Using iRip2 to retain video quality and create web videos more quickly
The iPhone 4 has a great little HD camera inside it. It’s just as good as the popular but recently discontinued Flip Cam, and it also has the added benefit of being a phone that you are probably already carrying around with you wherever you go. Even though I mentioned the great quality, it’s really that convenience that makes the iPhone perfect for shooting quick videos at conferences and networking events, or anywhere else you want to record for upload to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
I’ve even used my iPhone to create an impromptu how-to video for a client. They needed to know how to properly setup their new video equipment, so I whipped out my iPhone, shot the video and sent it to them in under an hour. How many opportunities do you have to create quick how-to videos for blog posts that you may be giving up?
There is one major drawback to using your iPhone for shooting on-the-go video though, and it’s called iTunes. Yes, I said it; iTunes just gets in the way.
On the iPhone, you have the ability to edit videos with different apps, and even trim them right within the iPhone software. But sometimes you want to do something more with the video and need to edit it on your computer. With iTunes, you need to sync your iPhone every time you want to do this.
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Yes, your iPhone will let you email or MMS your video elsewhere, but it’s sending a very compressed video file. If you want your videos to have all the HD goodness you paid for, you’ll need to sync your iPhone with iTunes. The bigger issue here is that you probably don’t sync your iPhone with your work computer, which means taking home your work with you too. It’s actually kind of amazing that Apple hasn’t given us a way to easily get one file off our iPhones quickly and easily.
This is where iRip2 comes to save the day. iRip2 is an application that will let you transfer music, photos and most importantly—video—from your iPhone to your computer without having to sync iTunes.
I promise we didn’t get paid to recommend them, it simply is the best tool in my opinion, for quickly getting videos off your phone and into your editing software. iRip2 is made by the little app factory and costs $19.95. It was a no-brainer purchase for me. This one program saves me an invaluable amount of time when off-loading new videos from my phone. Not to mention it’s great to have around when iTunes is being irritable.
With iRip2, my new iPhone video workflow is as follows:
- Shoot video
- Off-load video using iRip 2
- Edit video if necessary
- Upload to TubeMogul (a free multi-site upload tool) or Wistia (my favorite private video hosting platform)
There are certainly lots of applications out there to help you make videos, but I like simplicity in tools, and complexity in content. iRip2 works on both Mac and PC and can make backing up and off-loading your music, photos and videos a breeze. It’s also an essential piece of software in my video production toolkit.
Do you use an application in your video production workflow that you absolutely love? Let me know in the comments section.
