Real People Real Stuff

If your digital cameras can capture video, chances are it can record a video lasting at least 3 minutes – which is more than enough time to get your message across. In most cases, the length of the video is only limited by the amount of space available on your camera's memory card. If you want to increase the length of your video, considering getting a higher-capacity card.

From camera to computer: After you've recorded your video, you should connect your camera to your computer using the cable supplied with your camera for this purpose. Your camera also came with a CD containing software to help you export your movie from your camera to your computer.

You can use the software that came with your camera or software pre-installed by the maker of your computer – such as iPhoto or iMovie on Macintosh computers and Windows MovieMaker on PCs – to export your movie. Many computers, such as the Sony Vaio, have their own video export/edit programs.

Editing: If you want to be a bit more hands-on with your video, most new computers come with basic video-editing software installed (like Apple's iMovie or Windows MovieMaker). Once you have copied the video from your camcorder to your computer, you can edit the video with these programs. Most allow you to not only edit the video, but add effects, titles, and music to make your video look and sound more interesting.

However, there is no need to edit your movie before you upload it. Just keep it short and sweet.

If your camera saves your movie in .MP1 format, you may need to follow one more step before you edit it – particularly if you want to edit it on a Macintosh using iMovie. Otherwise, the audio portion of your movie may get lost.

1. Use a third-party utility, such as VisualHub to convert your MPEG1 to DV.
2. Import your DV file into iMovie.
3. Drag your clip to the editor to build your project.
4. Select your clip in the editor by clicking on it one time.
5. Advanced > Extract audio to create separate audio and video tracks
6. Edit your movie in iMovie.

Upload: Once you're happy with your video, you'll need to save it in a format we accept in order to upload it. We accept QuickTime .MOV files, Windows .AVI files and .MPG files — these are the most common formats. We specifically recommend the .MPG4 format at 320x240 resolution with MP3 audio. Saving or exporting your video as an .MP4 will help your videos look better when they are played.