Posts by Caleb Wojcik
9 Travel Video Lessons Learned in 3 Continents (DVG 032)

I've basically spent the past three months traveling for either client video projects, video conferences, or vacation. Through all the flights and carrying my camera gear to five countries in three continents I've compiled nine of my lessons learned from traveling while shooting video.

In this podcast episode I break-down in detail why you want to invest in proper storage and image stabilization gear, why you need a pocket-sized camera, how to use tools like reflectors when you don't have lights, and why wireless audio may be the best option.

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13 Cities. 4 Countries. 24 Days of Video.

Over the past two months I have had an insane schedule filled with trips and client shoots. 

And instead of releasing crappy podcasts and video shows along the way I decided to live by my favorite Ron Swanson quote: "Don't half ass two things, whole ass one thing."

In today's video show I'll explain where I've been and what's next for DVG. (Hint: season two of the video and audio shows start next week.)

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What's New in Camera Gear? (An NAB 2015 Recap)

Last week I spent a few days wandering the show floor at the National Association of Broadcasters conference & trade show in Las Vegas while my team was there filming Pat Flynn's keynote at New Media Expo.

While there I checked out some of the newest tech for making videos and got to interact in person with a lot of the companies whose gear and software I use to run Caleb Wojcik Films day in and day out. 

In this video recap you'll see the Canon XC10, SmallHD 502, BlackMagic Micro & Video Assist, RED Weapon Dragon 8k, and more. I recap of the trade show floor, what gear I'm most excited about, and see some of the newest tech out there.

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How to Get Your First 100,000,000 YouTube Views (ft. Austin Evans)

Early mover advantage. Being in the right place at the right time. Luck.

These are all excuses in my book. Pick something, do it well, and keep showing up.

That's what Austin Evans has done on YouTube since 2007. He has nearly 1,200 videos live, almost a million subscribers, 117,000,000 views, and has become one of the biggest tech channels on the platform.

In this episode of the podcast I pick Austin's brain on how he got started making YouTube videos in high school, why it is important to connect and collaborate with other YouTubers, how he plans out and shoots his videos, and whether or not your competitors are good or bad for you.

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How to Use YouTube Cards

YouTube annotations have been both good and bad.

They help direct viewers to watch other videos, start viewing playlists, subscribe to a channel, donate to fundraising campaigns, visit an external website, and more.

But they also are poorly designed, extremely intrusive, and don't work on mobile devices.

Enter YouTube cards, the newest feature to YouTube. Think of YouTube cards as the better looking, younger sibling to annotations.

In this video I'll show you how to start using YouTube cards, what you can use them for, how to set up an external website on your channel to link to, and my 301 re-direct hack for linking to any possible URL from YouTube.

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Meerkat vs. Periscope: Video Demo + How They're Different

We brush off new apps coming out all the time that claim they'll change the way we live and communicate.

But when there are two that involve live streaming video from your phone that quickly grow a following, I definitely start paying attention to them.

Meerkat, which launched a few weeks ago, and Periscope, which just went public a few days from being in a closed beta, both allow for people to instantly stream video from their phone and post a link to it on Twitter.

In this video I show the two apps in their current state, how their different, and why you'd actually want to consider using them.

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10 Things to Know Before Hiring a Video Editor (DVG 030)

Whether you don’t like to edit video, you’ve shot so much you don’t have time to get through it, or you’re just trying to outsource and focus on what you do best, hiring a video editor might be just the thing you need to consistently create and ship videos.

In today’s episode I talk with my video editor, Tim Krupa, about ten things you should consider before hiring a video editor.

We talk about the best ways to communicate before production about scripting and b-roll, what to expect in regards to contracts and payments, what web apps we use for video revisions with clients, and more.

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5 Must-Own Pieces of Video Gear

I've spent A TON on video and audio equipment over the past three years and there are a handful of purchases that have saved my tail a few times.

In this episode DIY Video Guy TV I share five different pieces of video gear and equipment that I never leave home without (and are worth investing in if you haven't already).

You'll learn how to make sure your gear doesn't get damaged while traveling or shooting, how to quickly change your camera from a tripod to monopod to slider, and more.

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Lessons from Making 90 Client Videos & Spending $12,000 on Gear in 5 Months (DVG 029)

The last five months of "flying solo" have been an insanely busy juggling act of client work, launching this podcast, shipping YouTube videos weekly, my wife's two rounds of surgery and recovery from cancer, trips around the Holidays, and more.

I figured it was time to share a bit of behind the scenes on how things are going internally at my video production studio and what's next for DIY Video Guy.

In this episode I talk with my editor Tim about what gear investments we've been making (and why), what our workflow is (including all the programs and web apps we use), how video podcasting downloads have compared to YouTube viewers for the weekly video show, talk candidly about how video production for clients has been going, and tease version 2.0 of the DIY Video Production Guide (which comes out March 24th).

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Where You Should Host Videos Online

There are a lot of different places online to host your videos.

In this video I walkthrough five different video hosts. I explain why you'd want to host on a free site like YouTube, give you the two best options for private video hosting, explain why iTunes video podcasts are an untapped market, and cover why video analytics and privacy are important factors in your decision. 

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How to Shoot Cooking & Food Videos (DVG 028)

If you're shooting tutorial style videos, especially of a tangible skill like crafting, building, or anything else that uses your hands, you won't want to miss this episode.

In it I talk with Josh Smith of Cook Academy about what they've learned building up a library of training videos for people learning to become better cooks.

We discuss how to set up multiple angles properly, find a better locale than what you already have available to you, how to cut down on reflections from glass surfaces, and how to best teach using video.

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How to Fix Exposure While Editing Videos in Premiere Pro, iMovie, & Final Cut Pro X

If you sit down to edit your video and it looks too dark or too bright, you can usually fix it in post.

In this video I'll describe how to fix the your video's exposure while editing in Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro and iMovie.

And if you're using different video editing software than the ones I'm showing, the fundamentals are the same, so watch and then apply them to your app of choice.

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What You Should Know & Do Before Hiring a Videographer (DVG 027)

If you're looking to hire a video person or team to come shoot videos for you, there is plenty to know beforehand and a lot to do that will help the project go as smoothly as possible.

In this podcast episode I chat with Wes Wages of Armosa Studios about what it is like to work with a videographer.

We cover everything from what to expect process wise, how to prepare to get the best result from your video team, whether or not it makes sense to make them travel to you or you to them, and tips on dissecting proposals and contracts. 

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How Moz Makes Whiteboard Friday Videos ft. Elijah Tiegs (DVG 026)

Publishing a video every single week is tough. 

Especially when different people are in the videos and what they're teaching is extremely technical and complex.

Enter Whiteboard Fridays from Moz. A weekly video show about SEO, content marketing, and getting traffic to your website. They've been showing up every week for years, with the ability to quickly share real-time information as it changes in their industry, like what's new with Google's latest algorithm.

In this episode with Elijah Tiegs from Moz we talk about two main things. First, the power of having a permanent video studio set-up and how that speeds up and simplifies the process for making a video each week. Second, we discuss the set-up they use at Moz to create Whiteboard Fridays. Specifically, we breakdown the lighting, focusing on both the subject and the whiteboard, and using wireless lavalier microphones instead of boom shotgun mics.

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