Video Podcast

As I briefly mentioned on my last Foto Phriday, I hosted our first video episode of my podcast Cam-Fu and Friends. Since I work in a production studio, the idea had crossed my mind to shoot a video podcast when we were just a couple episodes into the audio show. However, I thought that was a pipe dream because it would require a lot of work, more reliance on other folks, and most importantly, I would need permission from the higher ups at work.

A little over a month ago, my co-worker and friend who mixed the audio podcast came up to me and proposed that we film a video podcast of Cam-Fu and Friends. Telling him my concerns, he practically alleviated all of them. With management's blessing, I quickly got an outline together and gathered my guest hosts. Making the show is a great chance to be ahead of the curve when it comes to amateur podcasting. Looking at professional ones, you can see that podcasts like Nerdist and WTF are getting TV deals. Doing this is also beneficial for my co-worker because he is looking to learn more about the video side of production. Also, management has a better idea of how to package the room and services we'll use to present to clients.

I went out on Facebook and polled some of my friends who I know previously listened to the show. I asked them what their favorite parts were and got a different answer every time. It turns out that different parts worked for different folks. So, we started off with a very vague topic, which was suggested by an old friend of mine. On this first episode of Cam-Fu and Friends, we talk about our favorite entertainment things from 2012 and what we're looking forward to in 2013. Then, to test our background slideshow system, I came up with a surprise topic that horror fans should appreciate near the end.

I had a blast and the final product turned out better than I had hoped. Making this was the opposite of the audio podcast in that instead of recording and working a lot on the editing in post, we worked on a lot of prep work, shot the show, and then it was pretty much done. The view count is just over 365 views after almost two weeks. The responses have been very positive, but I actually welcome some constructive criticism.

So, where do we go from here? Shooting an episode monthly would be great, but would require a lot of work. Like the audio podcast, I sort of don't want to hold myself to a strict schedule for the time being, but it depends on how much people want to see more. I will continue to get topic suggestions from friends and invite folks who have and have not appeared on the podcast before. I also want to try and get some popular folks in the studio. Not necessarily A-list celebs since they'd be hard to obtain, but the C-list or maybe even B-list folks who enjoy being interviewed. We'll see how it goes, but for now just enjoy the first episode. Watch it below, and be sure to select 720p HD for the best video quality. If you want a little more information on Episode 1, check out the Cam-Fu and Friends website.