Mendi Benigni

Thanks to Jim Duran for sharing the link to “10 YouTube URL Tricks You Should Know About.”  This article contains tips for getting more control over the videos you embed in your blogs, wikis, webpages, etc.  I tried them all in my blog and the first thing I noticed, for all you CofC bloggers, is that you can’t use these controls if you embed your video the normal way (using the  icon).  The only way these controls will work is if you choose the HTML tab in your editor and actually paste the YouTube embed URL into your post.

Here’s an example:

<object width=”425″ height=”344″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Uo3VwTBGrY8&hl=en&fs=1″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Uo3VwTBGrY8&hl=en&fs=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″></embed></object>

Everything above is included in the Embed URL in YouTube.  If you want to add the commands from the article your link will look like this:

<object width=”425″ height=”344″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Uo3VwTBGrY8&hl=en&fs=1″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Uo3VwTBGrY8&hl=en&fs=1&start=150&autoplay=1&showsearch=0&rel=0” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″></embed></object>

&start=150 tells the player to begin the video 150 seconds in.  &autoplay=1 tells the video to automatically start when the page loads.  &showsearch=0 tells the video not to display the search window when the video finishes playing and &rel=0 tells the video not to display related videos when the video finishes playing.  These are just a few of the tricks.  I’ll be honest, I couldn’t get the time command to work and didn’t try to bypass the regional filtering so I don’t know if that works.  Everything else seems to work really well.

The video below is the direct result of the embed text above, with the start, autoplay, search and related video commands added.

By the way if you haven’t checked out Zee Avi, the singer in the video, you really should. She rocks!

Tags: New Stuff, software by benignim
1 Comment »

It’s official, I adore the new iMovie ‘09.  It’s everything iMovie ‘08 wasn’t.  I have just completed a full run through of the software and here’s why I love it.

Hooray, they finally gave us back the fine editing capability using the arrow keys.  I’m thrilled about that.  I also love the precision editing tool that allows for better cuts between clips.  I’m also in love with the new special effects (cutaway, picture-in-picture and green screen).  These effects have really ramped up ‘09 into a class above even iMovie HD.  Another awesome feature is that they have brought back DVD Chapter Markers!!!  Wow was that a pain to do in ‘08.  This is a big help having those back.

On a purely fun level they have added tons of new transitions and titles.  My favorite part of the titles is how easy it is to add colored or interesting backgrounds.  So much better than HD or ‘08.  I also am a big fan of the travel maps you can add.  Again these are all fluff but it really adds a lot to your finished product, especially if you are making videos for personal use.

What I don’t like…I’m still liking the Ken Burns Effect in HD better than ‘09.  What I liked in HD was that you can drag the image off the screen.  In ‘08 and ‘09 you are constricted by the edge of the screen.  While this isn’t a deal breaker it does hinder creativity a bit.  I also still like the audio control of HD better than ‘08 & ‘09.  The fade control is not sufficient on ‘09.  I liked the ability to drag the audio controllers around a clip to fine tune the fades and volume.  Lastly, they still don’t allow you to insert a title at the playhead.  You still have to insert them at the beginning, middle, or end and then move it.  This is a pain and prohibits you from easily adding multiple titles in one clip.  I also don’t think you can overlap video effects although I’m not 100% sure about this.  For instance I couldn’t make a clip Black & White then add the Film Grain Effect.  It seemed to be one or the other.

So what’s the final verdict?  Get iMovie ‘09.  It’s totally worth the upgrade price of $79.00 from the Apple Store.  With this you get the new iPhoto with face recognition and the new GarageBand, iDVD and iWeb.

Tags: New Stuff, software, tlt by benignim
No Comments »