Making Your First Show - A Test Drive
Test Driving With a Wizard
- 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.
- 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.
-
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.
- Select one of the three background images (Camera,
Dish, or Lens) for your opening title slate.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Click the Next button. This opens
the third page of the wizard:
- 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.
- Choose the theme music for your vlog. To preview
the currently selected track, click the Play button.
- Select one of the three backgrounds for your
closing title slate (Camera, Dish, or Lens).
- Enter the text for the closing slate of your
show. You can have one or two lines.
- 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.
-
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
- Click in the Teleprompter to set the cursor there.
- Select and delete the instructional text.
- 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.
To learn how to use the
Teleprompter in detail, see Using
the Teleprompter and Scripts.
- 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:
- Click the Project tab and edit the
name in the Project Name field.
-
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
-
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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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).
- Select publishing method. For this tutorial, click Save video
to hard drive or network. Click Next.
- 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.
- 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.
-
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.
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.