Camera Techniques

If you will be creating original video for use on the Web, you can improve its performance and compression capability by using camera techniques that minimize the amount of data needed to display the image.

First, use short cuts rather than pans (horizontal camera movements) or zooms (moving the camera focus from far ground to closeup). Many codecs are based on calculating changes from one frame of video to the next, and a moving transition such as a pan greatly increases the number of changes per frame. Codecs insert a reference frame, also called a keyframe, when the new frame is greatly different from the preceding one, and then changes are calculated from that frame. As a result, special effects like transitions, fades, and fast panning don't translate well on low-end computers or connections, and will instead be seen by your viewers as disconnected slide-show-like presentation. It's better to avoid them unless you know that your audience will be viewing your material via fast internet connections.

Keep your subject well lighted, but avoid sharp contrasts between light and dark or excessive shadows. Soft lighting is better for compression. Similarly, keep your shot as simple as possible. If you have no choice but a very detailed background, one way to work with it is to position your subject far enough in front so that the background is somewhat out of focus. The blurred image will compress better than the sharply detailed one.

Pictures of images (video of a screen or slideshow) and subtitles are generally too small and blurry to be useful. If you have supplementary materials or information to go along with the main subject of the video, consider publishing them to a Web page and embedding the video on the page or within a SMIL file.

Other Considerations

Look for compelling subject material- don't put up video just to do it.

Consider whether video and audio are necessary, or if audio alone will serve the purpose.

Consider the length of the video and what is practical given your audience's network access.