Creating Your Own TV Show for The Internet - Video Production Tips & Tricks
In the pre-YouTube days you would have to pay to create your own video channel over the Internet. The alternative was to host your videos on your own website. Most web hosting sites have a rule against hosting videos due to bandwidth considerations. They would want you to sign up for a pricey web hosting package to host your videos.
All that changed with the arrival of YouTube and other similar video file sharing sites. You can create as many channels as you like over YouTube and share your videos with the world. For a while, the impression was YouTube was for amateurs who uploaded video content of no significant value.
That perception has slowly changed. Even the big boys are rushing to create their own channels on YouTube despite having dedicated video hosting for their websites. YouTube has become the biggest Internet Television Station and no video producer wants to miss out on the action.
While it’s almost child’s play to open a channel over YouTube, it’s a different story altogether to get viewers for your Internet TV show, discounting friends and family members. Creating your own television show is challenging but to hook audiences and make them come back for more is a tougher nut to crack.
Whether you’re creating documentaries, interviews, short animation or training videos, you could put these tips to use, assuming you can handle a video camera and edit video footage.
Subject Matter
What subject matter should you cover? Should you cover something that’s hot like Internet marketing, real estate or dog training? You shouldn’t unless they excite you. You should only cover something that you’re passionate about. This is usually a subject you could spend hours discussing with the folks around you.
Since you are creating your own TV show, go for a subject that excites you so that you’ll have the energy to keep the show going in the coming months. If the subject has already been covered extensively over the web or TV, give it a new twist or slant.
The trick is to do something that has not been done before or seldom done before. Ask yourself what your intended audience would love to see, not what’s easy for you to do. If you’re passionate about books, you could review books in your show. Write a script and get your camera rolling. You’ll create a video that’s not only informative but full of energy.
If you’re lost for ideas, watch other Internet TV shows and see what’s lacking. Ask yourself how you would improve these shows. What would you cut out and what fresh stuff would you include? Make copious notes on what impresses you and what puts you off.
Keep Your Video Short
YouTube allows you a maximum video length of ten minutes. That doesn’t mean you need to create a video that is ten minutes in length. Since you are your own boss, you don’t have to follow conventional television formats, either. Don’t plan in terms of a 30 minute or 45 minute show.
If you’re just starting out, a 3-5 minute video would be ideal. Have something meaningful to deliver in the show and leave something mouth watering for your next episode and tell your audience about it.
Even a one minute video can pack a punch compared to a ten minute piece that has nothing much to deliver. Remember, the cardinal sin is to bore your viewers. Keep that in mind and you’ll be ruthless when editing.
Promote Your Internet TV Show
Your work doesn’t end the moment you shoot, edit and upload your video. You must work equally hard to make your Internet TV Channel popular. You can put up a website dedicated to your TV show. Better still, start a free blog and post your commentaries on your shows. Create a mailing list and keep your subscribers posted. Publicize your show on social networking sites. Tell you audiences your adventures in producing the show and what’s upcoming.
Visit forums related to your subject matter and introduce your shows without spamming. Introduce your video in such way that it would add value to the subject being discussed. Study feedback and take note of suggestions for improvements or requests for more videos on the subject matter.
If you genuinely share your passion and knowledge with your intended audience, they’ll pass the word around. After a while, if you feel that you have enough quality to reach a wider audience, you can submit your show to dedicated Internet broadcast stations like www.freetubetv.net and increase its popularity.
