How to share your TV footage with the world

Rebecca Coleman

14 years ago

Quite often in my work, I get my clients on TV. We have a local cable channel here in Vancouver, Shaw, that has three separate shows, and I often get my clients on those. They’re great, because they reach a wide audience, and repeat heavily. But if you have the right equipment and programs, you can upload that TV footage (that features YOU!) to the web, and share it via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and your blog, extending its reach beyond geographical constraints.

Today, I’m using Biz Books as an example. During Oscar madness a couple of weeks ago, Biz got on TV twice. Here are the steps I used to get their video from TV to YouTube.

1. You need to have a DVD-recorder and recordable DVDs. I got mine refurbished for around $40, so you don’t have to spend a bundle on this. Record the TV show as you normally would. You can, if you’re not going to be home, set the timer, etc, but the closer you are able to start recording to when the story comes on, the easier your job will be.

2. Convert the DVD-file to a file that you can edit on your computer. I use Handbrake. Free, available for Mac, Windows, and even Linux.

Insert the DVD into your drive, and boot up Handbrake. Your computer will likely default to the DVD player when you insert the DVD, so escape that.
In Handbrake, click on “Source.”
This next bit is always a bit of a guessing game, because you’ll be presented with a bunch of file names that mean absolutely nothing. It’s a safe bet to always pick the biggest file, chances are, that’s going to be what you’re looking for. Select it and click “open.”
After it loads that up, you can choose the chapter you wish to convert–again, it’s a bit of guess work, but you can go by the amount of time you were recording for as a guideline.
Because I’m on a Mac, I select the “Apple/universal” preset, and ask it to save the file as an M4V. This means I’ll be able to edit it in IMovie. If you are on a PC, you may need to play around with different formats, although AVI should work for Windows Movie Maker.
Hit the “Start” button. This is going to take some time, depending on how long your video was.

3. After Handbrake is done converting, you now need to edit it to get rid of any footage that took place before or after your clip. I use IMovie for this. I will also usually add a title at the end that states the name of the program and the original air date. Save your project, and then export it. I like to use Quicktime.