Introduction to YouTube for Participatory Film

For those of you that are already familiar, this blog may not be of much interest to you. But, for the novice, here is an introduction to YouTube, including the pros/cons of using it, how to upload participatory videos, and how to compare it to other video sharing sites.

Founded in February 2005, YouTube was created to watch and share original videos worldwide. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email.

YouTube.com is the most popular video-sharing site on the web. Popular YouTube.com videos are shared and viewed hundreds of thousands of times. The most popular videos tend to be short, between 1 and 3 minutes long, although longer videos can be uploaded. Although viral comedies have been the most popular YouTube.com videos, the 2008 Presidential elections has provoked a variety of more politically-oriented uses of YouTube that range from serious questions for party nominees to satirical music videos to experimental political advertisements.

YouTube has a variety of viewing sizes, so that it is accessible through a range of bandwidths. Videos uploaded onto YouTube can take advantage of their sizeable hosting space and post the videos directly into their own websites, blogs, and social networking sites. This is difficult and expensive to achieve in-house, without the threat of overwhelming your web hosting service and causing a system crash if too many people attempt to view the video simultaneously.

YouTube may not be preferable for sensitive content due to its large viewership, the author’s inability to control content distribution, and the viewer’s ability to post unedited and sometimes insensitive responses.

As a part of its commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, the The YouTube Nonprofit Program was developed. Through this program, nonprofits can broadcast on a special Nonprofit channel, which includes:

• Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacity
• Rotation of videos in the “Promoted Videos” areas throughout the site
• The option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout “Donate” button

How to Upload Participatory Videos onto YouTube

Using YouTube requires a little bit of knowledge about the site itself and, to be really successful, some understanding of how to make a video for online distribution.

The YouTube Toolbox is a fantastic source of basic videomaking recommendations, including tips on the following:

• Optimizing for online distribution
• Planning for a shoot
• Recruiting talent
• Composing a video
• Simple effects
• Lighting for internet videos
• Digital audio
• Editing
• Music and soundtracks

Once you’ve finished editing your video, made sure it’s less than 10 minutes, smaller than 100MB, and in an acceptable format, you’re ready to upload it. Click “Upload Videos” in the upper-right-hand corner of any YouTube page.
Enter as much information about your video as possible, including Title, Description, Tags, and Category. The more information you include, the easier it is for users to find your video! Determine if you want your video set to Public or Private. Click the “Upload a Video” button. In the next window, click the “Browse” button to browse for the video file. Select the file you want to upload.
Click the “Upload Video” button. It can take from a couple minutes to an hour for your video to upload to YouTube. If you’re receiving an error with your Upload, you might want to make sure you’re attempting to upload a file that’s recognized by YouTube. YouTube accepts video files from most digital cameras and camcorders, and cell phones in the .AVI, .MOV, .WMV, and .MPG file formats.

Basic instructions and advanced tips on using YouTube can all be found at the site’s Help Center.

YouTube does not share profits with its content producers, as is becoming more popular with sites like Blip.tv.

Comparing YouTube to Other Video Sharing Sites

Check out Our Ratings and Comparisons of YouTube to other popular sites like Blip.tv, Veoh.com, and .Mac gallery sharing.

Check out other experts’ rating & comparison resources:

PC World, Top 10 Video Sharing Sites (Aug 2007)
DV Guru, 10 Video Sharing Sites Compared (April 2006)
Fabric of Folly Blog, 20 Video Sharing Sites Rated (Aug 2006)

This entry was posted on Friday, November 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 am and is filed under Introduction, Video Production Tips.