How to Make a Video Podcast

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Categories: Technology | Web Entertainment | How Tos

  • Do you have something to say to the world? Then podcast it! How to Make a Video Podcast shows you how to record your own video program, then broadcast it to the world via the Internet.

  • Video Podcast Tips

    1. Choose a topic about which you're passionate.
    2. Podcast on a regular schedule.
    3. Get a good camcorder for better video quality.
    4. Choose a host that gives you plenty of freedom.
    5. List your podcast in online directories to get noticed.

  • Introduction

    • For those unfamiliar with the term, a podcast is an audio or video recording that you broadcast to others over the internet. Why would you want to create a podcast? Everyone has their own reason. Maybe you want to share your music, writing, or your opinions with others. Maybe you have access to some great interview subjects or just like being on camera.
    • While audio podcasts can be a great tool, video podcasts allow you to add a visual dimension to your material. Creating a video podcast is a surprisingly simple process. You can get started with not much more than a computer and camcorder.

  • Step 1: Choose a Subject

    1. Listen to existing podcasts. You may get some ideas for your own show, and if there are already shows out there similar to what you wish to do, try to find a way to differentiate yourself from the crowd.
    2. Consider what you're passionate about. It's much easier to come up with regular episodes about a topic that genuinely interests you. Do you have a job in which others would take an interest? Do you have a hobby you love? Is there a news topic on which you would like to provide regular commentary?
    3. Think about what you have to offer. Once you've figured out what you're passionate about, how do you think you can be helpful to others interested in that subject? Do you have access to people who could give good interviews? Can you provide instructive how-to videos? Do you have a unique point of view that could help others to understand something differently?

  • Step 2: Decide On a Schedule

    • It will be easier to build up a following for your podcast if you broadcast on a regular schedule.
    1. Don't start at a pace you can't maintain. The first episodes of your podcast will be the easiest to come up with and produce, since you'll be full of ideas. However, you must consider more than your first week. Do you think you have enough ideas, or can come up with enough regularly, to shoot out a podcast every two weeks? Every week? Every day?
    2. Consider how much time you have that you can reasonably devote to your podcast. While you may be able to produce a podcast episode every day during vacation, can you keep up with it when work resumes?
    3. How long will each episode be? This will depend largely on the content of your show. If you're going to run a series of tutorials, how much time will each task take? If you plan to do interviews, what's a reasonable time commitment to expect from your subjects? If you're doing a solo talk show, how long can you keep things interesting and informative?

  • Step 3: Choose Your Path to Fame

    • At this point, instructions for creating a podcast become more or less complicated depending on how much of the process you want to handle yourself and how many tasks you would like a host site to automate for you.
    • If you're a do-it-yourself type of person, you can handle recording, editing, uploading, hosting, and publishing your podcast all on your own. The rest of this how-to will guide you through each process.
    • However, if you're not really interested in the technical aspects of producing a podcast, the following and similar sites make things easier by allowing you to record, host, and publish your podcast all on one site:
    1. Hipcast: Record online, by phone, or upload video; paid service
    2. PodOmatic: Record online or upload; 500 MB storage; 15 GB bandwidth/month; pay for more bandwidth and storage
    3. Veodia: Record online; 500 MB storage; limit 5 viewers at a time; free account available for 3 months only; pay for more storage and bandwidth

  • Step 4: Gather Your Equipment

    • In order to record and upload your podcast to the internet, at the very least you'll need:
    1. Computer
    2. Internet connection
    3. Video input device (e.g. camcorder)
      • You can use your computer's built-in video camera, if it has one, but recordings made this way won't look or sound as professional as recordings done with a better camera.
    4. Video recording software

  • Step 5: Record Your First Segment

    • In most cases, you will probably use a camcorder to record video for your podcast. To do that, you will need to follow the instructions for recording with your particular camera.
    • For instructions on how to record directly onto your Mac's hard drive using your computer's built-in camera and iMovie, see the iMovie support site. PC owners must consult support materials for their particular built-in camera.

  • Step 6: Import Your Video Segment

    • After recording your podcast episode on your camcorder, you need to transfer the data from the camcorder to your computer and open it with your video editing software. If you recorded directly into iMovie, you can skip this step.

  • Import to iMovie

    1. Open iMovie.
    2. Connect your camcorder to your computer according to the instructions that came with the camcorder.
    3. An import window should automatically open once your camera is correctly connected. If it does not, choose "Import from Camera..." from the "File" menu.
    4. You may be given the option to import all or selections of your recording.
    5. Press the button that reads "Import."
    6. Select the size option for "Large -- 960x540."
    7. Choose the location to which you wish to save your video file, select "Create New Event," and give it a name.
    8. Press "OK."
    9. Once your video download has completed, you can turn off and detach your camcorder from the computer.

  • Import to Movie Maker

    1. Open Movie Maker.
    2. Hook your camcorder up to your computer following the instructions included with the camcorder.
    3. If Windows asks you to tell it what to do with the connection, choose the option for capturing video with Movie Maker and press "OK." If you don't receive a prompt, choose "Capture from video device" under "Movie Tasks" in Movie Maker, then select the correct camera from the menu in the next pop-up screen and press "Next."
    4. In the next window, give your file a name and choose a location on your hard drive.
    5. On the next screen, choose what settings you want to use to save your video. Press "Next."
    6. Choose whether to capture all or part of your video.
    7. If an option to "Start Capture" appears, navigate your video using your camcorder's controls to the section you want to put on your computer. Then hit "Start Capture."
    8. When you reach the end of the video you wish to save to the computer, press "Stop Capture."
    9. Press "Finish" if the wizard doesn't automatically close.

  • Step 7: Edit Your Recording

    • How much and what kind of editing you want to do will vary largely from person to person and recording to recording. Consult the support materials for the software you're using to determine how to make various edits to your video. Visit Windows Movie Maker support or iMovie support for additional information.

  • Step 8: Save Your File in a Suitable Format

    • Video files can take up a lot of space, and chances are your audience won't want to download a huge file. To create a more acceptable file that users will willingly download, you must first compress it. The exact format for your file will depend on your intended audience. Will most people watch your podcast:
      • On your blog?
      • On a podcasting website?
      • On their iPod or in iTunes?
    • Both iMovie and Movie Maker automate the compression process for you. Consult the site you're using to host your videos to determine the appropriate file format, then follow these steps:

  • iMovie

    1. Once you've finished editing your iMovie project, choose "Export Movie" from the "Share" menu.
    2. Enter a title without spaces in it for your file in the "Export As" field.
    3. Choose a location for the file.
    4. Consult the table to determine what size file you wish to export. The file size may also be dictated by the hosting service you choose. A dot appears under each viewing option for which the file size is suitable.
    5. Press "Export."
    6. The file should appear in the location you chose.
    7. Right-click on the file and select "Get Info" to determine the exact size of the file.

  • Movie Maker

    1. Under the "File" menu, choose "Save Movie File...."
    2. On the next screen, choose "My Computer."
    3. Press "Next."
    4. Give the file a name without spaces in it and choose a location for it.
    5. Press "Next."
    6. Follow the blue link that says, "Show more choices."
    7. Choose one of the "Video for broadband" settings from the "Other settings" drop-down menu.
    8. Press "Next."
    9. Press "Finish" when your movie is done compressing.
    10. You should now be able to find the file in the location you selected.
    11. Right-click on the file and select "Get Info" to determine the exact size of the file.

  • Step 9: Find a Host for Your Files

    • In order to share your podcast with the world, you'll need to post your video and an RSS file on the Internet. However, you can't create your RSS file until you know the URLs for your video files, so you'll need to find a host, upload the video, then create and upload an RSS file. You have several options for hosting your podcast.
    1. If you already have your own website hosted on a server that allows you to upload multimedia files, use that site as your host.
    2. You can host your files on a site that offers free storage for media files, such as Internet Archive or Ourmedia. If you choose this option, you'll also need to go through the process of publishing your podcast yourself.
    3. Finally, you can sign up with a site that both hosts and publishes podcasts. Some popular sites include Podbean, Blubrry, and Liberated Syndication.
    • Below we've listed the steps to follow to host your podcast on one of each of the above options.

  • Hosting On Your Website's Server

    1. Log in to your server as an administrator.
    2. Follow your server's process for uploading files. Many website hosts use an FTP program to upload files, or they may have a built-in program on the site. Contact your hosting service if you're unsure of how to do this.
    3. Note the URLs where your files can be found.
    4. Create your RSS feed.
    5. Upload the RSS file and note its URL.

  • Hosting On Internet Archive

    1. Sign up for a free account on Internet Archive. #*Go to the homepage and click on "Join Us" in the upper right corner of the site. Follow the site's instructions to set up your account.
    2. Click "Upload" next to your login information in the upper right corner of the Internet Archive webpage.
    3. Enter a title for your file.
    4. Click "Next."
    5. Fill in the required fields for the file.
    6. Choose a license for your content. Attaching a Creative Commons license to your podcast helps you to retain certain copyrights for yourself while allowing others to share your work.
    7. Choose the file you want to upload by clicking on the "Browse..." button next to the "File to upload" field.
    8. Select "(movies)" next to "Type of file."
    9. Click on the "Upload files" button at the bottom of the page.
    10. Follow the link that Internet Archive provides to your video.
    11. On the left side of the page, you'll see a small picture of the video labeled, "View movie." Beneath that, under "Play/Download," is a link to the URL you need for your RSS feed.
    12. Create your RSS feed.
    13. Upload your RSS file to Internet Archive as you did the video file, and follow the URL you're given.
    14. You can find the RSS feed's URL by clicking on the link that reads "FTP" on the left side of the page.

  • Hosting On Podbean

    • You'll need to upload your video file, but you won't need an RSS file.
    1. Sign up for an account on Podbean.
    2. Log in to your account using the password that Podbean sends to the email address you supplied.
    3. Click on the "Publish a Podcast" tab at the top of the page.
    4. Select the link for "Publish a new show."
    5. Enter at least one tag (keyword) for your episode.
    6. Give your show a title.
    7. Enter any text that you want to accompany the podcast episode in the body of the post.
    8. Underneath the blue bar that reads, "Podcasting," click on the "Browse..." button.
    9. Select the video file for your podcast episode from wherever you've stored it on your hard drive.
    10. Select the file type of your video file from the drop-down menu.
    11. Click the "Publish" button.
    12. Repeat this process if you have more episodes to upload.
    13. To view your podcast page when you're done, click "View site."
    14. Visitors to the site can now subscribe to the podcast from the website.

  • Step 10: Create an RSS File

    • You'll need to create an RSS file in order to deliver your podcast to your audience, unless you choose to use a hosting site that automatically generates a blog or feed for you.
    1. PodCast411.com provides instructions for writing your own RSS file.
    2. You can use a free online RSS feed generator, like the one at PodcastBlaster, to create your file.
    3. At the very least, you'll need to have the following information handy:
      1. The title of your podcast as a whole.
      2. A description of your podcast as a whole.
      3. The title of each episode you'll include.
      4. A description of the content of each episode.
      5. The main URL for your podcast.
      6. The URL for each video file.
      7. The size of each video file.
      8. The language of your podcast.
      9. Any copyright information for your podcast.
      10. Make sure to include descriptive information in the optional iTunes tags.
    4. Save your code with a .rss or .xml extension. In Word, you can do this by saving the file as "Text Only" and manually appending the .rss or .xml at the end of the file name (make sure the box labeled "Append file extension" is unchecked).

  • Step 11: Publish

    • If you decided to use a site that both hosts and publishes your podcast, like Podbean, you can skip this step.

  • Publish to iTunes

    • Submitting your podcast to iTunes allows iTunes users to find your podcast on their own.
    1. Sign up for an iTunes account.
      • Though you will need to enter credit card information, you won't be charged unless you make a purchase in future.
    2. Make sure to include the optional iTunes tags in your RSS file. You can find the coding for those tags in red in this article by Podcast411.com.
    3. Validate your RSS file.
      1. Open the iTunes application on your computer.
      2. Pull down the "Advanced" menu and select "Subscribe to Podcast...."
      3. Paste the URL for your RSS file in the dialogue box.
      4. iTunes should begin downloading the most recent episodes of your podcast.
      5. Open the latest episode of your podcast once it becomes available by double-clicking on its title.
      6. If you can hear your podcast, the RSS is fine, and you can continue. Otherwise, you'll need to check for mistakes in your RSS file.
    4. Go to the iTunes Store in iTunes.
    5. Follow the link for "Podcasts."
    6. At the very bottom, on the left side of the page, follow the link for "Submit a Podcast."
    7. Enter the URL for your feed and click "Continue."
    8. Complete the requested information and follow any instructions to complete your submission.
    9. Wait several days, then search for your podcast in iTunes. Eventually, it should also show up in the iTunes category you provided.
    10. iTunes has further instructions on updating and troubleshooting your feed.

  • Publish On Your Website

    1. Validate your RSS file. You can do this for free at a number of websites. Simply enter the URL for your RSS file:
      1. RSS.scripting.com
      2. FEED Validator
      3. W3C Feed Validation Service
      4. RSS Advisory Board
    2. Create a link to your RSS file's URL on any page on your website.
    3. You must update the RSS file every time you add an episode to your podcast. You can do this by adding an item to the code you wrote yourself. You can also use an updater tool. You must then upload the new file to the same location on your server.

  • Publish On Your Blogger Blog

    1. Make sure that your blog has enclosure links enabled.
      1. Go to "Formatting" in your blog's "Settings" tab.
      2. Choose "Yes" from the pull-down menu next to "Show Link fields."
      3. Click the "Save Settings" button at the bottom of the page.
    2. Create a new post for your podcast episode.
    3. Give the post a title.
    4. Below the "Link" field, click on "Add enclosure link."
    5. Enter the URL for your video file. For example, if you're using Internet Archive to host your podcast files, use the URL you copied for the video file.
    6. Enter any text you want to accompany the video podcast in the body of the post.
    7. Click on "Publish Post" at the bottom of the page to publish your podcast.
    8. Make sure that your site feed is enabled. Go to the "Site Feed" link under your blog's "Settings" tab. Make sure that either "Full" or "Short" is selected in the "Allow Blog Feeds" pull-down menu.
    9. Click on "Save Settings" at the bottom of the page.

  • Step 12: List Your Podcast in Directories

    • Now all you need to do is get your podcast noticed. In addition to submitting your podcast to iTunes, here are some other sites you should check out. Follow each site's instructions for how to post there.

  • Conclusion

    • Congratulations! Your podcast is up and running! Hopefully, you'll begin to attach a growing audience immediately. Continue to update your podcast regularly with new episodes. Also, check out other people's podcasts to stay current in the podcasting community. Networking can be the key to success.

  • Podcasting Tools

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