By Amanda Weber -

On Saturday, May 12, Communication lecturer and photo and video journalist Alex Stonehill will be hosting his video boot camp from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Communication Building, room 302. This alumni workshop is an intensive lesson in how professionals can put video production skills to use in their careers. Attendees of all technical abilities will learn to shoot, edit, and upload their projects to the web. “What are the benefits to learning a skill like this?” you may ask. Stonehill has all the answers, so read on!

Q: Why is it important for professionals to develop video production skills?
A: Video is an ideal medium for conveying your message, whatever it may be. When done successfully, it engages your audience’s attention fully, communicates information efficiently and memorably, and perhaps most importantly, makes an emotional impact. It’s also so universally understood and embraced at this point that some have ventured to call it the most widely spoken language in the world.

Q: What are some ways a small business owner or professional can put to use his or her newly gained video production skills?
A: Any small business’ website can be improved with a short video explaining your mission, your products, and you! Gone are the days of the distanced, impersonal professional. Everyone needs a little marketing to compete, and showing your personality is the best way to do that. Video allows you to talk directly to your clients, and show them what you can do for them.

Q: Is learning this really worth the time and effort? What can I get out of it?
A: Absolutely. As I said before, video is a language. We all know how to understand it, from watching movies and TV, but very few people know how to speak it. There’s a lot of value in being one of those people. Even if you don’t become an expert and start producing videos yourself, you’ll understand the techniques others are using to market to you. And if you end up hiring someone else to produce video for you, understanding a bit about the process will really help.

Q: There are so many intricacies to producing and editing video that it sounds so overwhelming. How can I possibly learn everything I need to know with just this one boot camp?
A: You’ll never run out of things to learn about video, but unlike a lot of other skills, the learning curve isn’t that steep. This workshop is designed to teach the basics so that you can walk away ready to go through the entire process on your own and come away with something that looks professional.

Q: If (and when) I have questions about certain production aspects, what are the best resources to go to, online or otherwise?
A: For technical stuff, there are a million tutorials online. My favorite is the Vimeo Video School. They have resources for just about everything, from lighting, to editing software, to encoding. When it comes to the storytelling side of things, the best way to learn is to watch things that you find effective several times over and really critically analyze what you’re seeing and hearing, and how the story is constructed.

Q: Doesn’t video production require a lot of expensive equipment? Are there less expensive options?
A: It is becoming less expensive and more accessible all the time. It’s actually pretty amazing how far we’ve come so quickly, with quality cameras available very cheaply and universal distribution through YouTube and Vimeo. I put together this guide to affordable multimedia equipment to help.

Q: Are there differences between working on a Mac versus a PC?
A: Very few beyond the video editing software that’s available. Fortunately, Adobe Premiere Pro, which is both accessible to beginners and quickly becoming the industry standard, is available on both platforms.