Library TV

BTW

2007-05-09T16:23:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the non-posting, other higher priority technologies have been demanding my full attention.

Producing Instructional Videos

2007-05-09T16:16:00.000-04:00

At the Mass. Lib. Assoc. annual conference last week in Sturbridge, MA there was an excellent program on creating instructional videos with digital video. I didn't get to sit through all of it but there are some good notes and links available here at MLA's blog: "I'm Ready For My Close-Up, Mr. Demille"

The powerpoint presentation is supposed to be available online as well, when it is I'll link it.

Feeling Adventurous?

2007-05-09T16:09:00.000-04:00

From Thomson Gale:

Love your library?

Love being a librarian?

Tell the world why and you could win $10,000!

In honor of libraries and librarians everywhere, Thomson Gale has
created librareo (www.gale.com/librareo), a Web site dedicated to promoting, marketing, shouting from the mountain tops and generally praising libraries, librarians and the people who love them.

Visit www.gale.com/librareo between April 15 and May 25 to find out how one simple activity - uploading a video you've created to YouTube professing your love for your library; your fellow librarians; the community you serve; the information you keep, archive and categorize - can win $10,000. $5,000 goes to the library and $5,000 is for you to spend however you want! And...you'll be the guest of honor at a special screening of the winning video at the ALA Annual Conference!

Libraries are about communities, and so is this contest. A panel of judges will narrow down the videos submitted to five finalists based on the criteria you'll find at www.gale.com/librareo. From June 1-11, voting is open to the public...and it's the public that will pick the winning video. The video with the most votes wins the prize money!

So point your camcorder toward the reference desk, interview some patrons, tell a success story and post it on the librareo YouTube group site. It's fun, it's simple and it could make you and your library $10,000 wealthier.

For a complete list of rules, permission forms, prize details and more information, visit www.gale.com/librareo.

Good luck!

Town Video

2007-01-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

The Town of Brockton has contracted out for some promotional video. (Just look to the bottom of the page for the large VIDEOS button.) My town is looking at the same thing so I'm not sure what I can say in terms of detail. Some other communities have gone with the same product, if I get the links I'll share them as well. Its not in the same vein as what libraries use videos for but interesting none the less.

...on an unrelated note I'm still recuperating from Christmas vacation and I'm going to Seattle for ALA next week, so I'll try and do a test video with the new camera between now and then but no promises.

Directions and Inspirations

2006-12-19T16:28:00.000-05:00

Librarian In Black points to a couple of YouTube items. One is a short directional on how to get to the Reference Desk.

The second is a neat promotional idea by the Denver Public Library, getting teens to make 'how I have fun at the library' videos and having a YouTube contest.

Video Toolbox

2006-12-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

YouTube has a nice collection of articles for anyone interested in getting into video production. There's even more at VideoMagazine where the original articles came from. I'm not a fan of, not very good at, subject immersion but a little reading here, a little there, and it makes a big difference.

320x240

2006-12-14T16:25:00.000-05:00

Somebody in the comments section said they didn't like YouTube's video quality. My clips have been a little fuzzy but what happens is the original clips are a larger resolution and they either have to be saved into a smaller 320x240 resolution or YouTube will do it when you upload. Whether I can reformat the clips so they hold up better I don't know yet, I need to find out what they're set at now. I do know the new camera actually films at 320x240 so at least the online quality may actually increase for in-library created film.

re: I Got It!

2006-12-11T14:19:00.000-05:00

The camera has a slot for a Memory Stick Duo. I think its primarily for the camera functions but the manual says you can record up to 5 hours on a 2 GB stick. That seems like a lot of video so I'm not sure about the quality but its something to hope for.

I Got It!

2006-12-10T17:52:00.000-05:00

A Sony Handycam DCR-HC-36. The thing is about the size of my fist which is pretty freaky after working with a higher-end but much larger camera similar to the DCR-VX2100.

So far I've charged the battery and looked around a little with it. I'm not good at exploring without a specific project to work on so it could be a while before I really get comfortable with it. The first project will be a tour of the library (unless something quicker pops up) and will start after New Year's.

Permission TV

2006-12-10T17:36:00.000-05:00

Somebody sent me these links. The first is the company PermissionTV, what I would describe as a for-profit and higher quality YouTube. They offer their services to libraries, an example setup here and Orange County's service through them here. The presentation is miles above anything an individual library would do but it could also be miles above what a lot of libraries would need to do.

Speaking from the POV of a middle-sized library you're going to be able to do what you want through YouTube, especially with the ability to insert the video into your website with just a little code. The only real question is how long YouTube can remain free and if there's an eventual cost what will it be?

Larger, better financed libraries, or library systems, will probably be more interested in what P-TV offers.

Video Christmas Card

2006-12-04T13:30:00.000-05:00

We film the December Library Lowdown this afternoon but I managed to get part of it done in advance.

VLog

2006-11-25T19:49:00.000-05:00

An article at LISNews highlights a short video on virtual reference based at the Arlington Heights Library. However the real story is that they're launching a weekly library info program called What's Up At The Library. They're keeping it short at 2+ minutes, so weekly is certainly doable. You can see the various videos they have up so far here. I believe Arlington Heights is part of the group that created LibraryTV.org that I talked about the other day.

Dare To Be Bad

2006-11-21T10:36:00.000-05:00

Some good advice from a Vermont school librarian: "Technology is pass/fail for librarians. You have to dare to be bad at it until you master it." This is especially true with video. The many screw-ups and mistakes I've made in working with computers are mostly hidden behind the Wizard's Curtain but video is going to be right there in the open.

Hat tip LISNews.

The Other LibraryTV

2006-11-18T22:46:00.000-05:00

www.librarytv.org looks like it might be dated but 'This Month's Cable Guide' is up to date and its apparent partner, What's New In Libraries is definitly up to date. The What's New isn't bad, its a cable show like Library Lowdown, but the clips available are in Real Media format, not one I'm fond of, although the quality is very good. The Library TV cable guide lists episodes that seem to be web available but no explanation as to how to get them. The goal seems to have been to create a library channel, and its looks like they've done it. Its similar to a lot of local cable access stations, relying on local talent, but with a heavy emphasis on promotional programs for libraries. If anyone has more information about this it would be appreciated.

Elmwood Park's 70th

2006-11-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

Shifted Librarian links to a video celebrating the Elmwood Park Public Library's 70th anniversary. Its worth it for the exploding pumkins and the turtle.

Music

2006-11-16T10:05:00.000-05:00

I thought I was going to be very clever and get around certain copyright issues by using local high school performances as background music for future projects. However the arts director pointed out to me that I would still have to worry about arrangement copyrights. I think I can still get around that by using short snippets strung together, assuming that's practical. However, when I was asking for some advice on it over at LISNews I got an excellent suggestion for using military band music. Some good links there to check out.

YouTube and Archive

2006-11-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

One thing I have noticed from using YouTube is the ability to see how many people are watching. Archive will show number of downloads but not the number of people who watched the streaming video, which I would assume be a higher number. DVD copies (and older VHS) are kept of all our in-house productions so I don't feel any great need to keep stuff online longer than its intended expiration date. Since YouTube gives the advantage of embedding I may have to rethink my video strategy.

re: Technology In Action

2006-11-11T22:51:00.000-05:00

I said I wanted to see Brookdale's giant sorter in action. Well, I was looking for something else and came across this short vid for Seattle's sorting system. Its short, simple and self-explanatory. Wicked cool.

Ask A Ninja

2006-11-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

Interesting article over at LISNews.org. I commented on it over there.

Formats

2006-11-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

I uploaded a short piece concerning an update to our digital audiobook service and linked it from our blog.

For some reason the first few seconds get butchered, its happened with previous clips. The size is right, the only real difference is the frames per second are much lower (10 fps) compared to the suggested 30 fps. I resaved it and adjusted it to 30 and it partially fixed the problem. I'll have to try and remember to make the adjusment from the original next time and see if that solves it. The first video below is the 10 fps, the second is 30 fps. (Oscar material I'm not)

Technology In Action

2006-10-20T13:57:00.000-04:00

Brookdale Public Library has a longish clip on all the technology in the library, both what's available to the patron but what helps the library run. Its interesting and also highlights the fact you don't need a video camera to do video. Its done with stills and some basic graphic effects. There's room for improvement but great effort!

...and if they ever do get a video camera it would be fun to see a 30 sec. clip of that giant book sorter in action ;) ... [Edit: yeah I'm a geek]

New Season

2006-10-11T13:34:00.000-04:00

I actually finished the first episode of Library Lowdown 2 weeks ago but I just finished getting it completely up on the web this week. Here's why:

1. If there are major problems in filming its either sound or lighting. This time it was sound, only I didn't know it until after the fact. We record to DVHS tapes but have recently started using a Firestore digital recorder which lets you create digital files you can simply drag and drop onto a computer. The sound was okay on the DVHS but not okay on the Firestor, no idea why but will have to watch for it next time. (The one disadvantage of too much equipment, too many things can go wrong.) This led to longer editing because instead of just drag and drop I had to import the video in real time. It also means the sound quality for the online video isn't the best.

2. Out of practise. Your never going to be able to work fulltime with video (you'll probably never want to either) so there's always going to be some re-learning. I made a silly mistake when I broke up the whole show into segments and it cost me an hour or so which translated into having to come back a couple days later.
The silly mistake? Editing video is working with layers:

graphics*****************
video~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sound1###################
sound2$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

In chopping the video up into shorter segments I left a bit of sound down the pike:

graphics****************
video~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sound1##################
sound2$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$..........................$$

It made the clip 3 times as long as it was supposed to be which made converting it to MP4s that much longer (a slow process already).

3. One good thing was that I posted the News & Events on YouTube so that I could then insert directly into our webpages (not an option with Archive.net). I may try creating shorter clips in the future or I may need to learn more about formats in general because I've seen clips on YT that are just as long but load faster and easier.

Bobbie Bitman

2006-09-23T13:55:00.000-04:00

This was posted on the ALA Council listserv. Its a public service ad done only as SCTV could do it. Dopey yes, but in a good way and a patron would never forget it.

Ray of Light

2006-09-23T12:38:00.000-04:00

The Shifted Librarian has a link to a video done by the St. Joseph County Public Library to highlight the staff. Its a great video and the production is terrific. My one complaint is it doesn't say anything. Many people use the library but the majority only use maybe 5-10% of what's available and that's what their library is to them. A video like this isn't really going to point out the other 90-95% that exists. Not that any one video probably could (and still manage to be interesting) but a series of 30 second spots could do exactly that.

Super Librarian

2006-09-21T16:27:00.000-04:00

This is perfect.

Update

2006-09-20T15:44:00.000-04:00

New episodes of Library Lowdown begin filming next week. We haven't
bought a video cam yet but we're working on it so no more progress made on
side projects.

Vegas Movie Studio

2006-07-07T10:51:00.000-04:00

As I stated in the intro, the goal is to see if practical and informative video can be created on the cheap. In order to do this you only need a computer and software. Believe it or not you don't need a video camera but that is part of the current plan. We have a digital camera for stills and that also comes in handy.

For a computer I work on a Dell Dimension 4500, with 1 Gb of RAM, a Pentium 4 1.8 GHz processor, 80 Gb drive, and running Windows 2000 SP4. Its about 4 years old and while its handled creating a 30 second video spot pretty easily it will be interesting to see how it does when it gets up to 5 minutes.

Two months ago I purchased the Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition, which seems to work pretty well considering how inexpensive it is. It has great interactive tutorials which has made it a lot easier to work with. I have the advantage of already working with Final Cut Pro so I already know video editing basics. The disadvantage being I know what buttons I'm looking for, they're just not in the same places anymore.

Once you have the computer and software all you need is content, and again, it doesn't have to be video. Windows allows you to record voice files and you can create your own slides using PowerPoint or even Bitmap. Plus whatever pics you want to take with a digital camera. So if you have staff that are camera shy (including yourself) you can create video that doesn't involve people. I wouldn't recommend it but its an option.

Just to play with the software when I first got it, and since I don't have a video camera yet, I created this 30 second test clip using some photos I had, the text feature in Vegas, plus a sound effects CD that came with it. Here's the clip on YouTube, and the beautiful thing is that YouTube lets you incorporate clips into your pages, which would look like this. WARNING: The clip is ugly.

Brown University

2006-07-07T10:22:00.000-04:00

Here's another university's video take on the library, Brown University. Theirs is much more straightforward than the previous two and, to a degree, closer to what we're working on here. Unfortunately the streaming video at Brown doesn't load very well is you don't have a fast connection. Ours is fast but it gets dragged down by the catalog software we run so I'm barely getting the sound and the picture is jumpy. I'm not entirely sure the difference between Brown's QuickTime files and the ones I create for Library Lowdown but its one of those issue you have to keep an eye out for.

College of DuPage

2006-07-05T16:22:00.000-04:00

This is not as impressive as Leeds but straightforward and informative. No audio and uses Flash.

Leeds University Library, UK

2006-07-05T16:18:00.000-04:00

I guarantee I won't be doing anything as impressive as this. They've done an incredible job. Notice how the text highlights and follows along while the video plays. Simply amazing.

archive.org

2006-07-03T11:28:00.000-04:00

Having Library Lowdown in digital form was great but being able to host it was a problem. Our current webhosting doesn't offer streaming video and I considered that to be an important option as opposed to simply dowloading it and watching it on your computer. Archive.org offers streaming video and its free for anyone to upload whatever they like. You can also upload multiple clips and keep them together as one page though its difficult to discern which clips are which. The latter point is why I setup a seperate webpage with direct links to each segment.

A bit of a learning curve (one I'm still on) is figuring out the proper file format. Streaming MPEG4 (mp4) is what works with Archive. When saving the file using Quicktime you specifically have to say MPEG4 - streaming (low or medium). Depending on the size of the file this can take a while. Trying to keep in mind various types of internet connections I upload both low and medium size files. However there are certain parts of Library Lowdown, such as Webtalk, that the smaller screen of low streaming video is unhelpful.

Book TV

2006-06-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

One of the reasons libraries need to begin exploring web video is how fast other media are jumping in with both feet. C-SPAN's. Book TV offers dozens of programs available for viewing online.

Introduction

2006-06-29T13:27:00.000-04:00

Before I even came into my current position there was already an ongoing monthly library program on local cable called 'Library Lowdown' ('LL'). It had been running for 2-3 years and was used as a vehicle to inform and promote the library's building project. This program was produced using the equipment of the local cable access station, BATV. It was not digital, involved very high-end recording equipment (still does), and was recorded to SVHS. This was then edited using deck-to-deck equipment (2 high-end recording units, one recording from the other). This continued on for 3-4 more years during which I was brought in and trained in order to help edit and produce the program.

During this time BATV was making digital recording and editing available. The same camera equipment was used but it was now recorded to miniDV tapes and edited on an Apple computer using Final Cut Pro. Over the past 1-2 years I've been learning the basics of video editing and 'LL' is now produced digitally. Which opens up a lot of possibilities.

Some of those possibilities have already been explored and I'll be posting about what has already been done. The big questions I've had for a while now is: Can any of this be done without the expensive equipment? If I was starting from scratch what would I have to do? Would it be worth it?

I've come up with a partial answer or two but nothing definitive. It has been a lot more exciting than I'm probably making it sound. With digital cameras and phones that make movies and websites like www.archive.org and youtube.com that will host them, there has been an eruption of video content. Harnassing these resources for libraries offers the potential for better patron interaction and more effective use of library resources.