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Video Production Tools and Tips

EverydayEMSTips.com and EPS411.com (a website focused on elearning for emergency responders) creates short videos of tips, product reviews, skill demonstrations, and treatment procedures. More videos are planned for both sites, as well as special videos for ParamedicTV.com and the MedicCast Extra. Videos can be embedded into blog posts or added to elearning programs.

To create videos we use these simple tools to capture, edit, and distribute video:



1. Flip Video Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black)is an inexpensive and easy to operate hand-held video camera. After capturing video it has a USB connection to connect directly into any computer. Although the Flip has video editing software built in I usually use Windows Movie Maker.

2. Use a small flexible tripod to set your Flip on a table, attach it to a chair, or wrap to a pole or cart. I use the Sunpak Flexpod Flexible Tripod

3. Moviemaker is a free Windows accessory for editing movie files. Most of the EPS411 Product Review videos are edited with Moviemaker. The features I use the most are:

  • add credits/text before, after, or on-top of video
  • split a clip for cropping, changing order of clips, or inserting credits between clips
  • cropping video clips to remove multiple takes, bloopers, and extra content

4. Distribute videos with video sharing sites like YouTube or Vimeo. Try to make your videos short, engaging, and make a call to action. This is one of my favorite videos – a product review that discusses Handirecords.

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.