Fortunately, there are plenty of simple-to-implement guidelines that you can follow. The seven easy tips below will drastically improve a site’s usability for screen reader users, as well as all other visitors.

Tip 1: Use Descriptive Headings

The use of on-page headings is one of the most important usability features for screen reader users, as it helps these people more easily understand the page structure. Although text on the page may display as a heading to sighted users, it must actually be labeled as such within the HTML code in order for screen reader users to know it’s a heading.

Screen readers don’t look at Web pages: they read HTML code. If a piece of text is identified as a heading within the HTML code, the screen reader will announce that it’s a heading. If not, screen reader users won’t be able to tell your headings from the rest of your text.

There’s another, less obvious usability benefit of using proper heading tags: screen reader users have the ability to call up a list of on-page headings, and jump to the section of the page in which they’re most interested. If your page is properly marked-up, screen reader users will find it much easier to navigate than a page that doesn’t use the correct tags. Here’s what this headings box for the BBC homepage looks like in JAWS, one of the most popular screen readers:

This facility works in much the same way as the process that sighted Web users employ to scan through Web pages by glancing at headings. If headings are descriptive of the content that appears beneath them, it becomes far easier for screen reader users to find the information they need.

Tip 2: Write Descriptive Link Text

Screen reader users can browse Web pages by calling up a list of on-page links, and activating the link in which they’re most interested. As such, non-descriptive link text such as ‘click here’ should be avoided at all costs: it makes no sense whatsoever when taken out of context. Here’s what this links list dialog displays for the BBC homepage in JAWS:

The good news is that the use of descriptive link texts provides usability benefits for everyone. When sighted users scan through Web pages, one of the items that stands out is link text. The words ‘click here’ are totally meaningless to Web users scanning pages; we must hunt through surrounding text to discover the link destination.

 

Tip 3: Provide Information in Lists

The use of lists within HTML code is extremely useful for screen reader users, as screen readers announce the number of items in each list before reading out the list items. This helps these users know what to expect when hearing a list of items (such as site navigation).

This facility works in much the same way as a phone answering machine that tells you how many messages you have before it plays them. Once you know how many messages you have, you know what to expect. If there’s only one or two messages, you can probably remember them; any more and you’ll probably want to get a pen and paper to make notes.

The use of lists (marked up with the <li> tag) really just represents a behind-the-scenes change to the code; it needn’t affect the visual appearance of your site.

Tip 4: Employ Logical Linearization

Screen reader users generally have to listen to Web pages from start to finish, top to bottom, left to right. Sighted Web users, on the other hand, can glance through a Web page almost at random, spotting important information wherever it may appear on the page. Because of this, important information should always be placed towards the top of the page. So, when you’re creating a form, for example, make sure you avoid locating instructions on how to fill it out at the bottom of the page.

Placing important information towards the top of the page actually benefits everyone, as the important information is then provided “above the fold” — in a position where sighted and screen reader users find it first.

Tip 5: Apply Short, Succinct ALT Text

ALT text is the textual content alternative that’s provided for images on a site. ALT text is read out to screen reader users, so any Website that offers even basic accessibility will provide this alternative text. However, some sites try to over-explain the information conveyed by images, forcing screen reader users to have to listen to a lot of unnecessary and irrelevant information.

Screen reader users often take longer than sighted Web users to work through Websites, so help make their surfing time easier with succinct ALT text.

Tip 6: Write Short, Front-loaded Paragraphs

In a “front-loaded” paragraph, the conclusion comes first, followed by the what, why, when, where and how. By placing the conclusion first, you allow screen reader users to instantly gain an understanding of what the paragraph’s about. They can then decide whether they want to keep listening to that paragraph, or skip to the next one (which they can do easily with the screen reader). If the paragraphs are short, users can skip forward knowing that they won’t miss extra information.

Front-loading content obviously benefits all users, as your site visitors no longer have to search around to find the main point of each paragraph.

Tip 7: Write Descriptive Page Titles

The page title is the very first thing that screen reader users hear when they arrive at a Web page, so it’s essential that the title is descriptive of the page. Again, this benefits everyone: all visitors can use the page title to orientate themselves and confirm that they’re on the page they expect, or want, to be on. This is especially true for Web users with dial-up connections over which the page title displays a number of seconds before the rest of the content.

Conclusion

We’ve explored a number of relatively simple, painless steps that can be taken to improve a site’s usability for screen reader users. Fortunately, nearly all of them improve usability for all Web users, so everyone benefits! Make these changes to your sites, and your users will thank you.

The problems aren’t the details themselves, but rather the process of making sure that seemingly minor details don’t add up to sloppy work.

The best solution is to write it all down.

The worst solution is to not take a pre-launch checklist as seriously as the planning stage itself.

With the hundreds of details that go into building or redesigning a website, overlooking minor points is easy, especially as deadlines loom—or pass. But missing details detract from the quality of a website.

Accountability, Not Checkmarks

Here’s a scenario. A designer is ready to launch a website. The client is waiting for it to go live. The deadline is in 30 minutes. Hiding behind the “domain hasn’t propagated” excuse won’t last forever, so the designer hurries down his checklist. He seems to recall having done these things last week… until the client discovers otherwise.

Accountability is neither finger-pointing nor a mindless checking off of items, but rather is a conscious assertion. Taking the time to check and double-check that a task has been done can be as important as doing the task in the first place.

An industrial-strength pre-launch list does more than just remind you of critical details. It holds people responsible. It doesn’t just say that a task has been done; it tells you who completed it and on what date.

That’s why, for serious pre-launch lists, simple checkmarks are too easy. Each item should have four fields:

• The task;
• The initials of the person completed it;
• The date it was completed;
• Comments.

The task describes what needs to get done, like “Run spell-check,” “Randomize the admin password” or “Register the URL with Google.” The initials and date enforce accountability.

But not every task is either complete or incomplete. Creating an informative 404 error page is one thing; adding helpful links to it is another. The “comments” field provides space for a person to say that an item is done but could be improved.

Put your initials next to a task that is adequate for launch, even if it could be improved later.

An Item’s Value Is Proportional to How Much the Item Is Used

There comes a point when deadlines, budgets or other factors force a team to declare a website “good enough.”

But if the website’s quality can be measured, it might be the sum of the attention to detail and the extent to which tasks were followed through.

The value of any single item on a pre-launch checklist varies. The closer the deadline, the more trivial it seems, especially because no single item is critical to the success or failure of the project.

Details are like dollars: if a favicon is worth a dime, then who cares about dropping it if you’re clutching $20 in your fist?

Close to a deadline, uncompleted tasks jostle for attention. The diagram above illustrates how a task’s true importance becomes evident: time squeezes out less important items.

For example, validated HTML may seem important at first, but how does it compare to fixing last-minute database errors? Once a task has been deemed “less important” at the deadline, it tends to stay that way.

The danger of not having quality control is in dismissing any detail as unimportant. True, one detail among many isn’t a worry. But that’s not the point. The point is the process of checking details, not nit-picking about which are important.

Figuring out what’s “good enough” is not about determining the exact number of things you can do without but rather about understanding how much you have sacrificed to launch the website. How much are you willing to sacrifice? Which details are not important? What’s good enough?

Just as safety inspections don’t build houses, pre-launch checklists don’t complete websites. The more stringently they are implemented, the better the result.

The items listed below were selected for their importance and ease of completion. How well they’re carried out, if at all, will reflect how seriously the project is being taken.

Build Your Own Checklist

We’ve provided a sample below, but the best pre-launch checklist is one that you’ve customized yourself.

1.  First, write a list of everything that you commonly do to prepare a website, especially things that you do at the last minute or that you remember to do after the launch. If you work with other people, give them access to this list.
2.  Set aside uninterrupted time to review the list. If you’re on a team, include everyone.
3.  Compile all of your lists. Each list should cover a different phase of your project, from conception to polishing. For example, hosting should probably be purchased more than a week before launch, but the favicon can wait.
4.  Finally, use the lists. Treat them as sacred documents. Even if not every detail is finished on time, the process of using a pre-launch list will improve the overall quality of your work.

The timeline above is a generalization. It covers the basics, but not every team will follow this process.

Thus, you would have five different lists for a single project:

• Set-up, which includes buying the domain and hosting space;
• Pre-launch events, such as removing test data and ensuring that stock photos have been purchased;
• Post-launch tasks, like adding analytics and sending press releases;
• First and second reviews, when the team makes back-ups, changes passwords and assesses whether the website still meets its goals.

A Practical Example

The pre-launch checklists below ensure accuracy and accountability by requiring names and dates, not just checkmarks.

Dates also indicate which elements need to be rechecked if changes have been made. This should instill confidence that nothing has been missed.

The items in each list can be completed in any order, but the lists themselves are organized chronologically: before, immediately after and long after launch. Not every item may be appropriate.

For example, a website may not need a database or analytics. The designer is responsible for deciding which items are relevant to the project.

Beginning the Project

More Than One Week Before Launch

Site-wide

Specific Pages

48 Hours Before Launch

Site-wide

For Each Page

Immediately After Launch

Six Months After Launch

Scripting it Out
Scripts and storyboards are two helpful planning tools that are easy to produce on any computer. A script uses words to describe the visual portion of the finished video, and the accompanying dialog. A storyboard is a visual depiction of how the finished video will look, with major scenes roughly sketched in and notes about the type of camera angles and edits.

You can create scripts with a word processor but specialized software is more efficient. Much of a scriptwriter’s time is involved with repetitive tasks, like changing margins and indentations or typing in frequently used scene descriptions and character names. A screenwriting program automates these tasks, reducing the number of keystrokes needed.

Some script programs, like PowerProduction’s Story Board Artist ($799), will produce storyboards and others like Dubner International’s Scene Stealer ($960) will keep track of your shots. Some will coach you through the process of writing a dramatic script. Add-on programs like Parnassus Software’s Script Werx ($129) work with word processors such as Word for Windows and can be less expensive than stand-alone scripting software and work just as well. Features like screenplay menus and toolbars for point-and-click access to script writing commands can convert a standard word processor into a powerful screenwriting tool.

Design, Print and Shoot Titles
One of the easiest computer video applications to perform is titling. Combine a color printer with word processing or paint software and you have rudimentary title-making tools. Print out your design, mount the masterpiece on a wall, zoom in to crop out the edges and record for 10-20 seconds.

If you don’t have a color printer, you can get a similar effect by shooting the image as it’s displayed on your computer monitor. Diminish the effect of rolling vertical lines by changing the camcorder’s shutter speed and adjusting your computer monitor’s refresh rate. Each monitor and camcorder are different so experiment with different shutter speeds and refresh rates until you find one that works.

There is a way you can record your computer titles right to tape. You will need an encoder because the VGA output of your computer is incompatible with NTSC video. If you want to record a “clean” computer image onto videotape, you’ll have to convert the computer’s VGA display standard to the NTSC display standard used in North American television and video. That’s the function of an encoder (also referred to as a scan converter).

Converting Computer Signals to Video
With an encoder, you can use any computer with a word processing program to make titles. An encoder converts the computer’s output (VGA) into a video signal (NTSC). The simple encoder allows you to view the image on your VGA monitor and also on your NTSC monitor–and to record that image to videotape. An encoder will not superimpose or otherwise mix that image with a video image coming from your source deck.

Many newer video display cards have an encoder built-in to display your computer’s image on the TV. Simply hook the RCA or S-video output on the card to your VCR’s RCA or S-video input and you are ready to record. If your camcorder has video inputs, you can use it to record.

For external encoders, such as Focus Enhancement’s TView Gold ($249) or AVerMedia’s AVerKey iMicro ($99), connect the serial port on your computer to the encoder. Then connect the video out jack on the encoder to the video in jack on the VCR or camcorder. The last step is to connect the VCR’s video out jack to the video monitor or TV’s video in jack.

If you want to get more creative with your titles, then you might want to invest in a specialized video-titling program and a genlock or overlay card.

Genlock Windows
Genlocking is the process of aligning or synchronizing two different video sources. Pasting or superimposing a graphic or title over a video image is called “overlay.” Most genlocks are also overlay devices. If you want to overlay titles from your computer onto moving video you’ll use a genlock to synchronize the two signals and overlay the title.

You can buy a genlock/overlay circuit board that plugs into an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) expansion slot on the computer’s motherboard, an example of one of these is Compix Media’s Video CG-Pro ($1850). Genlocks are also available as external boxes that plug into the serial port on the back of the computer, such as TV One Multimedia’s Delta Scan GL ($495). And, all genlock cards include the encoder circuitry so you won’t have to buy a separate encoder.

Some overlay boards include a “chromakey” feature. This lets you replace a selected color in the computer image with live video or replace a color in the video with the computer image. You can see this effect used during the weather report on your local TV news. The announcer, who appears to be standing in front of a map, is actually standing in front of a blue wall. The video of the announcer and the image of the map are chromakeyed together.

With titling software and a genlock device, you can create a large variety of professional looking titles for your video projects.

Edit Control
There are two methods of editing video with your computer. One way uses the computer to control one or more source decks or cameras and a recording VCR. This is called computer-based linear editing (see the computer-based edit controllers buyer’s guide on page 8 of this issue). The computer’s hard drive doesn’t capture or store video. Instead, the computer tells the VCRs when and what to play and record and in what order. Computer-based linear editing systems are available for every type of video project, from simple cuts, to complex A/B-roll edits with transitions and titles. Two examples of computer based linear systems are Pinnacle Systems Studio 400 ($229) and FAST Multimedia’s Video Machine ($3995).

Hardware and software for computer-based linear editing requires less computing power than nonlinear editing systems. You could operate some computer-based linear editing systems with only a 486 PC, 16MB of RAM, an available serial port and a 256-color display.

Aside from making sure that a particular edit control program will work with your computer, you’ll need to make sure that it will also work with your VCR and camcorder. Because some VCRs and camcorders have proprietary connectors, you’ll need to check to be sure that they are compatible with whatever computer-based editing system you choose. For example, Sony video products feature a Control-L or LANC connector, Panasonic has 5-pin jacks and Mitsubishi uses a RCA-type “edit” plug. Several editing programs will allow you to use an infrared (IR) remote control but it will not provide the precise accuracy of hard-wire connectors.

To edit, simply enter the start and stop points of each scene you wish to record. This list of edit decisions is called an EDL (Edit Decision List). You can rearrange scenes in your EDL and select transitions prior to recording. The computer stores the edit commands and the location and length of each segment with a name the user selects.

When you’re ready to perform the edit, the computer tells the source deck where to find the segment and when to begin playing it and tells the record deck when to start and stop recording. Accuracy varies, but most system’s are quite accurate at performing the edits of an EDL.

Nonlinear Editing
Nonlinear editing is now cheaper and easier than ever before (see the nonlinear editing software buyer’s guide on page 20 of this issue). Nonlinear involves digitizing and compressing video onto a hard drive for instantaneous, random-access of the footage. Using this digitized video, nonlinear editing software, such as Apple’s Final Cut Pro ($999) or Adobe Premiere ($895), let’s you cut and paste scenes, and add titles and transitions in many variations, before decompressing and recording the final version back to videotape.

Until recently, nonlinear editing was reserved for computer whizzes who were not afraid to dismantle, reconfigure and reassemble pricey computers. If you are one of these daring folk (or know someone who is) you might consider purchasing a digitizing or capture card and nonlinear editing software to retrofit your PC for nonlinear (see our digitizing/capture card buyer’s guide on p.12 of this issue).

The good news is that nonlinear editing is no longer reserved for the elect few who have the guts to take the lid off their boxes. Today, configuring a nonlinear editing system can be as easy as opening a box and plugging in. Many manufacturers are now marketing ready-to-edit “turnkey” solutions (see the turnkey nonlinear editors buyer’s guide on p. 22 of this issue).

These turnkey nonlinear systems are available in two styles; stand-alone nonlinear appliances like DraCo’s Casablanca ($3995), and pre-configured nonlinear editing computers like Apple’s Final Cut Pro Bundle ($5497) (see our turnkey nonlinear buyer’s guide on p.22 of this issue).

Whatever route you choose, there is no denying the benefits of employing a computer in your video productions. Whether for writing a script, creating simple titles or producing a full blown production with 3-D animation and digital effects, your computer can take your videos to a higher level.

If you want to expand your creative horizons and add new and exciting production elements to your videos, start by developing a plan for your production. Selecting the appropriate format, style and production elements will set you up for success.

As Creative Director for an advertising agency, I am regularly part of a dog-and-pony show to pitch clients creative premises for their television programs. In order to make sure that the right creative elements are contained in each premise, we start with a think tank. This is a day long meeting with the client that allows us to gather as much information as possible about the product. There are no bad ideas at this point as any idea helps the creative flow. Your videos can benefit from a similar process.

Before you begin to think creatively, do a quick overview of the project. Determine what it is that you hope to accomplish. Identify the intended viewer. Explain how you want your video to affect that viewer. Do you want to motivate, inform or just cause him to relive a warm memory. Try to boil the project down to a single statement that encompasses everything you are trying to accomplish. In advertising, this is called a “Unique Selling Proposition.” Actually write down a statement that defines what is unique about the project and what elements must be present in order to produce a successful project. Let’s call this the “Essence” of your production.

Next, take a look at all the potential production elements and then allow your time-line, budget, available resources and the appropriateness for the project to dictate what goes into your outline. Once you’ve defined your project, summarize it in a paragraph. Keep that paragraph in front of you as a constant reminder of what is important in the project.

Part of your planning will involve selecting a format (or combination of formats) to use for your project. There are several formats commonly used for television and video productions.

• Interview. A formal interview might take place on a set with the host seated behind a desk, like Leno or Letterman, with the person being interviewed seated opposite the host in a chair. An informal interview could be someone in a reporter role interviewing a coach on the sidelines of a football game, or a starlet on the red carpet before the Oscars. Additionally, the interviewer may be seen or unseen.
• Documentary. A formal documentary might use a voiceover to describe the events that lead to the Battle of the Alamo, featuring drawings from the period and using black and white footage from old films that depicted the battle, like a PBS documentary on the Civil War. An informal documentary could be comprised of interviewing the cast and crew of an upcoming musical as they prepare to open a new performing arts facility. Rather than having a formal narration to describe the events leading to the opening, ask questions of the actual participants that will lead to a body of material from which you may cut your entire documentary. In the real people’s own words.
• Video Magazine. In this format the hosts are usually behind a desk or newsroom platform but two hosts banter between themselves, the tone is lighter and entertainment value is increased.
• Story Based. A story-based piece requires a complete script and actors to perform scripted lines. This is the most sophisticated and complicated format as it includes getting actors to say someone else’s words and yet come across as real people conveying real emotions. It might also involve the actors doing written recreations of events. These scenes can be shot in a studio or on location.
• Talking Head. This is the simplest format. It is less complicated than an interview only because a standard interview usually involves more art direction and feeling of environment than a talking head segment. Talking heads can be shot with multiple cameras or film style. A film style single camera shoot involves shooting the person answering the questions first and then re-creating the questions with the interviewer later. Be sure to shoot reaction shots of the interviewer, “noddies,” so you can edit to the reactions in order to compress the guests answers without a jump cut.

Selecting the style you will use is essentially identifying the personality of the project. What is the flavor or feeling you want the program to convey? Is the presentation essentially formal or informal? Is it serious or silly? An interview, for example, can be formal (the 6 o’clock news) or informal (Oprah). A documentary can be narrated or it can utilize real people telling their own stories. In a lecture format, the speaker or topic will dictate the tone. A video magazine program like 60 Minutes is less formal than the Nightly News, where an anchor throws to field pieces.

Once you’ve determined the format and style, you can decide which elements are appropriate for your project. Does any footage related to the subject already exist? Be sure to examine all possible existing footage before final planning. Even if you don’t use it, you might learn something about how the subject is best shot. If your subject involves following a process (remodeling a room, painting a picture, losing weight), consider before and after shots. These can be quite inspiring. I once shot a video designed to get the Mayor of a city re-elected to a fourth term. By showing what the city had looked like before he took office and what it looked like after, voters could see the difference he had made.

Aspirational shots (“aspirational” is an adjective in advertising lingo) can be created by simply locating a model who has the right look or by searching the Internet for inexpensive stock footage shots. When your video is talking about how wonderful it is to live an active older life, you cut to your aspirational shots (perhaps stills even) of attractive older models playing golf or sitting by a pool.

Product Demonstrations are often useful, where appropriate. A comparison between the old way and the new product can be a great element. Product demonstrations are straightforward, with possibly an expert performing the demo, or they can be light and fun (or even outrageous), as long as the power of the demo is maintained.

Since the development of pop-up video (interesting or pertinent information that overlays the video), the use of factoids has become popular. A factoid is simply an element related to the subject that is popped on in text or portrayed in both a voiceover and text.

Testimonials are particularly powerful. There are a few ways to incorporate testimonials into your project. The first is to interview a real group of everyday people who are doing the activity or using the product. The cheapest and easiest way is to bring all the people to one location and shoot them with the same background. However, this can look visually dull after a few shots. You may be able to get three or four usable locations out of the same room by picking multiple set-ups within the same general location. Sit just left or right of the lens and establish strong eye contact with the person. Don’t have them look into the lens unless they are very comfortable on-camera and even then only when what they are going to say is a personal appeal to the viewer. Talking right to a camera can be uncomfortable to the performer, (no human contact or feedback) and to the viewer, (the person is looking right at me). If you identify a particularly strong testimonial, you might want to arrange to shoot B-roll (shots without sound) of that person doing what they talk about and build it into a full feature for your piece.

If you shoot before an audience, you can ask for their reaction to what they’ve seen. You can do instant testimonials or a mall intercept, where people try your product or activity and you shoot their reactions. You can also shoot man on the street pieces. Make sure that if you shoot real people for testimonials that you have them sign a simple release which states that you can use their image and not pay them.

Expert testimonial is usually shot a little more formally. Keep in mind that having an expert might provide material that substantiates your belief in your topic, but an expert can also be a dynamic video presence. Sometimes a little science can go along way. You can choose to shoot the expert as a stand-alone testimonial or have him interviewed by a host or hostess. An expert can also analyze the action or perform a play-by-play description of an event.

Pre-planning your video project and creating a project essence that acts as your reference, along with a realistic time-line and budget, will help you select the right format, style and elements for your production. Once you start shooting with expanded creative visions, your palette will keep growing and growing. As a Creative Director, one of my favorite exercises is trying to match the format and elements to the project. I think you’ll find as much fun in this as I have, and your videos will look better and be more effective in influencing your audience.

Randal K. West is the Vice President/Creative Director for Hawthorne Direct, a Direct Response Television Advertising Agency.

Here is an example of a video essence brainstorm for a Public Service video for a local Kiwanis Club:

• Needs to portray the focus of the club as one which helps children by raising money and distributing it to children’s causes and individual kids.
• Needs to show that the club is both local, regional and nationally based.
• Needs to seem fun and fulfilling to be a club member.
• Needs to seem like the club is open to all ages, all types and both men and women.
• Needs to be engaging, visual and dynamic.

Three factors usually limit whether an element will work in your production:

• Time
  Does the production timeline allow you to spend the time required to add this element?
• Money
  Will the budget allow you to expend the money required for the element?
• Style
  Is the element stylistically appropriate in the piece?

Green Screens and blue screens were the keys to chromakey in the 1970s, the use of blue or green screens as backgrounds for use with chromakey became widespread amongst local TV news programs, conjuring up images of cheesy weathermen in garish plaid polyester jackets standing in front of superimposed maps. The goal of that new technology was to shoot the weatherman in the studio against a blue or green screen, then delete the background color and insert various images, from maps to pictures. But very often, the key would be imprecise, causing said weatherman in his garish plaid polyester jacket to appear to be dematerializing into his map, usually somewhere around the Great Lakes or Sheboygan.

But that was long ago. These days, chromakey and related technologies, such as blue and green screen effects, have gotten so exact, they’re the key to Hollywood blockbusters ranging from the recent trilogy of Star Wars prequels to such quasi-comic book films as Sky Captain, Sin City and 300. One reason these effects have taken off in the past few years is that compositing via PC has become incredibly sophisticated. And that technology has recently trickled down rapidly to the consumer level.

While Hollywood films still have multi-million-dollar budgets, they have saved considerable sums with green-screen effects, as sets are built in a computer, not by draftsmen and riggers. Similarly, because compositing via PC is now inexpensive enough that the average serious hobbyist can afford it, green-screen effects allow one-man video podcasts to have an extremely slick look, even if they’re shot in a garage or a basement. So let’s look at some of the elements involved in producing a successful key.

In the past, the main color for chromakeying was blue. Beginning in the late 1970s, there was a slow industry flip-over to green-colored screens for chroma. That’s because of the detail in the green color channel that digital cameras retain. Additionally, green screens typically require less light to properly illuminate. However, both of these colors share a similar trait: unless you’re videotaping an Andorian or an Orion, flesh tones don’t contain blue or green. So you can remove the screen color without causing the talent’s face to dematerialize.

However, clothes can certainly contain either color. Nowhere was the disparity between costuming and chromakeying more of a significant factor than in the first Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve. For obvious reasons, Superman’s very blue suit required that special effects technicians film Reeve in front of one of the first green screen backdrops, rather than the then-common blue screen.

Be sure to advise your on-air talent to dress appropriately, to ensure that his or her clothing doesn’t interfere with the key. This phenomenon is one reason that companies such as Photoflex (www.photoflex.com) make portable backdrops with both green and blue sides, so that the videographer can quickly swap out the color when necessary.

Many of today’s editing programs now have chroma effects built into them. Whichever program you use for green screen, you’ll find that the process will be much smoother when you plan ahead. This will help you avoid errors while videotaping the talent and hours sitting in front of the compositing program.

If you’ll pardon the pun, there are two primary keys to successful chroma. The first is to make sure to light the background as evenly as possible, with no hot spots. Many programs use a tool with an eyedropper icon (similar to those in digital photography programs such as Photoshop) to select the shade of green or blue in the backdrop and key it out. This is time-consuming, so keeping the color as uniformly lit as possible on the set makes the post-production work much easier.

Second, it helps to stand the subject as far away from the backdrop as possible to separate the two. This helps to reduce spill from the lights illuminating the talent into the lighting on the green screen. It helps to blur the backdrop, which keeps wrinkling and other blemishes from affecting the key.

Once you have shot the footage in front of the green screen, it’s time to composite it, via your editing program. How tight the compositing looks will depend on the quality and design of the program you use. For example, while Adobe After Effects has a somewhat more cumbersome graphical user interface than Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects has a matte choker function that can dramatically tame matte bleed. This helps to reduce or eliminate that green-screen halo effect that causes viewers so many flashbacks to those 1970s-era weathermen. And like most compositing programs, they both allow for the creation of large blocky “garbage masks” to block out background objects (such as lighting rigs) in a quick-and-dirty fashion before beginning the fine tuning.

Additionally, both programs (and many others) can create a shadow effect between the talent and whatever background you insert. Ironically, it’s probably a more exaggerated shadow than you’d want were the talent properly lit and standing on a real set. But it can go far in providing that suspension of disbelief that causes the viewer to accept that a chroma shot is working.

In the past, a television production required a dedicated studio and lots of expensive, cumbersome overhead lighting to make the scene appear evenly lit. These days, with a couple of grand for a lighting kit and a digital backing, it’s possible to “build” a virtual set that looks like it costs a lot more than it actually does. Digital Juice (www.digitaljuice.com) is one of several companies that sell slick-looking video backing tracks which you can loop to form a digital background, so you can green-screen the talent in front of it. Combining these clips with a DV camera, a tripod, lights and compositing software makes it possible to turn virtually any garage or basement into a video studio.

What’s the future for do-it-yourself green screening? Serious Magic (www.seriousmagic.com), which became a division of Adobe recently, points the way towards one scenario. Its Ultra 2 program (now available bundled as part of Adobe’s new Creative Suite 3 Production Premium kit) combines a fairly big collection of incredibly slick-looking virtual sets along with their compositing program.

The end result is that you can position the talent in front of a small green screen, record via a standard Mini DV camcorder on a stationary tripod and proceed to composite in all sorts of virtual sets, along with some amazingly slick camera moves created inside the compositing program. These include helicopter shots zooming into science fiction backgrounds that Gene Roddenberry would have given his eyeteeth for during the heyday of Star Trek. What was science fiction a few decades ago is now science reality.

Of course, these virtual sets aren’t for everyone: they may be too overwhelming or “arch” for a production that will ultimately end up as a five-minute clip on YouTube. A less complex backing may be more appropriate for some productions; obviously, experimentation is the key.

As a case study in how green screen and chroma can make a small operation look network-slick, it’s worth studying the production techniques employed by Bryan Preston. He’s the producer of the five- to ten-minute daily video clips for Hot Air’s (www.hotair.com) daily Vent vidcasts. Preston extensively uses chroma to generate digital backdrops behind the on-air talent, such as Fox News panelist Michelle Malkin. Preston recently told me, “We don’t have a studio per se, so we’re using a Lowel Tota-Light kit. Basically, the way I set things up is that I light my talent with four lights. I point two Rifas – a large Rifa and a smaller Rifa – at the talent. And then I have two Lowel Pros, little 500-watters, as my rim lights. I light the green screen itself with two umbrella lights, Lowel V-Lights.”

Preston says that the nature of green screen requires lighting it separately from the talent. “The trick, of course, with any green screen, is to get enough light on the green screen so that the green hits the right tones” for keying, he adds. “But you also don’t want to get so much that it bounces onto the talent. So I’ve played with distances to get Michelle far enough away from the screen, but close enough to it, because the green screen itself is a five-by-eight foot portable green screen.” To cut down on spill, Preston eventually ended up placing his talent about six feet from his Botero collapsible fabric green screen.

This article only scratches the surface of what chromakey and green screen can do. You might not create the next Sin City or Star Wars, but to elevate the quality of your next YouTube clip, green screen can go far towards creating champagne-quality video on a Budweiser budget.

The websites are listed alphabetically. Hope you enjoy it!
*Warning: Lots of whitespace ahead!

5 Thirty One ↓

72 Rivington Street ↓

39/18 ↓

80/20 Studio ↓

Aen Tan ↓

Andy Rutledge ↓

Anthony James Bruno ↓

Arias ↓

Astheria ↓

Beyond Standards ↓

Big Kid ↓

Brilliancy ↓

Bryan Culver ↓

Cade Martin ↓

Daniel Howells ↓

Daniel Oliver ↓

David Airey ↓

The Deck ↓

Eduardo de la Roque ↓

Derek Bender ↓

Eightface ↓

Feed A Fever ↓

Fell Swoop ↓

FRKT ↓

Header Footer ↓

Hello Stefan ↓

Jamie Gregory ↓

Joni Korpi ↓

Jon Tangerine ↓

LindenTibbets ↓

Made By On ↓

Make Tea ↓

Martin Hipp ↓

Max Voltar ↓

Middle Mind Project ↓

Minimal Sites ↓

NUYU ↓

Offset Media ↓

Oh Deer ↓

Olex ↓

Peter Rozek ↓

Pixel Bot ↓

Rikcat Industries ↓

Rodrigo Galindez ↓

Shaun Inman ↓

Site Inspire ↓

Stefan Persson ↓

Strange Beautiful ↓

Subtraction ↓

Superrevolver ↓

Thirty One West ↓

Voce Antica ↓

Welcome To HR ↓

Year Of The Sheep ↓

Yoo Tae Han ↓

Z8 ↓

Below I’ve compiled a list containing Color Combination Tools for Designers. You can use this list to chose the tool that better fits your needs or that you’re most comfortable using.

Kuler

The web-hosted application for generating color themes that can inspire any project. No matter what you’re creating, with Kuler you can experiment quickly with color variations and browse thousands of themes from the Kuler community.

Color Scheme Designer

Color Scheme Designer has been around for some time and was recently re-written and designed. It currently has great color space conversions, a preview pane, enhanced scheme creation, and a permanent URL of the schemes you create. It’s almost as if it were a hosting site for color schemes.

Contrast-A: Find Accessible Color Combinations

This application allows you to experiment with various color combinations, review your colors accessibility, and create color palettes.

Infohound Color Schemer

Infohound Color Schemer helps you find and test color schemes for whatever the reason may be. Features included allow you to configure the saturation and brightness, set the value for hue, and have your colors automatically matched for you.

Check My Color

This tool lets you check the foreground and background of color combinations and gives you the option to determine whether the color variation is suitable for individuals with vision impairments.

Toucan Color Palettes

Toucan allows you to choose up to 20 colors per palette using color association rules or an uploaded image, collaborate with other users, and import images from Flickr, Picasa, and Facebook.

Hex Color Scheme Generator

The Hex Color Scheme Generator is a great tool to use if you want to create a beautiful and logical color scheme. It acts as an “advisor” for colors. You simply tell it which colors you’d like to use, and the app will generate the best results that match.

Pictaculous

Pictaculous lets you upload your image and analyze its colors. This is ideal for the designer who creates several graphics at a time and would like to distinguish the looks without having to manually choose the best combining colors every time.

Color Combinations and Color Schemes

This website gives you the option to generate limitless color combinations and schemes. If you already know at least one of the colors you plan on using, this site will take care of the rest. This is good for testing out colors in your code when you’re not sure what they are. I personally use this app on a regular basis.

Daily Colorscheme

Daily Color Scheme serves its users a new color scheme every single day of the year. This can help you discover new color combinations that you hadn’t thought of before, also a great source for color inspiration.

Color Palette Software

This is an advanced color palette tool that lets you create beautiful color schemes and custom themes. To begin working with colors you’ll have a scratch pad at your disposal. Before you begin using this app, make sure you try the scratch pad, it’s a feature that allows you to store all of the colors you’re working with for later use. You’ll also have a photo tool to extract colors, and an advanced color picker as well as a color theory wheel to give you the right type of inspiration.

ColorExplorer

ColorExplorer takes working with digital colors to the next level. You can get right down to work with a colorful toolbox that lets you quickly and easily create, manage, and explore several color palettes.

1. Silverback (free for 30 days then $49.95)

Before Silverback, people used to film user reactions to their sites with camcorders during testing, a slow an arduous process involving hours of video editing, not to mention intimidation of test subjects. Silverback, a fantastic app for Mac OSX (with iSight or equivalent) lets you film how a user responds to your site and track their clicks too. You can set chapter markers in the video, when something interesting happens, simply by pressing the “+” button on the Apple remote.

2. Usabilla (free for 5 pages)

Test your web page at any stage in the design process with Usabilla. Simply upload the URL or a picture from your hard drive, choose from predefined test questions or create your own, and invite people to participate in the study by emailing them a link, embedding a widget in your website, or simply pressing the Twitter or Facebook button.

Once you’ve done that, sit back and wait for the data to start pouring in. Usabilla tracks where participants click on your web page, recording the results of different questions in different colors. Participants can also add notes to clicks on the page, which you can view easily.

3. Clixpy ($5 for 100 recorded sessions)

Clixpy is a usability tool which tracks everything from mouse movements, clicks, scrolling and form inputs on your actual site. It’s essentially a screen recorder, installed by simply inserting a few lines of JavaScript into your site’s HTML. It records exactly how individual users interact with your site, allowing you to play back the videos when you like.

4. Crazy Egg ($9 for basic package)

Enter your site’s URL and the number of visits you want to track into Crazy Egg. It will generate a small chunk of JavaScript code to be inserted into your site’s HTML. Once inserted, Crazy Egg creates beautifully designed heatmaps, showing where users are clicking on your site, and confetti, showing where users are clicking based on different search terms, browsers etc. Crazy Egg tabulates all these results too, making them easier to digest.

5. Five Second Test (free basic package)

The Five Second Test comes in two flavors: Memory Test and Click Test. The Memory Test gives participants a meager five seconds to look at your web page or design before attempting to recall specific elements. The Click Test gives users an equally scant five seconds to click on an element that you identify. Simply upload your page or design, choose which test you wish to run as well as certain parameters, and invite friends, colleagues and randoms to take part in your test with a unique link.

6. Userfly (free basic package)

Similar to Clixpy, but with a more attractive interface, Userfly records everything that each visitor to your site does, listing each recorded visit for you to replay individually. As well as listing how many user sessions are captured, it clearly shows next to each one how many pages were viewed in each session and for how long. Simply select a session and it pops up in a new window. Press play to gain a valuable insight into how that specific user interacted with your site.

7. Morae ($1,495)

Morae is a far more comprehensive tool that the others in this list and can be used to gather feedback on more than just websites, but that’s to be expected considering its rather hefty price tag. $1,495 buys you a bundle consisting of Morae Recorder, Observer and Manager, which can be installed on up to three different computers.

Using cameras, Recorder records how a specific user interacts with your site. Other people can watch this live on their computers, making notes if necessary, using Observer. Finally, video, audio and computer data, as well as notes are synced up and saved as an RDG file, which is then viewed, analyzed and shared in Manager.

8. Feedback Army (from $10)

If you want to get feedback on a certain aspect of your site quickly and inexpensively, you need the Feedback Army. $10, paid with your credit card or Paypal account, buys you 10 responses to any questions you submit. There’s no guarantee how quickly you’ll see a response, but usually it only takes an hour or so. The more questions you ask, the longer it takes to receive replies.

9. Kampyle (free basic package)

Kampyle is a highly effective tool for getting feedback on your site. Once installed, an attractive green “Feedback” tab is added to the side of your chosen web page. When visitors click on it, a survey pops up for them to complete. You can manage all your feedback in a really intuitive way on the Kampyle website.

10. Ethnio (first 20 recruits are free)

Ethnio isn’t a usability tool in itself, but it’s a great way of recruiting people to take part in usability research and so is worthy of a place in this list. Once signed up to Ethnio, you can create a screener, which is added as a pop-up to your site, to find suitable respondents for research. Once somebody signs up to take part, you’re alerted and can choose to email them or just call them there and then. It’s all done remotely so you don’t need to meet any strangers face-to-face.

11. Open Hallway ($49 per month)

Accessible from anywhere, Open Hallway is an entirely browser based tool which tests sites for usability with a minimum of fuss. It couldn’t be simpler. You just sign up, enter the URL of the site you wish to test, issue instructions to the tester and click to generate a link, which can be emailed to potential participants. The tester then clicks the link, reads the instructions and presses “Start” to begin a recording of their session. The session is finally uploaded for you to view, complete with screen-captured video and voice recording.

12. Concept Feedback (free – premium concepts are $9.99)

Concept Feedback let’s you post design concepts that people can then review and give you feedback on. This is a great tool if you’re looking to improve your current site design or are working on a redesign. Getting impartial feedback from members can help improve your design tremendously

Download now.

WHY VIDEO?

The videos not only attract the attention but also stimulate you with its visual content. Although a video may contain a face speaking for minutes will perhaps kill the intent.

A Lot depends on how and what content in form of video is presented and what follows after the video. Typically, the content must be mixed and balanced in terms of anchor occupying screen and other learning visuals.

So, looking to the advantages of vidoes, it is very clear and have been found out that -

1. Videos help in retention

2. Motivates the learner

3. Provides sense of credibility

4. Communicates a lot more than what text alone does

5. Learner gets clear picture, a better understanding

6. Feeling of lonliness is removed

7. can be accessed at any time anywhere

8. Delivers visually driven materials that are more appealing to learners

So, the primary advantage of video is the ability for students to self-pace their learning.

As teachers, trainers, and instructional designers we should embrace the new video-on-Internet capabilities to use video more creatively, effectively, and efficiently than ever before. We can learn from YouTube to keep videos short (2-5 minutes) and to make them authentic. From “60 Minutes” we can learn the power of a properly presented “talking head.” We can analyze television formats that have potential as formats for video learning objects, like the variety of cable TV shows demonstrating cooking & home improvement etc.,

By taking charge of producing their own video learning objects teachers, trainers, and instructional designers can insure that the videos are customized for their audience and objectives. Assuming the role of video producer doesn’t require technical skills as much as it requires a vision of how a video learning object can be used in instruction and the confidence to produce it yourself.

1.0  Use video stories to put the subject into its context of use.

1.2. Use video clips followed by questions to encourage active participation from trainees and build on existing knowledge.

1.3. Ensure that these clips have the information required to answer the questions.

1.4. Limit the length of talking head video clips and use them to elaborate on specific points.

Years ago, video learning entailed watching a videotape that only gave one-way audio and visual to students. They listened and watched the tape and took the information in. Students could not ask questions and engage in the lecture or demonstration. Today’s live video learning is interactive. Microphones and cameras create live two-way audio and visual between the speaker and the students. Students ask questions directly to the speaker or they email the speaker and get a live response. The only cost to students is the cost of tuition, as the colleges make the investment in the required equipment.

.Significance

Video distance learning goes everywhere. The opportunities are almost limitless. However, this type of class requires that students be self-motivated, as they work independently rather than report to a physical classroom.

.Features

Video learning opens a world of learning opportunities. Annenberg Media, for example, offers such courses as “Against All Odds: Inside Statistics” and “The Constitution: That Delicate Balance.” Colorado Mountain College offers such courses as “Business Taxation,” “Intermediate Accounting II” and “Introduction to Criminal Justice,” just to name a few.

.Benefits

Students can live in remote areas and earn degrees or get job training. People in cities do not waste time commuting to campus or meeting sites. No longer are courses canceled due to low enrollment in one location because students from many locales make up the video interactive class.

.Time Frame

Video courses offer flexibility. Interactive classes are often recorded and students can watch later at their convenience. In Web courses, on demand videos via the Internet are available 24/7. Students get to schedule classes on their own time.

.Potential

.Everyone who wants to learn can. Job training, career education and training, art classes–virtually every subject is being taught through video learning.