Making Your First Show - A Test Drive

Test Driving With a Wizard

  1. Double-click the Vlog It! icon on your desktop or click the Start button and select Programs > Serious Magic > Vlog It! By default, Vlog It! starts by taking you directly to the Wizard. If you have disabled this option, click Wizard on the Project Tab.
  2. The first page of the wizard lists the Style templates that you have to choose from. Clicking on one will display a description of the style and an example showing the background and lower-third caption on the right side of the window. For this trial run, select Contemporary and then click the Next button.
  3. On the wizard's second page, you select the style for your opening title slates and the lower third and enter the text that will appear on these title graphics.
    1. Select one of the three background images (Camera, Dish, or Lens) for your opening title slate.
    2. Enter the name of your vlog in the Line 1 field and, if necessary, continue it in the Line 2 field. You can change this content later if you like.
    3. Select from the three styles for the lower third graphics (Live Report, News Bulletin, or Top Story). Again, the panel on the lower right shows how the graphic.
    4. Enter your name (or the name of the person who will be on-camera) in the Enter your name field and enter your title, company, or location if you like.
  4. Click the Next button. This opens the third page of the wizard:
    1. If you will be using the V-Screen feature to key out the background of the live video, then try the three V-Screen Background option and select the desired one.
    2. Choose the theme music for your vlog. To preview the currently selected track, click the Play button.
    3. Select one of the three backgrounds for your closing title slate (Camera, Dish, or Lens).
    4. Enter the text for the closing slate of your show. You can have one or two lines.
  5. Click the Finish button. Vlog It! will proceed to create your customized titles and graphics. Your new show is automatically built for you in a matter of seconds. When it's done you'll see the main window.
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Getting Set Up and Preparing your Show

Position your camera at the top of your computer monitor centered over the Teleprompter window. Position yourself so that your head and shoulders are in the center of the Output Monitor window. For additional help, see Finding your optimal camera position.

Type a test script in the Teleprompter

  1. Click in the Teleprompter to set the cursor there.
  2. Select and delete the instructional text.
  3. Start your script on the line that is level with the Action Tray on the right containing the camera icon. Positioning it there will synchronize your script with the camera coming on.
  4. To learn how to use the Teleprompter in detail, see Using the Teleprompter and Scripts.

  5. When you've finished your script, move the closing slate (the next-to-last Action Tray, which reads "Thanks for Watching" by default) to the point level with the last line in the Teleprompter. Holding down the SHIFT key while clicking and dragging will move the fade to black in the last tray, too, thereby maintaining its position below the closing slate. To learn more about repositioning trays, see Moving Trays.

Saving Project Files

Now would be a good time to save your show to a file on your hard disk. Vlog It! gave your project a default file name when you created it. To view or change it:

  1. Click the Project tab and edit the name in the Project Name field.
  2. Click the Save button.
    To learn what folder your files are saved in, read Where Your Project Files Are Saved.

    If you prefer, you can create your own folder in a handy location on your computer. After you save a project to your new folder once, Vlog It! remembers the location and makes it your new default directory.

 

Rehearsing, Recording, and Reviewing Your First Show

  1. Click the Rehearse button under the Output Monitor window. When you see yourself appear on camera, start reading your script as it scrolls up the Teleprompter window.

    Try it a few times to get comfortable. You can click Stop and begin again as many times as you like. Relax, Tom Brokaw wasn't smooth as silk the first few tries either.
    Each time you stop or rehearse all the way to the end, Vlog It! jumps back to the point where you started rehearsing. If you want to change where it starts scrolling, simply scrub with the scroll bar on the right side of the window until the desired Teleprompter line is in the Action Bar.

    To help keep your eyes as close to the camera as possible, focus on the words in the Action Bar, reading your script as it moves through it.

  2. When you are are comfortable with your delivery, click the Record button and perform your show a again. This time, your camera output and audio are recorded and added to the show.
  3. Click the Review button to see the entire sequence played back, including your performance. If you don't like it, you can simply press Record to try again.The Flex-Recording feature in Vlog It! allows you to re-record just a segment of a show rather than reshooting the whole show. For more information, see Recording.

Selecting a Thumbnail for your Video's Entry on Vlog.com

Vlog It! make it easy to add an image to your blog that serves as a link to the vlog. To select the frame from your video to use for this thumbnail, scrub so that the desired image is showing in the Preview Monitor and then click Set as Thumbnail on the Project Tab. If you haven't selected a thumbnail for yourself by the time you go to publish the show and upload it to the vlog server, then Vlog It! will pick one for you.

Publishing and Uploading Your First Show

When you're happy with how your show looks, you're ready to publish it and make it available to you family, friends, and fans. The Publishing and Uploading your Vlog page covers this task in detail, but here are the basic steps:

  1. Click the Publish button. This opens the Publishing Wizard (unless you're running the free trial version, in which case you jump straight to the wizard's summary page).
  2. Select publishing method. For this tutorial, click Save video to hard drive or network. Click Next.
  3. On the second page, set the video file format and enter the destination and name for the local copy of the file. This time, select Publish a Windows Media Video (.wmv) and save to the default folder with the default file name: My_First_Show_.WMV. Click Next.
  4. On the third page, specify the quality of the video file. This selection affects such factors as the data rate and the number of video frames per second. For this test drive, select Medium File Size/Good Quality. Click Next.
  5. The fourth and final page displays a summary of the publishing settings. If you want to change any settings, click the Back button to return to the appropriate page in the wizard. This time click the Finish button.

    Vlog It! will compress your show and handle it as prescribed by the publishing method you selected. In this case, that means it will save it to the default folder on your hard drive.

  6. Select the Play Video when finished checkbox in the status dialog and click OK. Windows Media Player will launch and begin playing your show.

Congratulations! You have just created and saved your first show.

More Vlog It! Tutorials Online

If you enjoy using tutorials to learn about Vlog It! features, you may find our web site tutorials helpful.

Our staff experts know all of the Vlog It! tips and tricks and are continually working on new tutorials that will help you quickly get up to speed on a wide variety of topics. Our online Tutorials cover topics such as "Capturing Video for Use in Your Shows," "Advanced Video Effects," and "Using Audio Files."

Visit the Vlog It! Technical Support section of our web site at Seriousmagic.com to see the latest tutorials.