Public Speaking: What a Public Speaker Needs to Know About Video Cameras

As your public speaking audience grows, you may discover that people who attend your seminars and events want to continue learning from you. There is a greater demand for your public speaking expertise. This can be a signal that the time is right to package your products and services on videos. You may also want to capture the rave reviews and testimonials the members of your audience are giving you. In addition, you may be thinking of producing a short video demonstrating your public speaking product to upload onto YouTube.

Whatever your reason for making a video, selecting the right camera for the job can help you obtain the results you want. The advantages and disadvantages of three types of video cameras — the Flip cam, the Mini DVD disc camera and the hard drive camcorder — are explored below.

What do you want to do with your videos?
* Post a video on YouTube or record testimonials.
If you only want to make testimonials or YouTube videos to promote your products and services, the Flip cam is a good choice. The Flip is a handheld camera with a built-in microphone, a tripod mount and a flip-out USB arm that plugs directly into your PC or Mac to upload footage to your computer. The Flip is a simple inexpensive choice for shooting short web-based videos. However, the quality is not good enough for videos that will be shown on television or a large screen.
Good camera for the job: The Flip
The pros: Inexpensive; simple to use
The cons: Not the best quality for high-end production

* Play a video on television or a large screen.
When you want to make a video to play on television or large screen, you may want to use a Mini DVD disc camera. This type of camera records to a mini DVD. The video is similar to a movie and is made to be played back on a television.
Good camera for the job: Mini DVD disc camera
The pros: Relatively inexpensive
The cons: Difficult to edit and use; short recording time, only about 39 minutes so you’ll have to change the DVD for longer videos.

* Produce a video to sell on DVDs.
Good camera for the job: Mini DV or Hard Drive camcorder

Camera: Hard Drive camcorder
Hard drive camcorders save your video as a file on a hard drive inside the camera. Several models record in a video format that conflict with some video editing software programs. Be sure you know which file formats your camera records in and confirm that your editing software can handle that type of file format.
The pros: Very durable, few moving parts, easy to use, no DVDs or tapes to pop in and out.
The cons: Some models are expensive; some only hold 40 or 60 gigs on the hard drive so you have to upload the video footage to your computer often. If you are buying a new camera, I advise you to invest in a camcorder that has a larger hard drive.

Camera: Mini DV (Digital video)
We use a mini DV camera to produce our DVDs. This type of camcorder uses a mini tape. Though the technology is older, we always have good results with this camera. The tapes will allow you to record one hour and six minutes of footage.
The pros: Produces good quality video, tapes are inexpensive and easy to find.
The cons: Lots of moving parts that can break, older technology

Shopping tips
When you shop for a Mini DV or Min DVD disc camcorder, make sure the camera has the features listed below:
* Headphone jack — You need to hear the sound as you record.
* Microphone jack — There will be times when you will want to use a better microphone and you will need to plug it into the video camera.
* Fire wire port — A fire wire is much faster than a USB cable for uploading your video to a computer.

Make $5500 or more every time you speak!