Have you ever felt too intimidated about video recording to even try to get a simple message out on YouTube?

I thought so. I feel that way too. I did a quick search on Google, and these are some of the issues that were raised when making a video for any purpose.

The first piece of advice was to get the most expensive camcorder possible within my budget. Apparently, unless the camera is top notch, the quality of the video will suffer.

Next, I learned that you MUST have a tripod. But not just any tripod. The tripod has to cost at least $100 – $200 to be solid and firm enough to prevent wobbling. I was instructed to obtain a portable microphone and something called a “Lavaliere Microphone”(like I knew what that was).

There was EXTENSIVE advice on zooming, panning, lighting, composition, editing, narration – and even sorting and packing your equipment.

I haven’t even addressed the issues of cue cards versus memorization – keeping background noise to a minimum – inflection – facial expression – and, (my personal favorite) – STAGE FRIGHT.

All of this would make a lot of sense if you were re-making “Gone With The Wind”, but it’s way over the top if you’re just trying to explain or sell something.

You and I both understand that video sites like YouTube have incredible power, and that video accounts for more and more internet traffic (52% so far). We know that to get our message in front of the most pairs of eyes, we need to go video – but how do we avoid all of that other nonsense?

Good question. You could go for some expensive video editing software and – after overcoming a steep learning curve – create one of those masterpieces you see on YouTube from time to time. You know what I mean – a clever series of written messages which fade in and fade out, or leap on to the screen and then leap out, or dance around in a circle – all accompanied by perfectly synchronized music, of course.

But if you just want to get across a simple sales message, you might conclude that all of the above is overkill. So why not look into “text to video” software?

Never heard of it? Until recently, I hadn’t heard of it either. Actually, it’s been around for a little while. The idea is that you type or paste in some text and the software converts the text into audio speech. Nowadays, they’ve gotten pretty good at making it sound less robotic.

This type of program makes creating a video as simple as writing an email. When you consider that more and more people prefer watching and listening to a message, rather than reading words on a screen, you can see the value in this.

The main item missing is the visual aspect. When shopping for a good text to video program, you should consider the nature of the visual presentation. My advice would be to avoid a program that simply flashes the words up on the screen as they are being spoken. Instead, focus on one that produces a computerized image, since this “feels” more comfortable for the average viewer.

Looking to find the best deal on a new text to video program? Go to Jennifer Gordon’s site VIDEOGOROUND.COM to find the best advice on NEW TEXT TO VIDEO SOFTWARE.