What's wrong with your video?

With so much video floating around, it's easy to be tempted to put some of your own out there. And a lot of business professionals have a pretty good reason to make video part of their marketing strategy. It can't be terribly complicated, right?

Somehow, $10,000 later, your videos aren't quite what you had invisioned. They sound terrible, the lighting isn't right and there's some jerking while panning and zooming.

Notice my first observation was bad sound. That seems to be the first thing we notice about bad video, which seems counter intuitive, but true. It's also the first thing the beginner shooter neglects. And unfortunately the fix often means a new camera or expensive audio recording gear (and an editing nightmare). The reason the audio isn't clear is because you're using the built-in microphone on the camcorder. So the camcorder becomes the mic, meaning for best results, you would have to hold the camera as if it were a mic. In that way, you capture the subject as the most prevelent source. But that makes for some extreme close-ups that would make even the most beautiful subject nervous.

The better solution is to start with a camcorder that has a microphone input. With that, you can choose a long wired mic or a wireless system for $20 to $200 (and up).

The next issue is lighting. The most common problem with poorly lit subjects is that the camcorder struggles with more light behind the object it's shooting than on the subject itself. For between $150 & $200 you can buy a professional softbox light that will give your star enough illumination to be clear and have nice color. Avoid shooting in front of windows indoors.

Finally, the jerky pans can be eliminated through creative technic and/or better stabilizing equipment. A handheld shooter should have a good grip on the camcorder, tuck in his or her elbows, find a shot and hold it as steady as possible. Operate with the zoom all the way out so you minimize the magnified motion. Try to reduce panning whenever possible. And the best answer here is to buy a professional tripod, like a Monfrotto, for $200 and up.

What you should walk away knowing about shooting good video is to create the ideal situation for your camacorder instead of settling on shooting in challenging situations. Given adequate sound, light and technique, even consumer camcorders can do a pretty amazing job.

With these tips, I can make a better video for $600 than others who have spent $10,000.

What's with my neighborhood?

Crime seems to love my neighborhood, especially police chases.  This is the second one that sped by my house in the past year, but the fourth that I know of to flee through my neighborhood.  There was also a wanted person being retrieved across the street and a murder six blocks away this month.

Giving up your passwords for a little gadgetiness

I came across a neat iPad app today that assembles aggregators' content into sets of print-style pages you can flip through, similar to a book reading app.  It's called Flipboard and it really cleans up some otherwise cluttery articles from their native homes.

Out of the box it comes with some preset feeds, including facebook, twitter and Google Reader modules, all setup and waiting for you to...login.  Yep, just supply usernames & passwords for your accounts and it'll take you for a spin around your social network.

But wait.  Where does that login information go?  On one hand, you have journalists telling you, "Never share your private information," and others extolling the virtue of this new whiz-bang newsreader.

That's a problem because this data mining operation, no matter how well trusted, could be compromised by hackers, same as credit card companies.  Recently dozens of institutions had egg on their faces when they were forced to reveal to their customers that the company to whom they supplied customer lists was hacked.

So, not only do you have to wonder if your account credentials at facebook or twitter or Google is well guarded, but all of the other trollers you give up your information to, like this whiz-bangy, gadgety thing called Flipboard.

For me, I like the app, but have pushed aside the pre-built social media modules that need my password to function properly.