The Ultimate Guide to Creating Online Video Content That Works, Part 2

Of course, sometimes the confluence of technological innovation and the trends toward social media present opportunities for providers to obtain video for next to nothing, according to Clayman. "This summer, the Jonas Brothers were coming to MTV. We had a whole bunch of mobile phone cameras that we gave to average people and the Jonas Brothers themselves to take video and send directly to our operations center. We got all this backstage footage and different angles, just a tremendous amount of video, and [we] streamed all of it to a website," he says. "A lot of people were skeptical that you’d actually get good quality video from a mobile phone and that you’d be able to do anything significant with it. But when we put it on-air, we put a big box around it, and when the executive producers saw it, they liked it. And the views were just through the roof online—one of the biggest things that we’ve seen. And it was great because it was content you couldn’t see anywhere else."

This sentiment was shared by ESPN360.com and JumpTV. While both strive to deliver content of the highest possible quality, if people aren’t able to watch video from one sporting event, they’ll watch the video from another, even if it’s not the highest quality. Any video is better than no video. The audience will be willing to put up with lower-quality video if it’s content they can’t find elsewhere, according to the companies.

In terms of what aspect of a video’s production is most important to delivering a high-quality experience, there are varying schools of thought. "I try to work on my production quality, but it’s not a high priority," says Nalty. "I don’t give a crap about lighting, and I’ll put my camera on a tissue box to get a shot. Where I work hard is on the editing and timing because that’s what can harm videos. I probably spend zero time planning a video, 10 minutes shooting it, and an hour or so editing it. And I think that’s kind of right, though maybe I should spend less time planning. I’m not like Hitchcock, drawing up a storyboard. I’d never start if I did it that way."

Some argue that the quality of the video isn’t the most vital aspect. In fact, according to Louderback, the most vital aspect would be audio. "If the audio sounds like crap, no one’s going to watch it," he says. "So the first thing you should do is get good microphones. And make sure whatever you do, do it in a good environment. We realized early on that our studio was really boomy and, oh, my God, did we hear it from our fans, to the point that we had to redo the studio and put soundproof insulation in. So, in my opinion, it starts with great audio no matter what kind of video you’re doing."

Steve Garfield, one of the first and most well-respected video bloggers, agreed. "No. 1, I think about the audio," he says. "No. 2, I think about framing. No. 3, I have to hold the camera steady." Garfield has also put significant consideration into producing video with the camera on his mobile phone, as much of the video he makes happens as he goes about his day. "When I’m using the Nokia n95, the mic is on the side, so I’ve had to figure out how to rig this external mic for better sound. For holding it steady, I have a monopod I’ve rigged up to my cell phone that I use a lot," he says.

The final issue on this front is whether or not to shoot in HD. The general consensus seems to be that, whenever possible, you should shoot in the highest possible quality, as you can always reduce bits but you can never get them back. The attitude of major media companies is to shoot once in a way that allows them to use it across all potential distribution channels.

But not everyone sees a need to shoot in HD all the time. Kedersha shoots in HD for Make magazine’s website, which makes that high-quality video available for download, but he uses his standard-definition camera when he’s creating videos for Metacafe. He has no plans to distribute those videos anywhere other than on Metacafe, which doesn’t yet support HD, and he wants to save the hours he has to put on his HD camera.

How Long Should Online Videos Be?
In addition to calling into question the need for high production values, the dawn of YouTube also introduced the possibilities of short-form videos. And on that video-sharing site, best practices still hold that shorter is better.

"Resist the temptation to make it too long," says Nalty. "I used to say 3 to 5 minutes; now it’s pretty much 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Remember the first-30-second rule; you’ve got maybe 15 to 30 seconds to convince them to stick with the video. And for God’s sake, surprise them or have something interesting at the end because that’s where you make the decision to share it with others."

Major media companies also seem to recognize that shorter videos are more likely to go viral. "Our content tends to really fall into two buckets: short-form and long-form," says Clayman. "On the short-form stuff, that’s what people tend to share and blog about and put on social networks. Long-form content, people tend to just sit and watch the whole thing."