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DV 101 : A Hands-On Guide for Business, Government and Educators

Produce and distribute better video, faster and more efficiently

 

Why Buy This Book

Early Praise

From the Back Cover

Detailed Table of Contents

 

 

Why Buy This Book?

If you're producing video in corporate, government or educational institutions, DV 101 can help improve the quality of your videos and save you time and money.  Here's how:

It covers the videos you're working on (not Hollywood videos, indies or documentaries):

  • DV 101 focuses on the three most common institutional video projects: executive announcements, interviews, and training videos. If you are shooting or teaching others how to shoot these types of videos, you will find techniques described in DV 101 immediately relevant, and they will help you improve the quality of your video right away.

It details what you need to know (emphasis on details):

  • From soup to nuts: DV 101 is a one-stop shop, explaining the entire production process from where to put the camera to how to light the scene. You will learn to shoot, edit and render your videos, insert them into presentation software, author DVDs, and produce closed captioning text for streaming videos and DVD.
  • With detailed direction: DV 101 details all critical decisions. For example, in the editing chapter, DV 101 identifies six types of titles, then explains where to place the text and what fonts to use for each. Another chapter describes step-by-step how to embed videos into Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote and which compression technology to choose for each application. You will work more efficiently because production decisions are presented clearly with structured guidance.

And won't go out of date (or ram a program you don't use down your throat):

  • Software-agnostic: DV 101 uses generic screenshots and description to present all editing and authoring functions. The book is relevant no matter which programs you use, and it will not become obsolete if you update your software or switch applications.

Early Praise

Jan: just taking time out from lunch to say thanks for a good chapter on Video Compositing ...been using it as a guide. I write how to for outdoor mags, and appreciate a good how-to book.

Chris Batin, Editor and Publisher, Alaska Angler Alaska Hunter Publications

Jan Ozer's book is really saving me from a lot of errors, steering me in the right direction and giving me the confidence to try. If I follow the directions that he illustrates so well (and humorously) I expect to produce video that teaches, entertains and maybe even inspires the viewer. I have never taken a formal course and am finding my way as an amateur, but so far, with Jan's help, I am getting there with better results than I deserve to have, so this book is very good value, and I highly recommend it.

Kim L. Reynolds, (from Amazon)

DV 101 is an easy book to get your arms around, whether you're a video newbie, or someone looking for a refresher course. The downloadable supplementary workbooks feed you just the information you need, and nothing more. Corporate budgets being what they are today, chances are your department will not have funding for a large production staffed with pro videographers. I think you will find DV 101 an indispensable guide to real-world techniques that work without breaking the bank. From a business user's perspective, I can say Jan Ozer's book provides the information you'll need to produce respectable results that will delight both your target audience and your CFO.

R. Marshall, (from Amazon)

What we like about the book and the workbook is that there are real life suggestions on what to do in certain circumstances. You can do something with a camcorder or editing software , and when you make a mistake you'll find that the text has addressed it and has documented a fix. It's like the author has been there and done that.....

Ken Santucci, Professor, George Mason University

I've been shooting for a lot of years but never considered myself very good at lighting. Your chapter was one of the best I have ever read, making lots of suggestions for improving technique while giving good advice on how to save money.

Hal Donovan, Video Communications Specialist, Hazelwood School District


From the Back Cover

Over the past few years, video departments in corporations, government offices, and academic institutions have downsized. This hasn’t decreased the amount of video work that corporations and institutions do, it’s simply taken that work out of the hands of video specialists.

Today, much of the work of shooting, editing, and producing video has been assumed by teachers, executives, staffers, and others who have never received training in shooting with a camcorder, editing video, or producing a DVD. To assist these new video producers, as well as other novice videographers, this book details how to:

* Set up and shoot common projects like interviews and training
* Select and connect a microphone to your camcorder
* Inexpensively produce professional-quality lighting
* Capture, edit, and output your video for streaming or DVD
* Author and burn a DVD
* Integrate your video into PowerPoint and Apple Keynote presentations
* Create a streaming presentation with Microsoft’s PowerPoint Producer
* Create closed-captioned text for streaming and/or DVDs

Optional workbooks available on the web provide step by step instruction for specific editing and authoring programs. Check availability at www.doceo.com/dv101.html.

Jan Ozer has worked with digital video since 1991, originally for compression vendor Iterated Systems and since 1996 as a contributing editor to EMedia and PC Magazine. Jan has written eight books on producing digital video and has taught classes on digital video production since 1993, most recently for the University of Wisconsin. Jan also shoots concerts and produces DVDs for local musicians and music associations.

User Level: Novice to Intermediate


Detailed Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Mastering the Video Shoot

Assumptions

Three Scenarios

Creating Your Shot List

Setting the Scene--Executive Briefing

Chapter 2: Capturing High-Quality Audio

Identifying Your Connection Options

Choosing Your Microphone

Questions Before Buying

Fitting a Square Peg into a Round Hole

Performance Comparisons

Real-World Sound Choices

Cleaning Your Noisy Audio

In the Workbook        

Chapter 3: Lighting Your Shoots

Three-Point Lighting--the Art of Lighting

Flat Lighting--the Reality of Lighting

Lighting Fundamentals

The Lighting Toolset

User Scenarios

Sidebar: Professional vs. Homegrown Lighting

Chapter 4: Digital Production Workflows

DV Production Workflow--Definitions

DV--Our Starting Point

Chapter 5: Editing Techniques

1. Getting Started

2. Capture Your Video

3. Finalize Your Audio Track

4. Add Cutaways, Noddies, and Establishing Shots

5. Create Titles and Credits

6. Add Logos and Still Images

7. Fading In and Out

In the Workbook

Chapter 6: Shooting for Compositing and Streaming

Shooting for Chromakey

The Software Side

Shooting for Streaming Video

In the Workbook

Chapter 7: Rendering Your Projects

Video Compression Basics

Choosing Audio Encoding Parameters

Output to DV Tape

Producing Streaming Files

Producing MPEG-2 Files

Producing MPEG-1 Files

Output to DV Format

In the Workbook

Chapter 8: Producing DVDs

About DVD-Recordable Technology

What Content Can I Put on the Disc?

How Do I Build My Menus?

How Do I Control Viewer Navigation?

How Do I Fit All This On Disc?

Back on the Farm, How Do I Build This Thing?

Time to Burn

In the Workbook

Chapter 9: Using Video in Presentations

Inserting Video into PowerPoint for Windows

Inserting Video into PowerPoint:Mac

Apple Keynote

Chapter 10: Streaming with Producer for PowerPoint

Getting Producer for PowerPoint

Creating Your Presentation

Publishing Your Presentation

Final Tips

Chapter 11: Producing and Deploying Closed Captions

Preliminary Issues

Creating Your Captioning Standard

Creating Your Closed-Captioned Text

Converting Your Text to Closed Captions

Creating Closed Captions with MAGpie

Closed Captioning and Windows Media Files

Closed Captioning and Real Video Files

Closed Captioning and QuickTime Files

Converting Closed Captions to Subtitles

In the Workbook