Archive
New Video Downloads: Shoot, Sell and Share
Hey, Smuggers! Pros can now sell video downloads just like prints, cards and the whole shebang:
You’ve asked for this for a really long time and we were busting at the seams waiting to tell you about it. We hope you love this new feature (and all the cha-ching! it brings) as much as we loved building it for you.
While you’re soaking up the good news, let’s go over the basic deets about video on SmugMug.
How to Upload Your Videos
You probably already know that you can upload an unlimited number of HD video to every Power or Pro SmugMug account in addition to unlimited photos. Since most cameras have video functions baked right in, you’ve probably got quite a collection already.
Put your videos into your SmugMug galleries exactly the same way you already do with your photos. You can upload a slew of photos and videos at the same time if you’d like. We always recommend our easy-to-use browser based uploaders, but you can use whatever works best for your workflow.
There’s lots of different video formats out there and we accept a huge range of codecs to make it simple. In the rare case that we don’t recognize the format, write to our Support Heroes for help or try converting it to a different one.
How to Sell Video Downloads
Price them just like you would price any other digital download. If you’re not sure, look here for full details. Open up your pricing settings, click on the Downloads tab and go nuts.
You can offer up to 5 different sizes of video downloads in both Personal and Commercial licenses. Here’s what they are:
- Web: up to 320 x 240
- iPod/DVD: up to 640 x 480
- Mid-Def: up to 960 x 540
- Hi-Def: up to 1280 x 720
- Full HD: up to 1920 x 1080
Your fans can then add the video to their cart and check out. Video downloads are available immediately. Instant gratification!
A note about that “Save Movie” link: If you’ve not priced any videos, your visitors will continue to see that link in the lightbox header. It’ll disappear when you start pricing videos in that gallery, or when you enable Right-Click Protection in your Gallery Settings.
Similarly, your fans can’t download video sizes that are equal to or larger than the video sizes you’ve priced. So, for example if you’ve priced the Mid-Def size in a gallery, they can only save the Web and iPod sizes from the mouseover photo bar.
One last FYI: Video files will be included in your Gallery Downloads zip files, so make sure you price them accordingly.
Be on TV, Your Computer or Your Phone
Did you know that visitors using an iPhone or iPad, AppleTV, PlayStation (or any device that can play industry-standard h.264 videos) can also play SmugMug videos? Being tied to a computer is so 2006. Just give your fans a link to the video in your SmugMug gallery and they can watch it from virtually anywhere.
Or, try embedding videos instead. We provide easy embed codes that you can drop into your blog, forum posts or any other external site. To get it, click on the Share button in any gallery (or Owner Share if you’ve disabled it to your viewers) and choose Get a Link. Video embed codes are under the “Embeddable Links” tab. Copy and paste that code into your site and prepare to blow them away:
Tip: WordPress bloggers have it even easier. Just copy the URL for the video from the gallery and drop it into your blog editor, like this:
We’ll automatically fit the video to size:
Anyone Can (and Should) Make Movies
Even if you don’t dream of Hollywood, you can shoot and share all kinds of video that make you smile. At SmugMug, we see videos for everything like weddings, birthday parties, product reviews, music videos, demos, real estate tours to just fun, everyday clips.
But if “keyframes” and “transcoding” don’t mean much to you, we have two friends in the video biz who can get you gorgeous movies in minutes: Animoto and ProShow Web. Log in and find them in your gallery’s Buy button, then choose the “Create a Video” option. They’ll slurp in your SmugMug photos and create beautiful, engaging slideshows set to your favorite music. You can customize them, too.
The Nitty Gritty Details
As you enjoy creating, making and sharing moving pictures, keep these few bits in mind:
- Videos can be embedded into pages in two sizes: 425×240 and 640×360. If you want your fans to see the full HD version, include a direct link to the video so they can view it in your SmugMug gallery.
- Please keep your videos family-safe and don’t post any copyrighted material that you don’t have the rights to. This includes background music.
And of course, check out more information on our video feature on our help pages. If you’ve got questions, feel free to write us at the help desk. We’re always happy to help.
Links you’ll love:
Learn to Fuse Motion and Stills with Sandy Puc’ and Jared Abrams
“If It Moves, Shoot It!”
So sayeth the great Sandy Puc’ to pro photographers looking to gain an edge with their clients.
With the rise of DSLR HD video, you can’t afford to be fumbling with video when the competition is already rockin’ the keyframes. Many of us reckon ourselves still photographers, but it’s simple to use your camera’s built-in video functions to wow the client and bring in more money. Sandy and Jared will show you how to use the video that comes with your camera to create additional sellable products like slideshows and movies.
SmugMug’s already hooked up with Animoto and ProShow Web, so adding video to your toolbelt is a cinch.
The Masters in Marketing… and Motion
Sandy’s teaming up with Hollywood cinematographer Jared Abrams to give you a crash course on what those buttons do and how to use ‘em. Even better, they’ll coach you on how to best leverage video clips and still photos in your marketing campaigns and presentations.
The fun starts this Tuesday, and you’ve got just two weeks and 15 cities to catch them before this opportunity’s gone.
All dates in May, 2011:
- 10 – Denver, CO
- 11 – Minneapolis, MN
- 12 – Chicago, IL
- 13 – Columbus, OH
- 15 – Philadelphia, PA
- 16 – Baltimore, MD
- 18 – Atlanta, GA
- 19 – Houston, TX
- 20 – Dallas, TX
- 22 – Phoenix, AZ
- 23 – Los Angeles, CA
- 24 – San Francisco, CA
- 26 – Sacramento, CA
- 27 – Portland, OR
- 29 – Seattle, WA
Look here for complete details. What’s more, you can use the code SMPP11 to get $20 off the regular ticket price. Click here to register now.
Or…. We’ll Send You For Free
We’re giving away one free ticket to one of the tour stops. Just comment on this blog post by Friday, May 6th, and we’ll pick a winner who gets to go on our dime.
Don’t miss out this incredible chance to better your business!
UPDATE!!!
More Winners = More Fun.
Instead of giving away just ONE ticket to the video tour, we are giving away one free ticket to EACH city on the tour.
Here’s what you have to do to get another chance to win:
1) Like Sandy’s FB page here.
2) Like SmugMug’s page here.
3) Post on Sandy’s Wall, “@SmugMug sent me to tell ya [insert your city here] loves Sandy Puc.”
On Monday May 9, we’ll announce the winners for Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Columbus, Philadelphia and Baltimore. On Wednesday May 11, we’ll announce the winners for the rest of the cities. If you’ve already commented on this blog post, following the steps above will give you another shot at winning.
Are you excited yet? 
WINNERS
Ready for some winners? Here ya go. The lucky (and randomly selected) winners of FREE admission to the tour are…
- 10 – Denver, CO – Diana Griffin
- 11 – Minneapolis, MN – Sarah Kannenberg
- 12 – Chicago, IL – Sam Tang
- 13 – Columbus, OH – Kristan Dunlap
- 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Joe Ryan
- 16 – Baltimore, MD – Joe Richardson
- 18 – Atlanta, GA – Frank Tan
- 19 – Houston, TX – Kyler Rhorer
- 20 – Dallas, TX – Kayne Parrish
- 22 – Phoenix, AZ – Christina Lawrie
- 23 – Los Angeles, CA – Jeah Tan Avila
- 24 – San Francisco, CA – Stormy Maddux
- 26 – Sacramento, CA – Coree Firchau Keenan
- 27 – Portland, OR – Arnaud Douglas Ardans II
- 29 – Seattle, WA – Amanda Howse Butler
Introducting … PhotoFusion!
Pros: rev your engines and step your business up to the next level! Photo Fusion Workshops are circling the country to a city near you. Led by star photo- and videographers Robert Evans and Curt Apanovich, their 35 years of combined experience in the biz will reinvent the way you shoot, prep, and market your work. They’ll teach you how to use cutting-edge digital technology to merge video with still images and raise the creative bar in any field.
Check out the itinerary and book your tickets here.
What is SmugMug?
Gorgeous, unlimited photo sharing for everyone. Grab your own website on SmugMug and be ready to archive, share and print the photos you love. From unlimited photo and video uploads to e-commerce tools for Pros, we have it all. Learn more.
