Video tips
Shirkers,
Because of how you had the camera placed, you created a situation where you were backlight (the camera adjusted to the lit area by the pool). Next time, shoot in the daytime with the sun behind the camera; it's the best possible light source.
Also, compress to another format other than .avi, such as .mpg or .mov or even .wmv. .AVI is an editing format, so it doesn't look good on the web, compared to these other formats. You might be able to tweak the levels or brightness/contrast in your editing application before you encode.
Send me a PM if you have any more questions. Looking forward to meeting you in Ohio.
- The essence of Kungfu is to accept change...