Vlog It! is a new vlogging tool that promises to make vlogging a trunkey operation for many users. The application has been in public beta, but is now available in a "free trial" form. Final release of the program is expected before the end of November with a suggested retail price of $49.95.
Vlog It! is essentially an encarnation of Visual Communicator that has been "feature-focused" and "publishing-enhanced" for the task of vlogging.
My initial impression of the program is very favorable. One easily creates a "talking head" video supplemented with digital pictures and video clips that one wishes to show to the vlogging community. Visual Communicator, of course, can already do this and offers many more features. The BIG news about Vlog It! is that the technical aspects of vlogging are adeptly handled by the program. Selecting an image clip for you video link is as easy as pushing a button. Publishing the video involves nothing more than dragging your image clip into your vlog editor. Poof! All the code and hyperlinking is handled by Vlog It!.
Vlog It! will also chromakey a green screen to whatever background you'd like -- in the video I used a stock "Tech" background that was included with Vlog It! Keep in mind that the green screen and lapel mic used in the video are not included with Vlog It!; however, they are inexpensive items that can be purchased from Serious Magic or any media content vendor. Professional lighting was not used, yet the program did a good job of keying the background.
I encouage all vloggers to download the trial version and take it for a spin. A 15-day Playstream account is included in the free trial. The free trial version is limited to Flash output; however, the shipping version of Vlog It! will also publish to Real and Windows Media formats.
Personally, I'd like to see the application be enhanced to include the option to "Publish to QuickTime" and specifically "Publish to iPod". I like to present my work in multiple formats from within one application -- would save alot of time over doing the "conversion shuffle" with a third party tool.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Vlog It! Free Trial 90 Second Preview
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2 comments:
Sounds interesting...
How long did it take to render this clip?
What kinda machine are your on?
Honestly, when I first saw the Vlog it! software I immeidately was turned off by the idea of someone repacking, renaming, tweaking something (video software, which has been around for a while) just to make a buck...hmmmm...sorry to come across as a rude vlogger...just my thoughts...
Nathan:
I've been using VC since it was released -- I bought the Plus version from Amazon back then for $139.
The product has been expanded into a line of three: VC, VC Pro, and VC Studio with pricing somewhere between $150 and $400. Each version has significant enhancements over the other.
Vlog It! simply takes the VC model and customizes it for vlogging purposes -- and, at a very cheap price -- in fact, Vlog It! has more features overall than the original version of VC at half the price. Personally, I feel Vlog It serves a genuine need in the marketplace and provides an inexpensive introduction to VC.
The trial version that I used renders only to Flash and automatically uploads the video to a free trial Playstream account. For the 90 second clip it took maybe a couple of minutes, at the most, to render the file and upload it. The trial version is limited to 90-second shows, so I couldn't show all the steps in the preview video.
It was rendered on a eMachines M6810 laptop with Athlon-64 3200, 512 MB RAM, Radeon 9600 64 MB dedicated RAM and Toshiba 7,200 rpm hard drive.
I also own VC Studio and DV Rack from Serious Magic. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this outfit provides OUTSTANDING customer support. The president and CEO even participates in the support forums. Most technology companies blow off the customer after purchase.
All I can say is that you should download the trial version and see the product for yourself. The help file is beautifully done and, I must say, much better than the help system that I got when I downloaded QuickTime Pro 7 from Apple to make iPod versions of my work.
By the way, you're not a rude vlogger. All reasonable thoughts are always appreciated.
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