Video short
Video shorts are typically 3 to 15 minutes long and are professionally or semi-professionally made. They commenced in the 1960s, many for education, business, documentaries, and TV news. Corporations now often produce video shorts to show their products, many of which are viewable on the Internet. Online businesses have started moving ahead with informational video shorts, not just with commercials. Shorts are produced for many things — awareness, promotion, education, insight and understanding, often conveying essentials of products and services. A chief value of video shorts is that people generally prefer not to watch long videos on the Internet; long videos and movies are generally watched on TV and DVDs. People often prefer to watch videos more than read corporate text on the Internet. Videos raise the number of people going to websites. TV stations and national networks now also produce video shorts for broadcast.
The term “video short” came into use before “video clip.” Shorts are generally complete productions, and clips were/are often part(s) of longer productions. When broadband Internet access began in 2001, reasonably good videos became universally viewable. YouTube got going in 2006, making it possible for both professional and amateur producers to present videos on the Internet; tens of millions of video clips became available on YouTube. Many corporations now have professionally made “video shorts” on their websites to broaden understanding of their products and services. There is a difference between “video shorts” and “video clips.” Scenes recorded (“videotaped”) for video shorts are generally shot better than scenes for video clips. Clips are commonly made by amateurs; video cameras are often hand-held so scenes often bounce around even though locations are generally steady. For video shorts, videographers often use a tripod (or a Steadicam or Glidecam) to keep scenes steady. People videotaping (“shooting”) video clips often “zoom” in or out to get closer or farther from what they’re shooting. (More on “video clips” later.)
Video shorts tend to be seriously edited. Productions back in the 1960s were edited tape-to-tape in “linear” technology. Images were transferred scene-by-scene from original videotapes onto a “master tape” for final production. For linear editing, at least two “decks” were needed, one for playback of original videotapes and one for recording the “master tape.” Several cables were used to move audio and video from the source deck(s) to the master videocassette recorder (VCR). Video monitors were also needed for showing images (“footage”) from the original tapes, and also one for showing scenes recorded onto the master tape. In the 1980s, computer-based “non-linear” editing became available, making editing much more flexible. Video editing is faster and potentially more artful now than when it was done tape-to-tape. In the 21st Century, computer-based non-linear editing is now at the core of video production, and linear editing is now relatively obsolete — though it can sometimes be useful. For example, if adding or removing scenes in a final edit it may be easier to re-copy from tapes/DVDs that have already been edited than to re-edit using the non-linear hard drive.
Video shorts and Video clips
A prime difference between video shorts and video clips is that video shorts are usually made by people who know how to create videos skillfully from start to finish. Many video clips aren’t formally produced. Sometimes they’re single-shot observations of rare happenings — like first-rate things we sometimes see on YouTube. For example … three YT classics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4rU-rFn6vY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcpSGB3odyU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyZx3TOgiE8
The term “video short” is similar to “video clip,” though “clip” is now more commonly used than “short.” The definition of “video clip” in Wikipedia: “Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer piece. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.” American Heritage Dictionary defines video clip as “A short extract from a film or videotape.”
The term “clip” was first used when motion pictures were being edited. Film, usually many minutes long and 16mm or 35mm wide, was placed in movie cameras to shoot happenings “frame by frame.” When needed, short lengths of original footage were “clipped,” then edited together for productions. The term “clip” is now used for both film and video, though of course neither videotape nor memory chips are physically “clipped.” Video clips are always shorter videos than traditional television programs and are usually “scriptless” — informal short scenes or part(s) of longer productions. Video shorts are usually scripted, serious or fun stuff … occurrences, locations, events, competitions, arts, rare happenings, etc.