Some advice for a newbie... Help me improve the quality of my webcast
 

Hi everyone, been lurking here a while, trying to learn as much as possible. It's a little overwhelming, but I'm getting there!

Anyhow, I wanted to show you guys the latest video I have released, and was hoping maybe some of you could give me advice on how to improve the color/quality of my show.

JKOwners.com - The community for Jeep JK Owners

It's an hour long, so I certainly don't expect you to watch the entire thing!

I'm specifically looking for feedback for some post touchups I can do, etc. I welcome all criticism, even if you tell me to give up, and take up basket weaving. hahaha

Anyhow, some specs on my current setup - XL2, shooting at 16:9 and 30i in "Auto" mode (I need to play with other settings, I know). I am importing into FCS2 with easy setup of "DV-NTSC Anamorphic", exporting as "DV NTSC 48khz Anamorphic", then opening in Compressor and exporting as "Quicktime 7 Compatible, H.264 LAN". This makes my file "about" 700megs, which I then upload to Vimeo.

These videos are only seen on the web, so any advice you give would hopefully be geared towards that.

Thanks for the feedback, and sorry to be such an amateur, but I guess we all were at one time or another!

Link again - JKOwners.com - The community for Jeep JK Owners

First of all, congratulations on running a successful broadcast/webcast. I myself ran a TV show for about 2 years (18 episodes) at an hour long, and I can tell you it's some of the most stressful, but enjoyable, work you can do.

In terms of post: first of all, I would switch to full manual mode. This gives you the options of full control over shutter speed and iris control, and I find auto mode can do a lot of unnecessary gain adjustments as well.

Have you worked with any of the custom presets on the XL2? These are extremely helpful to reduce work in post. I don't have my rig with me, so I can't transcribe the presets I've made for myself, but the best thing to do is go into the menu for the custom presets and tweak the settings until you find something you like. The hardest part about giving advice to people who are running their own shows is everyone has their own vision in mind.

Mostly, I would say you could go for a curves adjustment in post, crush the blacks and bump the whites a bit, which will give it more of a "studio" feel. Right now, the majority of your video is coming out greywashed, which can be unappealing to the eyes.

It's not much, but it's a start.