digifilmvid.com

Journal: Early Analysis of New Media

I have been reading/watching a lot of content about what makes good web video. There is a lot of debate around how much priority should be given to production quality and whether or not web video should be shot in high definition (HD). While many TV studios take advantage of the high-end equipment that they have at their disposal, amateurs with regular handheld cameras have created content more popular than top television shows and other online video content. I personally think that if one is able to shoot in HD for the web, then they should. Although not everyone is able to watch web video in high definition, the technology is moving in that direction. Further, you can always compress a high definition video, but you cannot do the reverse with a lower quality video.

Our guests last week were amazing. We had visitors from Tube Mogul, Moderati, and Media Melon. This combination of guests opened my eyes to the many aspects of online video, both behind and in front of the camera. Youtube and other “destination sites” are out there and obvious, but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to produce and distribute video online. One problem that came up several times was how to make web video profitable. Even though this type of content is extremely popular right now, the industry has yet to come up with an effective way to make money from it. Even companies like YouTube are losing money while their content and popularity grow. This presents a great opportunity for fresh minds to figure out some new and innovative solutions. I am considering working with some other web and advertising students to approach this dilemma.