I just finished editing a video for the kids that went to the AMU/MGM Junior shooters camp at Ft. Benning. I ran a bunch of tests to see what the YouTube encoding engine wanted in order to give me the best results. I will start a new thread detailing step by step what tools and settings to use so that you can get high quality video from the YouTube encoding engine.
Below is a link to the video I did for the kids, this was shot in standard def video format, yet you will see the HD button in the YouTube player toolbar. I was happy with the final video quality, so let me know if this is what you had in mind for quality.
That is a GREAT idea of shooting from a ladder. I wasn't planning on shooting any video since a TV show was supposed to come and shoot the camp. So all I had was my 3 CCD Panasonic, 1 tape and 1 battery. Oh well in the end it came out fine and the kids will love it which is what counts. It may take me a few days to document the step by step directions but I will post it as soon as I can.