Chapter 6: Deciding on a Look and Feel
5. Click Save Settings to save the template
You may be prompted to republish your videoblog, but this isn’t strictly necessary.
For other blog services, you can set up your template and just save it to your hard drive as a text file that you can edit later as needed.
In all cases, when you actually post your vlog entries, be sure to edit the text beforeposting so your vlog entry will point to the correct URL.
Creating Recognizable Intros and Outros
The earlier sections in this chapter discuss branding your Web site and your videoblog by using your own logo within them — but where do you putthe video logo, anyway? And how else do you tell people that this is your work?
Figure 6-3:
Enter your template into Blogger’s Post Template field so you can reuse it.
Intros, outros, titles, ID tags, and credits are all terms for small clips of video that stamp your vlog entries with your brand image.
Some vloggers call the opening titles and closing credits introsand outros, respectively, because they’re short clips that frame the overall vlog entry.
Keep in mind, however, that the terms introand outrohave a specific meaning in broadcast journalism — they refer to the anchor or reporter’s introduction before — and conclusion after — a news piece. The small tag identifying a production company at the end of a show is called the ID tag.
Making titles and credits
Titles and credits are the most recognizable part of your videoblog’s look and feel. Since your titles and credits appear inside your video, not just on your Web site, they’ll be seen by anyone who watches your video through your RSS feed.
Titles, credits, and subtitles all serve different purposes, depending on where they’re used:
⻬In television,opening titles tell you the name of the show, the produc- ers, and usually the stars. The opening credits often run into the actual show content. A common sequence until recently was to show the open- ing titles, then cut to commercial, then start the show, with the rest of the credits (including guest stars for the episode) laid over the begin- ning of episode. The closing credits, which never overlap the end of the show, tend to get distorted by the television network, which resizes clos- ing credit reels so they can show teasers of upcoming shows in the next time slot. Subtitles are used for clarification, translation, or services for the deaf, as well as to identify people or places referred to in the news.
⻬In movies,the opening titles and credits can run into the rest of the movie, but rarely do. The movie may open with a scene, cut to the open- ing title and credits, and then return to a new scene. Most of the time, though, the opening title and credit sequence appears before the open- ing sequence to the movie. Subtitles are almost universally reserved for translations of foreign languages. Closing credits are almost always a scrolling block of text that lists the starring actors, followed by the crew, then production companies and specialists.
⻬In videoblogs,it’s common to have an opening title, often animated, and some kind of closing credits at the end of the vlog. The closing credits are far from universal, however — and many vloggers dispense with them entirely, preferring to give a short ID tag of the videoblog site instead. In the case of a corporate vlog, this would be a good place to have sponsor logos as well.
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Using titles and subtitles
Titles and subtitles are two ways to get text onto your videoblog’s screen.
With titles, the text is the main element on-screen — as an identifier, a scene break, or even as commentary. Subtitles, on the other hand, go in the lower third of the video image. When you use subtitles, make sure you set the font size large enough to be readable, even if you’re saving your vlogs at a typi- cally small screen size (usually 320 x 240 pixels).
The following list provides some tips for using titles and subtitles effectively in your videos:
⻬Don’t use white text over a black screen.Put the opening titles over the video itself or over your opening sequence animation or video clip, as shown in Figure 6-4.
⻬Use a large font so people can read the title or subtitle text.That goes for the closing credits, too!
⻬Opening titles should be short and to the point.
Figure 6-4:
Run your titles and opening credits over the vlog so your viewers stay to watch.
⻬Sometimes you’ll want to include a title in the middle of a video. Do this to signal scene changes, as shown in Figure 6-5.
⻬Include titles or subtitles over the video any time someone you’re interviewing says a URL or e-mail address.Give the URL on-screen in large letters so viewers can see it and remember it.
⻬Pay attention to your audience’s needs.For a video I made for my 7- year-old nephew when he was learning to read, I included a subtitle of an animal’s common name (such as “Shark”) every time that animal
appeared in the video.
⻬For any instructional show, it’s common to put important technical details on-screen.For example, if you’re doing a cooking show, list the ingredients and their amounts on-screen in subtitles so viewers can read and jot them down.
⻬Use subtitles to compensate for subjects who mumble on camera.This technique is often used in reality TV shows.
Figure 6-5:
Include subtitles to signal a scene change and to highlight the subject matter.
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⻬Use subtitles for humorous effect.For example, you might provide a translation from what was actually said to what you think was meant.
⻬Use subtitles creatively.For example, you can add text-only commen- tary to a video segment — say, to explain or contrast silently with what’s being shown.
Crediting your assistants, musicians, and subjects
Movies are one of the few artistic media that are almost always the result of hundreds of people’s hard work and dedication. If you don’t believe me, look at the long list of credits at the end of any movie — any actor with a speaking part and every crew member who had a hand in the making of that movie appears in the closing credits. (That’s why they’re so long!)
But videoblogs! Ah, videoblogs might be the work of 50 people — or just one.
Rocketboom, the flagship videoblog out on the Internet, is the work of two key people, with correspondents and helpers all over the world. If your videoblog is just your own, then you only need to credit yourself, which you might do simply by including a URL to your blog and bio in the closing sequence of each vlog entry. Or you might want to point out the folks who helped you make your personal vlog dreams come true.
⻬End credits can be text over black, if you don’t mind people not reading them. When viewers see a screen go black and text scroll onto the screen, they think the movie is over and they turn it off or switch to the next vlog.
⻬Keep it short. If you have more than 4 people involved in your produc- tion, post a URL to your movie’s credits and leave it at that.
⻬Sometimes you’re obligated to include a person’s name in the credits, depending on the terms of your release forms and permissions agreements.
Not everyone wants credit — or, for that matter, on-screen notoriety.
Always ask any vlogging subjects if they mind being named (and/
or filmed!).
⻬Ask your vlogging subjects how they want their names to appear in the vlog entry, and whether they require credit in the end credits. Some sub- jects are generous with their on-camera presence, but reticent about their online identities — and you can invite them to use a vlogging stage name if it makes them more comfortable.
Reusing opening titles and closing tags
The options for getting your look and feel into your videoblog include using the following in all your vlog entries:
⻬The opening title sequence, logos, or animation
⻬The vlog’s opening credits
⻬Creative subtitling
⻬Themed content (whether subject matter or simply a visual element)
⻬Closing credits
⻬ID tags after the closing credits
Of these, the opening credits and closing tag are the most reusable clips you can create to make your look and feel consistent; you won’t need to change them to reflect the content in a specific vlog entry. So it makes sense to spend the most time on getting them right.
The opening title and closing tag serve more or less the same function; it’s rare to find a videoblogger using both of them extensively. Most vloggers use either an opening title ora closing tag, and then put any credits specific to the vlog entry at the other end. So, if you have an opening title sequence, you might roll the credits at the end of the video — listing any musical contribu- tions, guest appearances, or Web sites mentioned in that specific post. That kind of setup gives your vlog a very movie-like feel. If you have a closing tag at the end, you could put the credits at the beginning — which would give you a more TV-like setup.
Adding an opening or closing clip in iMovie
Once you’ve created your opening or closing clip, you’ll need to add it to each videoblog entry before you post it.
Make a backup of your opening or closing clip on a safe media (such as a DVD-ROM). That way, you know you’ll always have a copy that you can import it into your vlog entries.
To add your clip to your movie in iMovie, follow these steps. (Note that you don’t have to save your opening or closing clip to MPEG-4 or compress it in any way.)