Open source Bible

Some of my favorite online videos are how-to-do-it videos, like Make TV. So I figured I’d make a how-to-do-it video for post-Christians — a video on how to do open source Bible. (4:44)

(And yeah, I’ve listened to your criticisms, so now I’m scripting the videos. Past videos were way too non-linear.)


Quicktime video — Click link, and where it says “Select a format” choose “Source — Quicktime”. Wait until the file downloads to your computer, and then click play. This should work for dial-up connections, and offers higher-resolution for all connections.

8 thoughts on “Open source Bible

  1. UU Jester

    You are my hero.
    Seriously.

    Some day, I hope to have the wit, wisdom, and chutzpah necessary to do something along these lines on my blog.
    Oh, and time. Time would help, I think.

    In any case, thanks. Cheryl and I laughed so hard we were out of breath.

    I will be passing this along. I hope it shows up on YouTube.

  2. Jean

    No, no, he’s MY hero! And my brother too.
    Very wonderfully funny and smart video. Dick and I laughed until we cried.

    Next time I teach the bible as literature, I’m using your video. But, yeah, the King James version too.
    Okay, okay, along WITH the NRSV. *sigh*

  3. Pingback: writewrite » Blog Archive » Happy Easter

  4. ck

    Very funny–nicely done, too. I just did my first video and cannot get it to embed nicely like you did (I uploaded to YouTube). And what editing software/camera did you use?

  5. Administrator

    Craig — You write: “Oh, and time. Time would help, I think.” This video took me about four hours to make, from writing the script (1 hour) to shooting (1 hour) to editing (2 hours). But I am still slow at this — I’m expecting to get it down to 2-1/2 to 3 hours as I become faster at editing and shooting.

    ck — You write: “I just did my first video and cannot get it to embed nicely like you did (I uploaded to YouTube).” It helps to know a little HTML — I used the code supplied by blip.tv, but dropped off an unnecessary div that they add on (btw, one of the reasons I went with blip.tv over YouTube is that Javascript player provided by blip.tv seems to work better). My recollection is that YouTube also provides a decent string of HTML to put into your entry — maybe it just needs some tweaking? If you switch to blip.tv, I can be much more helpful.

    You also write: “And what editing software/camera did you use?” Editing software is iMovie, a free program that comes with the Mac (Windows has an equivalent, called “Movie Maker”). Camera is a Canon ZR850, which I chose for five main reasons: small size (fits in a big pocket), 35x zoom lens, MiniDV + memory card (allows videos and still photos), socket for standard tripod screw, and accepts an external mic.

    Also, I highly recommend the book “Secrets of Videoblogging: Videoblogging for the Masses,” by Michael Verdi and Ryanne Hodson. The book provides a good basic intro to shooting, editing (using both iMovie and Movie Maker), and compressing online videos. Sure, there’s lots of stuff in the book that you already know — but for me, the bits about compression alone made the book worth the US$25 pricetag. And finally, I have been inspired by two online video series — Make TV, and Chasing Windmills (links on blogroll at left). These two series make excellent use of both the limitations and possibilities of the online short-form video series, and they go well beyond the typical point-the-camera-at-myself videoblogs.

  6. ck

    Thanks, Dan. I tried to tweak the HTML from YouTube, but it was still wonky. When I do my next vlog, I may look at blip.tv. Thanks for the info on the book & camera–I’ll let you know when I try my next one out.

  7. jmelissab

    On the occasion of this overwhelming moment of gratitude for
    this intuitive, thought-provoking piece, my 16-year-old self
    demands to emerge to offer her comment
    (note: she’s tired of the side that gets most of the text-to-dialogue control):

    “That was far out, man. Way, cool! Absolutely fab!”

    Really nice work.

    Melissa

  8. Abs

    Jim and I finally got around to watching the video, and not only were we totally
    amused, we were also totally blown away. You are one creative, cool, brilliant dude.
    (Why didn’t I get any of those genes?!?!?!?)
    love, yer sis

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