How to Docublog | Tips & Tricks | You Tube

How to Docublog

Blogging can be overwhelming if you’ve never done it before, so we’re going to walk you through it.

Step 1: Sign up for a WordPress account
Anyone can comment on existing posts, but you’ll need a WordPress account in order to blog along and get the true Docubloggers experience. Sign up here, and then use your username and password to log into the Docubloggers community.

Step 2: Post a blog entry
Have something to say? Here’s your chance to do it. After you’ve logged into the Docubloggers site, click on the “Write” tab, and fill in the blanks. Once you submit it, you’ve created your own blog entry. It’s that easy.

Step 3: Submit your own Docublog
You can post a blog without video, but if you want to really get into the Docubloggers experience, you can share your own creations with your neighbors. Docubloggers utilizes YouTube to bring you the streaming video you see here on our site. This is the easiest and most effective way to host video. If you don’t already have a YouTube account, click here and get one.

After you’ve uploaded your video to your account, you’ll need to know the ID number for that clip. First, find the clip in your YouTube account. Now you have two options:

1. Look in the address bar for the URL of your page, it should look something like this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zgrNUlHyjhA

Next grab the letters and numbers at the end of the address and place them in this format:

Enter this in your post where you would like your YouTube video to appear.

OR

2. Right click on your clip, and go to “Properties”. A window pops up, and your ID number is the last string of letters and numbers following the “=” sign.

To have your video embedded into your blog entry, type the following line above your accompanying text (replacing the #####’s with your video’s ID number):

So, for the above example, this would be what I would type into my blog text box:

And here is where I start my accompanying text for my blog entry …

When you post this, the YouTube code will magically turn into your video.

Video Production Tips & Tricks

The internet is a great place to share your work, but who wouldn’t want to see their docublog broadcast to every household in Central Texas? All of us here on the Docubloggers staff feel that docublog videos don’t have to be perfect to be pertinent, but our years in the biz have taught us a few tricks that we’d like to pass on to you so that you can create the best submission possible.

Equipment

The KLRU Docubloggers staff all comes from the world of broke college documentarians, so we know that equipment isn’t the easiest thing to come by. We also know that if you’re in a bind, what you have is what works best. If you’re really serious but don’t want to buy, there are places around the area that rent cameras and audio gear by the day, week, or month. You can choose between professional-grade gear and something more toward the consumer end. You do NOT need professional gear to make a great docublog! Use what you have available (digital cameras, video phones, webcams, etc). The most important thing is to know the strengths and weaknesses of whatever equipment you choose to use. Knowledge of your equipment means you can utilize it for its strong points and work to hide its shortcomings.

Lighting

Great video makes great docublogs, no matter how it was captured. Concentrate on how a subject (be it person or thing) is lit. Don’t have the sun behind someone because it makes your subject’s face too dark, and don’t have the sun in someone’s face because … well, would you like to give an interview staring directly at the sun? Plan ahead so you can have your shot properly lit. And you don’t need fancy studio lights to ensure your audience can see what’s going on. Use what’s around you. Desk lamp? Natural light from a window? Be creative if you have to. You can even use a piece of white poster board to bounce light from a source onto your subjects face (this softens the light).

Composition

The difference between a good shot and a great shot is the composition. Anyone can go to their local park and get good shots of wildflowers, but a great videographer knows how to line up a perfect shot.

Headroom

When looking through your camera’s viewfinder, make sure your subject’s head is located near the top of the frame.Having too much empty space over someone’s head makes it seem like something is about to drop out of the sky on top of them.

Head Room, Right

Head Room, Wrong

Look - Space

When your interview subject is speaking, give them some room to look. If you’re standing to the right of the camera, have your subject on the left looking across the frame. Reverse this if you’re on the other side.

Look Space, Right

Look Space, Wrong

Rule of Thirds

A good setup for a photograph works just as well for video. Imagine two equally spaced lines running across the frame vertically and two running across horizontally dividing the frame into nine sections.Line up elements of your composition (e.g. the horizon) along the lines, and line up subjects at the intersection points. Doing this makes the image appear to have more life and energy than if you just plop something right smack in the center.

Rule of Thirds

Tripods

There is little worse than a shaky video. It’s distracting, and in some cases, downright nauseating. Use a tripod. Don’t have one? Try leaning on or against something. Anything you can use to steady up your arm or the camera will dramatically increase the “viewability” of your docublog. It’s one simple way to separate your work from the amateurs.

Audio

Good, clean, intelligible audio is arguably more important than perfect video. Viewers can forgive a few bad shots, but if they can’t understand what’s being said due to low volume, overpowering background music, or loud noises, they’re not going to keep watching.

Microphones are directional, which means they record audio from the direction that they are pointed. Keep this in mind when you’re interviewing someone. Point your microphone toward your subject … but away from loud noises such as traffic, construction, marching bands, screaming children, packs of wild dogs, etc. If you’re out and about and need to interview someone, but the current location is too noisy, don’t be afraid to ask them to move somewhere else. Taking a moment to consider what you hear around you will mean the difference between an interview that is good enough for broadcast and one that languishes in disrepute.

When you’re mixing music into your docublog (if you choose to do so, and if you have the rights to it), make sure that it isn’t too loud. Music doesn’t need to be overpowering to be effective. Additionally, be cautious of music that has lyrics if you intend to have it playing underneath an interview. Your audience might have a hard time choosing between listening to the music or the interview. And pay attention to the audio levels throughout the piece. Your audience should be able to watch the piece from beginning to end without adjusting the volume.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that just because YOU know what the person being interviewed is saying, doesn’t mean your audience does. You were there, you asked the questions, and you spent hours on end editing the thing. Have an objective third party listen to your final product before it’s done to see if they understand what’s being said.

Legal stuff

Personal Release -
Have each person that appears in your docublog fill out this release form. The language sounds scary, but it basically just means that they’re giving you permission to use their image and their words in your docublog and that you can edit the interview and distribute it to us. It is very important that you have these forms filled out for every person that appears on camera in your docublog. Docublogs that we consider for broadcast must have copies of these releases on file here at KLRU that can be sent along with your submission.

Submission Declaration -
If your docublog gets picked for broadcast, you’ll need to fill out one of these. It basically grants KLRU and Docubloggers permission to air your piece, and lets us know that your work is yours alone.

Location Release -
This form should be filled out at your discretion. It generally applies to movie sets, but you might find yourself in a situation where you might need a location release. Perhaps you’ve been given permission to conduct an interview at a restaurant or business. Use your best judgment to determine if you want to have the owner/operator fill this form out.

Story

As a docublogger, you are the facilitator of the stories that you choose to tell. Even though docublogs are inherently non-fiction, they still tell stories. Since no one likes jumbled and mumbled stories that go nowhere and make little sense, it behooves all of you docubloggers out there to make sure you tell great stories. The best way to do that? Pre-plan. That’s right, it’s that simple. Do your research. Lay out the story and the points you want to address before you start rolling tape. Know what the people you interview might say prior to sitting down with them. If you pre-plan and really know the story inside and out, it will reflect in your final product.

These are but a few of the tricks of the trade, but they’ll get you started on the right track. The web offers a wealth of resources if you want to learn more in-depth tips. Google is your friend. While we have you in the production frame of mind, though, be sure to download and print out our release forms to have some ready for your first shoot.

SUBMISSIONS FOR BROADCAST

We currently aren’t accepting submissions for broadcast on Docubloggers. If you have full length programs or program ideas, please see the pertinent section of the KLRU website

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