Audio can be a big problem in your video. It’s especially challenging when you’re shooting in a room with hard floors, walls, tables, and ceilings. The sound waves bounce around and reduce the quality of your audio with echo. If you’ve ever tried to capture good audio for your video in a room with hard floors, you’ll like this tutorial. In it, I show you how to dramatically reduce (or even eliminate) echo from your audio.

This is a members-only edition of Izzy Video.

Enjoy the video. You can download the trailer here.

If you’re new to Izzy Video, you should watch some of the free videos so you can see if it might make sense for you to become a member.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned in my newsletter that I was turning old VHS and 8mm video into digital video to store on hard drives. Since then, I’ve received many emails from viewers asking me to show how to convert analog video to digital video.

This members-only edition of Izzy Video will show you the exact steps to take.

As an additional note, I want to emphasize that I feel this is a high priority for people in the world today. We don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to get ahold of VCR’s and 8mm video cameras. If you have old video, please don’t procrastinate. Convert that old footage to digital. This will give you a digital master you can use for a number of different things in the future.

Enjoy the video. You can download the trailer here.

If you’re new to Izzy Video, you should watch some of the free videos so you can see if it might make sense for you to become a member.

This is a simple tutorial that gives you some tips to help you shoot better video with a Kodak Zi8. This is the first video on the subject, and because I know many of you have this camera, I’m planning more tutorials on this camera in the future.

This one is for the members. You can watch the trailer here.

When you shoot video of a trade show, it can be an enormous challenge because there are so many variables. You have crazy lighting from the overhead lights as well as from the lights on the different booths. Along with other technical challenges, many times you have to deal with the challenge of getting the video shot, edited, and posted on the web because speed is important too. What can you do to help speed up the process?

In this installment of Izzy Video, I give several crucial tips to help you shoot video of a trade show. Hopefully this will save you from having to learn these lessons “the hard way.”

This video is available to members only, but you can watch the trailer here.

Gear I show in this video:

• Shoulder Mount – Zacuto Z-News News Production Baseplate Kit
• Gray Card – Lastolite EZYBalance Collapsible 18% Grey/White Balance Card – 20 inches
• On Camera Light – Litepanel LPMICROPRO MicroPro LED on Camera Light

(The above links are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase the items, I’ll make a small commission.)

One of the most popular questions I get from viewers is “What video camera should I buy?”

This question is easier to answer than you would think, and you might find the answer surprisingly simple. In this episode of Izzy Video I tell you how to decide what camera to get. This could prevent you from wasting hundreds of dollars by buying the wrong camera…

You can watch the Quicktime trailer here, but the full version is available to members only.

This is part three of my series on shooting video with a Digital SLR, and it’s all about dealing with the bad audio capabilities of these types of cameras. I’m going to go out on a limb and make a big statement here:

If you have a Canon 5D Mark II, this episode could save you money because it might prevent you from purchasing a tempting-but-unnecessary piece of gear.

If I would have seen this video or something like it before-hand, I wouldn’t have spent the $350 it took to purchase the piece of gear I show in this tutorial.

This video is available to members only, but you can download the Quicktime version of the trailer here if you want. To learn about becoming an Izzy Video Member, please follow this link.

This video tutorial is an introduction to shooting video with a Digital SLR. The model I own is the Canon 5D Mark II, so it’s the one I demonstrate in the video. Personally, I think these cameras are revolutionary, and I find the footage that I get from them to be amazing. In fact, in many ways I prefer the overall look of my video from the DSLR over other more expensive options (such as my Sony PMW-EX1).

I find there are plenty of reasons to use these cameras for shooting video, and there are several reasons why you shouldn’t. In the video, I’ll give you those reasons, show you some sample footage, and even show you very quickly how to shoot video with the Canon 5D Mark II. This is the first tutorial in a series, and I hope you enjoy it!

You can watch the trailer here.

The full version of this video is available only to Izzy Video Members. If you’re not a member yet, you can follow this link to learn more.

* Links to gear are affiliate links and help support Izzy Video when you make a purchase.

Wireless lavalier microphones are a fundamental tool when you shoot video, but for someone new to this kind of gear, they can be challenging to use. This members-only installment of Izzy Video will help you get set up correctly.

Also, in the video I make several announcements regarding events where I’ll be speaking live…

This Saturday on Sept. 19th, I’ll be speaking at the Chandler, AZ Apple Store from 4-6pm. It’s free, and there should be room for 30 people or so. For the first hour, I’ll talk about operating a video camera, lighting for video indoors, lighting for video outdoors, and audio for video. For the second hour, I’ll do “questions and answers.” If you have video questions, you might want to come join us. (And sorry, but the event won’t be captured on video, so I won’t be able to release something later if you miss it.) Here is the location info.

Did I mention the event is free?

Also, on Oct. 16th, I’ll be speaking about audio for video at Blogworld Expo (not a free event). If you’re going to be at Blogworld Expo, come check out my session.

And then on Nov. 14th and 15th, we’ll be doing Podcamp AZ again, and I’ll speak there as well. I’m planning to do a lighting workshop of some kind. This event will be free as always, and we’ll have a lot of fun there.

Why am I doing these live events? Partially because people asked me to speak, but also because as much as I love training on video through these tutorials, there’s something fun and dynamic about the live environment. I’m really looking forward to these events, and I hope to see you there!

Oh, and here’s the Quicktime version of the trailer for the above video tutorial.

If you want access to the full version of this video along with more than 100 other video tutorials, you should become an Izzy Video Member.

UPDATE: For a limited time, I’m making this tutorial available for free to anyone. You can watch it in the above player, or you can right-click here to save it to your computer.

In this members-only episode, I give several tips that I really wish I would’ve known when I was just getting started in video. Sometimes lavalier microphones are the best choice for a shoot, but they can also be frustrating to use.

In this week’s Izzy Video tutorial, I’ll show you things like:

• How to hide a microphone under clothing
• How to reduce cable noise by adding strain relief
• The proper way to attach a lavalier microphone
• How to best position it

If you use lavalier microphones at all, or if you’re considering using them, this episode should really help. Enjoy!

I like to convert my living room into a studio for shooting video. Is it a little inconvenient having to move everything around? Yes, I suppose it is. But it works for me for several reasons:

1. I don’t have to drive anywhere. Even if it takes 45 minutes to set up the studio, that’s not much longer than it would take for me to drive to a studio somewhere else. And my living room is certainly a lot more accessible to me.
2. My living room is quiet. The floor is covered with carpet. This helps deaden potential sound problems.
3. I can shoot almost any time I want. If we’re planning on shooting on a Tuesday, but then we push it to Wednesday because we’re not ready yet, I don’t have to worry about rescheduling a rented studio.
4. I can hit the refrigerator between takes.

If I had an extra room that I could set up and leave as a studio all the time, I probably would, but this periodic studio setup just isn’t that difficult, so I don’t mind doing it.

In this week’s video, I’ll show you the whole transformation as I convert my living room into a studio, and then I’ll stop periodically to explain certain items, pieces of gear, and my motivations behind some of the decisions I’ve made.

This is similar to a video I did in the past, but I’ve made changes since then, so I thought an update would be appropriate.

Do you have a studio in your home? I’d love to hear what you do. Please feel free to tell me about it in the comments for this post.

This video is available to members only. To learn how you can gain access to this video as well as all the past videos, please visit the membership information page.