Want to know how to make a video?

We're hoping to see some video submissions in O-R Flix soon. Not that we don't appreciate all the photos (we do), but we'd be excited to see some moving images from our readers. And what better thing to film than fireworks?

For those of you taking short mpg videos with a digital camera using memory, you won't need much help. Just hook the camera up to your computer with a USB or Firewire cable and drag the movie files onto your machine. Edit them if you want or upload them raw to our system. However, if you're running off a camera that uses miniDV cassettes, its a little more complex. Read on.

If you've never uploaded a home movie off cassette to your computer before, its not too hard...well, it depends on a lot of things, truthfully. First, I'm definitely a PC person but I have to be up front here; you Mac users are going to have an easier time of getting your movies up. You'll need a video camera (obviously) and a means of connecting it your computer. This means a firewire cable if both your Mac and your camera are new enough to support that (if they were made in the last 8 years or so, they almost certainly are; check your user manuals), or if you're working with older equipment, AV cables and a video capture card. If you don't know what a video capture card is, you probably don't have one. Google it; prices aren't too bad and setup is fairly easy.

The last thing you need is software, and this is where Mac makes it easy. If your Mac was made any time this millennium, it has some version of iMovie on it. Again, Google is your friend; search for tutorials on how to use the various features of your version of iMovie. We aren't expecting Citizen Kane here, so if you feel intimidated by all the fancy titles, transitions, and effects, just skip them! Remember to convert your video to a format supported by our site (popular formats such as avi, mp4, mov, mpg, and wmv are all supported but dv is not) and to keep the size below 30 mb. These options are also easily available in iMovie.

As I said, Windows users are going to have it a little harder. The steps are basically the same but the software is hit or miss. There is no iMovie for Windows and the alternatives are frankly less user friendly most of the time, not to mention more expensive. Different PC vendors like HP and Dell will typically include proprietary video software on all but their most basic machines. You can give that a try but the features are typically lacking and/or the controls are far from intuitive. You can also look into paying for a better program, but the price is normal pretty steep by the time you're looking at something worthwhile (and I use the description worthwhile based on my needs; you will also find that the best programs have a lot of features you will never want or need). Still, with a little effort most Windows users will be able to find something they are comfortable with and can start uploading video too!

Linux users will undoubtedly have some open source programs they can toy with; if you're using Linux to begin with you're probably pretty tech savvy and don't need my help.

Once you feel daring enough to try out a movie and get it uploaded, don't forget to help us out by providing a title and description for it so we know what we're watching. We're chomping at the bit to see what some of you might have to offer us in the way of original video content.

More on O-R Flix

I've been noticing a lot of you taking advantage of the O-R Flix system we've set up. I think this is a great system that allows you to not only share you photos (and videos too!), but also to rate and comment on each others' submissions. I've noticed one thing that our uses can do to help get submitted content online faster.

When you submit your content, it has to go through a quick check before it goes live. That's just in case someone decides to submit something...questionable. However, we also have to check each submission and make sure it has a title and description. I can come up with titles of some submissions myself, but sometimes I won't be able to. This is mostly when I have a picture of a person that I don't know.

If you want to see your content appear on our site in a timely matter, it may be helpful for your to add your own titles and descriptions. If you don't know how to do this, its fairly simple; while logged in to O-R Flix, click "My Gallery." You will see all of your submissions. Under each submission is a small link that says "edit." Click that and then fill out as much of the information as you can, although all we really need from you is title and description.

By doing this, you'll help us get your material up sooner. Thanks, and keep using O-R Flix! We'll be looking forward to your 4th of July submissions! Don't be afraid to try video uploads too.

Submit your videos and pictures!

O-R Flix is live! We're still working out some of the kinks and design issues, but the system is ready to receive your submissions. Submit videos and pictures of almost anything you can think of so long as its pertinent to the readership of the Observer-Reporter or the Almanac. To get started, create an account and log in! View our channel listing to get a few ideas.

One great thing about this system is that it allows you to embed any video you see in our system on your web page. Example, our most recent What's Up With That:




Another interesting feature is that you can submit videos and pictures to us through your cell phone! Again, visit the site for more information. If you're at the site of an important event, YOU can be the one to break the story!

Mr. Clinton comes to Washington...& Jefferson

President Bill Clinton made W&J his first stop on the campaign trail. He is of course campaigning for his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, who will be hoping for a win in the upcoming Pennsylvania Democrat election which is just around the corner.

President Clinton was greeted warmly by a packed audience consisting of mostly Hillary supporters (although a young man with a shirt espousing his disagreement with Hillary on the Iraq war and a lone Ron Paul supporter were in attendance). During his speech, he touched on the topics of health care, the economy, the previously mentioned war, international diplomacy, education, and the environment.

You can take a brief look at the speech or watch the whole thing if you like. The full version comes in a little under 40 minutes.

A brief look...

...at some of the videos we recently featured.

Scoot Beveridge wrote a blog entry about the Nintendo Wii. There's an accompanying slideshow which can also be viewed on his blog. The game in question is Wii Boxing if you were curious.

Last Sunday, Christie Campbell's profile of Diane Snoke ran. Diane is a talented stained glass artist and we filmed her making a night light from start to finish.

Mike Bradwell's "Go Inside the Business" features are always popular. Monday's article on Miller Plastics is sure to follow that trend; our video companion piece features interviews and footage of machinery designed to create all sorts of interesting and useful products out of plastic.

Our newest video is a feature on Off the Wall Theater, a local theater which will be running a variety of shows in the near future. Opening this weekend is An Adult Evening of One Acts by Shel Silverstein. The video features interviews, scheduling information, and a few sneak peeks at the performers rehearsing.

Giving you the business

Mike Bradwell, business editor for the Observer-Reporter, has the right idea. Lately, he's been scheduling a videographer to accompany him on assignments.

For years, Mike has written feature stories about local businesses. Often that involves, say, describing a manufacturing process.

Wouldn't something like that be better illustrated in video format?

We hope so. That's why we've started a vlog, "Go Inside the Business," based on Mike's features. For the first episode, we visited a new manufacturing plant, Prime Plastics, that is particularly noteworthy because it's breathed new life into a Washington, Pa., site that best was known for a tire fire that raged out of control there in the '90s.

Company spokesman George Retos told us about the business, and we wrapped that around some footage illustrating what Prime Plastics does. So, if you never do make it inside there, and you're curious about what goes on ... check out the video.

And while you're at it, read Mike's story.