How To Keep My Videos As Simple As Possible?

It is very important to keep your video creation process as simple as possible. If you simplify everything, you can create videos faster than you can write about the same subject... but if you get hung up on the details, it might take you a lot longer to make videos, which isn't what you want! Let's tackle the biggest hang-ups about video I hear about all the time: what audio hardware to use, what video hardware to use, and what video software to use.

If you are brand new at recording videos, I recommend you start with screen capture videos, which record your desktop and not your face. You don't have to buy any special video camera, just a microphone. I have tested many, many microphones, and your best bet is to go with a USB headset. I know of a few people who still try to make their built-in sound cards work with pre-amps and filters, but USB microphones use their own built-in digital sound cards which bypass your computer's audio. Unfortunately, many computers come with substandard sound cards, so you must use a USB headset. Don't make it a standing microphone or a USB "adapter" ... just a USB headset, so you don't have to adjust how close you talk into the microphone. Go to a site like Amazon.com, search for USB headset and choose the one with the best reviews.

If you graduate into doing talking head video, you will need to get a camera to record yourself. These days there is no reason to get a camera that records to tape or transmits over firewire. Personally, I love my Flip Mino HD camera. It's a tiny video camera, about the size of a cell phone, that records 60 minutes of video in 720p high definition. It has a built-in USB plug to copy the videos onto your computer and recharges the built-in battery from the USB as well.
Once you have your videos, how will you output them? For the basic stuff, I prefer Camtasia.

Although Camtasia is meant for screen capture videos, they allow you to import other videos and mix and match screen capture recordings with talking head recordings, or even produce 100% talking head recordings. They make it easy for you to add title screens, captions, additional audio tracks, cut and edit... just about everything any other video editing suite will do for you. On the other hand, if you have the money, I have had great success using Sony Vegas.

I hope that helped you to overcome the common issues many video marketers like yourself have had to deal with: what audio hardware, video hardware, and video software to use.