How to make a video
First, you'll need the tools: camcorder, digital camera or even your cell phone! You copy the movies to your computer, and then you can either upload them as-is or edit them with software such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.

Most of the devices you may already have in your arsenal record in either the .MOV, .AVI or .MPG formats, all of which Orato.com supports, and the video shot with them can be uploaded directly from the device or after being copied to your computer.

Digital Camcorders
If you already have a digital camcorder (one that captures in Digital8, MiniDV, HDV, or any of the DVD formats), then you're ready to begin. You'll need some kind of direct connection to your computer, either to the USB or FireWire ports or by inserting the DVD you've recorded. Once you've downloaded the video from the camera, you can upload it to Orato.com or bring it into an editing program to clean it up.

Editing and Improving Your Videos
Most new computers come with basic video-editing software installed (like Apple's iMovie or Windows MovieMaker). Once you have copied the video from your phone, camera or camcorder to your computer, you can use these programs to edit your video. Most allow you add effects, titles, and music to make your video more appealing.

Uploading Your Videos to Orato.com
Once you're happy with your video, you need to save the video in a format that Orato.com can accept in order to upload. We recommend that you save your videos as either QuickTime .MOV, Windows .AVI, or .MPG files. We specifically recommend the MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format at 320x240 resolution with MP3 audio. Resizing your video to these specifications before uploading will help your clips look better on Orato.

For digital cameras, camcorders and cell phones in the .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, and .MPG file formats we recommend the following settings:
MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format
320x240 resolution
MP3 audio
30 frames per second

For people who have shot with a digital camcorder and pros we recommend:
Short Video under 2 minutes: no compression, H.264, DV or MPEG-4 compression at best quality in .mov or .avi format

Longer Video 2-5 minutes: DV or MPEG-4 compression at best quality in .mov or .avi format
320x240 resolution
MP3 audio
30 frames per second

Resizing your video to these specifications before uploading will help your videos look better on Orato.com.