Book Overview and Sample Chapter from Steve Garfield's Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business

I’m a few chapters deep into Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business by Steve Garfield, and it’s a really informative, yet easy read so far. It takes so much of the mystery out of creating videos and making those videos available online.  It’s also a huge confidence booster for newbies, as Garfield points out that you don’t have to always create highly polished, professional videos to be successful online. As an example, he points to the immediacy of Gary Vaynerchuk ‘s passionate, but often very simply-produced videos on wine, noting that in many ways the success of these videos is that they are personal, not overdone. 

Garfield critiques Vaynerchuk’s filming of Wine Library TV at Gillette Stadium, with a simple point and shoot Flip camera, in this way:

He isn’t caught up in all the technical requirements of light kits, lav mics, extra batteries, power cords, tripods, steady shots, multiple shots, or anything remotely requiring knowledge of video production.

And yet, Garfield explains, Vaynerchuk’s approach works, because “he’s accomplishing his goal of filming his show at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, he’s passionate about what he is doing, and he is sharing his love and knowledge of wine” (p. 30).

So, Garfield’s book offers plenty of inspiration and encouragement for the beginner video producer, without skimping on any of the more technical specifics, including generous sections on choosing a camera, lighting and sound, making videos without a video camera, recording and shooting, editing, uploading, broadcasting live, and video blogging. 

To get a feel for the book, check out the free sample chapter, Chapter 1, Choosing a Camera, which provides the following criteria for choosing among so many options:

Tips for Choosing a Camara

• Camera Size. Tip: A larger screen makes it easier to shoot and review your footage (p. 4).
• Video Format. Questions to ask: HD video? Consumer grade HD? AVCHD?, or standard HD? Are you satisfied with standard resolution? Where is your final resolution destination for the video? Online? Computer? DVD? TV? Do you want to be able to copy the files off the camera to edit them directly? (p. 5).
• Sound. Considerations: Is an on-camera microphone good enough? How about an external microphone? or a headphone jack to monitor sound as you shoot? (p. 5).
• Tripod Mount. Option: A tripod attachment can keep your camera steady (p. 5 ).
• Expandability. Considerations: Do you want to be able to replace the batteries and storage of the camera? Where is the video stored? (p. 5).
• Streaming. Considerations: Does the camera have video-out ports that allow you to stream? You need Firewire if you want to stream to a computer (p. 5).
• Price. Advice: An inexpensive camera is a great way to get started (p. 5).

In Chapter 1, Garfield goes on to describe various options, including pocket video cameras, higher end cameras, cell phone cameras, and 35 mm & Micro Four Third Cameras. 

For a full overview of the book, see Garfield’s own description, in the video below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIoZmUjNu50]

Related Links

• Spring Fever #SoxUp at Fenway (or, Book Party for Steve Garfield’s Get Seen)
• Get Seen Ning Group
• Steve Garfield’s Interview with Tim Street (Tools: Flip, mDialog, iMovie)
• Steve Garfield’s Interview with Jacob Soboroff (Tools: Flip)
• Steve Garfield’s Interview with Dunkley Gyimah (Tools: Flip)