Inspirationaltv is an online antidote to television...a spicey mix of reality programming available only on the web. It is a Christian website with a difference...everyday people in their everyday lives stepping up to the challenges of life!
What makes Inspirationaltv different is a strong social conscience and a focus on living: Loneliness is now recognised as accounting for a 30% increased risk of contracting serious mental illness, depression, Alzheimer's, physical illnesses from colds to strokes, and even early death. It affects all ages including children. Social loneliness and stress are the leading underlying causes of crime, abuse, broken homes, and mental health problems.
But something inside us tells us not to lose hope.
While the news focuses on a diet of crime, shock and sensationalism, creating a false view of the world, Inspirationaltv.net has become the high tech, low-stress way to relax and gain much-needed reassurance from people of all ages and backgrounds. It is accessed by an audience of online viewers who include corporate workers, nurses and teachers, churchgoers, students and yes, even politicians on a weekly basis. Inspirationaltv's aim is to give people who use the net somewhere to go and something to inspire them week to week. Inspirationaltv's production team's mission is to find the compassion and passion in simple things, and create entertaining "webisodes" on a unique social networking website for people of all ages and experiences. A non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers, Inspirationaltv has twelve different programmes on the site touching on all areas of interest including Nature and the Environment, History, Social issues and Politics, Technology, Trends and Religion.
Why not join the fun and make your own videos for screening on Inspirationaltv. It's easy, just follow the following four steps. All you'll need is a camera, a cord to connect the camera to a PC (fire-wire or similar) and a PC that has an internet connection.
To start with run through the four Ws and the H (what, who, when, where and how) to formulate your story. When you've got these basics roughed out you can get into some more serious planning.
To maximise the inspiration in each video and minimise the confusion in producing them very video should start with confirmation of basic details before you start:
Find an angle:
Plan to capture interesting footage that helps answer your question or develops your theme:
Show a result:
Here's a checklist of what you'll need before you go out filming:
If you are using a presenter, make sure your presenter is prepared:
So you're ready to film. If you are new to filming here are some tips:
When you are starting to get really good also be sure to:
Cutting is very satisfying. It's the point at which everything starts to come together and people take real pride from their involvement. It's wonderful to sit back at the end and be able to say "wow, we made that". We suggest you use Windows Movie Maker, it's easy to use and produces a good result. Most computers have it and if yours doesn't it can be downloaded for free at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=854898a9-1947-4bda-8963-bee13fa40980&DisplayLang=en if your PC is a Windows PC.
Ensure your tape is in the camera, make sure the camera is plugged into the electricity. Now connect the camera to your PC with the firewire. One of two things will happen either a diologue box will pop and ask you to capture the video, select OK or, you will need to open Windows Movie Maker. Capture the video from your camera, naming what you are capturing and selecting where it will be saved to. If you are asked for file format select "Digital device format (DV-AVI)" and capture the entire tape or stop the capture manually when you have finsihed getting what you need. The video will be in the top left of the page. Drag it down to the top line of the story board ("video") further down. On the story board there are plus and minus buttons. Adjust the size of the story board using the buttons to make cutting easier. Play to the point you want to cut. Use the razor blade (two squares with a dotted line between them at the bottom of the video screen) to cut, put your curser on the cut piece you want to take out and press delete.
Use the razor blade to cut down to the chunks you want for the video. Delete the chunks you don't want. Rearrange the chunks in the order you want them. When you have cut your video insert titles and captions. Use the menu to choose where you would like the title to appear. You will be given a range of options to choose from. Once you get experienced you can also add music and photos. Places for free music and photos without copyright restrictions include:
Finally, publish your video so that it is ready to load to the web. When you save the video you will be given a number of options on the form to save it in. The two key things to get right for ease of loading to the web are first ensure the file format is "AVI" so it will load easily and second make sure the file is saved as "compressed" otherwise it will take hours to load to the web.
You are ready to load your video to the web, offering it to the world of web TV watchers.
Open a free account with http://www.vimeo.com/. Just fill your details out at the top of the Vimeo homepage to set up your account.
To upload a video:
While the video uploads you have the option to add details about the video, this is highly recommended as it makes the video easier to find later.
Once the video is loaded simply e-mail contact@inspirationaltv.net with a link to the video and we'll take it from there.