work. My fear is if the solution is overly complicated most consumers will give up. That is too bad, because this application transcodes the files very quickly and converts them to 422 and 709 colorspace. If I were using the flip for a feature or a documentary for broadcast this is what I would use. That is if I could get it to work. I think this one will come through eventually.

2) The jury is still out on the next build of MovieMaker. I have not seen anything yet that would indicate they will have a solution that will solve this. Typically the canvas for consumer HD is 1080i AVCHD because that is where the sweet spot of the market is. Consequently that is the focus of most editing software. Pinnacle and Vegas could work, but like Movie Maker they are optimized for 1080i. Don’t forget that you need a robust video card on your machine, 256 MB minimum.

3) I am not totally averse to using the basic edit tool in FlipShare to create a simple sequence and export from there, but I have not seen a preference where I can turn off the dissolves. And it is so rudimentary I can’t see using it unless I am stuck.

4) On the Mac side, iMovie’09 shows great promise. The files come in quickly and play smoothly in the application. Editing is fairly intuitive (once I understood the paradigm) and this solution is the best I have found so far. The challenge I continue to face is there is no function for editing in 720p. The HD option is 1080i only (presumably for AVCHD files).

When you present the 1280x720 Flip HD files it scales them down to 960x540. If you output the file using the export wizard the largest file option is the 960x540 canvas, something the on-line distribution sites like YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook see as a big SD file and scales down accordingly.

I have had some success exporting a sequence using the QT interface and telling it to scale the final as 1280x720. I need to closely examine the file. There are two ways it could be doing this: 1) Is it really is scaling down for edit and scaling up for export, or 2) linking to the larger source files for a smoother playback in the smaller display canvas of the application and then using the large source files for the final output, therefore introducing no scaling artifacts because there would be no size change. I am hoping for number two.

As you can see here I have had some challenges exporting files as H264 Quick Time from iMovie’09. The sync on the audio drifts about 20 frames every minute, creating a movie that is significantly out of lip sync by the end.

The only path I have is to edit the movie in iMovie09 using the large canvas option, “share” the movie by exporting it as an 720p Animation QT and then converting it to a more compressed H264 file. This keeps the audio in sync and maintains the canvas size. It seems really goofy to jump through so many hoops.

So the offer still stands. If any of you have a cleaner solution I would love to hear about it. I would welcome the idea that I am an idiot and I should be doing it another way. But that way should be simple and the solution should be something my mom could execute.

I really want to post a video about editing these HD files. But so far I can only talk about a standard definition solution.

I am feeling a little too far in front of the curve these days with my FlipMino HD. I had such high hopes for using this camera as part of my regular production flow. But the process just doesn’t really work yet, and it is really aggravating. Perhaps someone out there will have a better work flow. Trust me, I am all ears.

As you probably know, Pure Digital’s Flip MinoHD shoots 720p HD footage. I have rather fallen in love with the little camera. I take it with me all the time. Don’t get me wrong, no one will ever confuse the camera’s footage with Red, nor is it a Mark5dII or even an EX3. It is a fixed focus $220 camera. I expected significant limitations. And with those limitations the footage is awesome. But once you shoot the HD footage what do you do with it?

The previous versions of the camera our family has used are standard definition. It has been super easy to cobble together great movies in MovieMaker and iMovie. My 13-year-old daughter started using these cameras nearly three years ago. But the Filp’s 720HD format is completely unsupported by editing manufacturers. I have had to jump through so many hoops to get clips I can edit with that I feel like I work for Wham-O. Here are the problems.

PC

The FlipShare application is great for moving your files from the camera’s flip flash memory to your computer. So far so good. But then what?  I can export the files to a local directory, but they are still in the 3ivx .mp4 wrapper. That means I need an application that will handle the files natively for editing.

With the 3ivx codec installed on my computer the Windows Media player displays the video clips flawlessly. It is great for viewing vibrant, full screen previews of the clips. But that does not solve my editing conundrum.

The Windows Media Encoder totally fails when it tries to read these files. It gets lost and quits.

Microsoft’s Movie Maker on the PC creates exclusively standard definition Windows Media files. The application recognizes that the source files are 1280x720 mp4 files. You can see that in the clip property page. But there is no way to publish a HD movie. The output that you create is 640x480 standard definition. It recognizes that the flip files are oversized sources and scales them in real time down to SD.

Impressive, but not what I am after. The Beta version of Movie Maker displays similar behavior.

Adobe’s Premier can’t even recognize the file format.

Mac

On the Mac side it does not get any better. Using the legacy version of iMovie (The iLife 06 version, you know, the one that actually works as an editor) I can import the files. But the process is really laborious because it has to transcode all of the files to the project’s selected video format. In this case 720 HDV. At least it is in HD. That is an improvement.

Unfortunately it can take hours for 30 minutes of source footage to be converted in the QuickTime engine. There is no way to define a custom project format, like .mp4 or 3ivx, in iMovie.  You have to choose from the preset flavors provided by the application.

Trying to get the footage into iMovie08 was hopeless, but it really does not work as an editing application so I would have used it as a transcoder. It was a total waste of time and I moved on.

At least once you get it into the iMovie06 application you can string the footage together and publish a QuickTime file using the QT “Expert Settings” function. Just don’t expect speed. Last week it took over 22 hours to export a 32 minute string of clips. Not only is this unduly time consuming, but converting the file to a third format when exporting is not a very good idea. I was converting the files from 3ivx to hdv when I imported them into iMovie, and then to animation mov files when I exported. All that jumping from one format to another is very likely to introduce significant errors to the files. If I could have just batch flipped the files to uncompressed QuickTimes in the FlipShare tool that would have been more efficient.

One other problem I have had with exporting longer video strings out of iMovie is the audio and video drift out of sync. The videos of my kids skiing look more like a poorly dubbed Mothra movie than the family out on the hill.

Final Cut Pro is of no help as there are similar limitations to project formats and converting footage when it get dropped into the timeline. I can not create an 3ivx or mp4 project, so again I am stuck with HDV or DVCProHD or some other generic file flavor from the 1990s.

So what's the solution? I don’t really know. For now I am having to convert the files in QuickTime Pro. It eats up oodles of hard drive space, too much time and is decidedly inelegant. I want a solution where I can create a project in a decent editing tool that edits these files natively. And I want an easy way to flip the final product into an HD deliverable. It could be a high quality file, it could be HD tape. Just something that is not as insanely broken as what we are faced with now.

So what have you discovered out there? Why do we have such a popular tool that only takes us only half-way through the production process? We can acquire, but we can’t distribute. We have a camera that is so easy to use it only has two buttons, but a file format that is so broken and unsupported you need a PhD in math to use it. Let me know what works for you. And I will be happy to share your discoveries.

I am doing my best to skip the cheesy and easy word-play about this camera’s name. No comments about flipping over,  flipping out, or doing back flips. But if the visitor statistics for the MediaFlow website are any indication, if you write about Pure Digital’s Flip MinoHD camera then folks will find you. The hunger to learn about how to get the most from it is the epitome of “if you write it they will come.” Fortunately I am not pandering to the blogosphere. I’ve been shooting with Flips for over two years and continue to marvel at how much fun they are to use.

Video: How to shoot with the Flip MinoHD Camera | by Drew Keller

Users on social networking sites like Facebook, Windows Live, Blip and Vimeo are creating videos specifically to communicate to a small audience -- or even a single person to whom the user is already connected. It is not broadcasting, but the ultimate in narrowcasting. The shift in behavior is being caused by a proliferation of easy-to-use devices that produce easy-to-upload videos. It is creating a whole new class of video content on the Web.

The Flip MinoHD camera, made by Pure Digital, is the very definition of "less is more." There are only two buttons… one that turns it on and the big red one for recording. When you turn it on its ready to record in less than two seconds.

The camera is not without compromises. The first thing you should know about the Flip is that as far as HD pictures go, the video is only OK; it is definitely great for the web, but don’t bother comparing your video to other camcorders.

One other limitation to work around is the microphone is the size of a grain of rice and very susceptible to wind noise. Additionally, it is best to be close if you want to really hear what people are saying.

The Flip Video camcorder uses the MPEG-4 format for recording and playback and the image quality is acceptable. The MPEG-4 3ivx codec maximizes the space on your camcorder's flash memory as well as your computer’s hard drive, but still enables high quality videos. In average light the images have rich hues and sharp details (such as the snowflakes stuck in my beard as I was skiing.) The camera also handles low light situations acceptably, particularly in comparison to other cameras in its class.

In the next installment of this three part series we’ll explore the ins and outs of moving your files to your computer and editing solutions.