5 Tips for Better D.I.Y. Video Content

Special thanks to our videographer friend Andy for helping us with this post!

Everyone knows that Google is the most searched site in the world right, but who is number 2?

Nope, it’s not Yahoo, AOL or Bing. It’s not even Facebook or Twitter.

Actually,  YouTube is the second most used search engine world wide! 

Think about that for a second. If your brand isn’t using video as part of their content marketing strategy imagine how many searches, clicks and views you’re missing out on!

At the same time, quality matters. You can’t just put out low quality stuff for the sake of getting into video.  You want to make something that you can be proud of, that represents your brand appropriately.

It’ll take some practice, but here are some suggestions to get you on your way to producing great video content!

1. Keep the camera still!

Having a shaky camera distracts your audience and makes a video look amateurish. Luckily it’s a pretty simple problem to fix. Just find something to set your camera on!

If you don’t have access to a tripod, use a stack of books, a step stool, or even someone’s shoulder as something to set your camera on to cut down on shakiness.

If you’re shooting your video with a smartphone you might want to invest in a Smartphone tripod adapter, which will allow you to mount your phone on a traditional camera tripod!

2. Pay attention to lighting

It’s hard to achieve the level you see in professionally done videos without bringing in your own lights and diffusers, but you can get a step closer by just paying closer attention to the light sources you do have. Here are a few basic rules of thumb to keep in mind.

•  Try to avoid having a strong light source behind your subject. For example, if you’re shooting indoors, don’t frame a shot with your subject standing in front of a window.
• Pay attention to light color: incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs and natural sunlight will all give your video a different look.
• If you’re shooting indoor your video is probably dimmer than you think. Try improvising with lamps, overhead lights or even flashlights to make your shot look as good as possible.

3. Use a microphone for audio

Having good audio creates a huge difference in video  quality especially if you plan on shooting someone speaking. It’s definitely one of the easiest ways to add quality to your video production,

The best way to do this is by buying a microphone. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy, really anything is better than the built-in microphone on your smartphone.  Lavaliere style microphones are a great option and are available for just $30 on Amazon. That price is well worth the improvement in your content’s quality!

If you still don’t think buying a microphone is worth it, watch this video that shows the difference between using a camera’s built-in mic and using a lavaliere mic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ymr9fPOENU

4.  Plan your shots

Actually picking your shots, what lighting to use, framing your subject etc.. is something you’ll get better at with experience. There are some basic things you can do right away to improve your shot composition though.

• Rule of thirds: imagine a grid try to keep your subject 1/3 to the left, or right.
• If your subject is looking a certain direction leave some room in the direction they are looking
• Don’t cut off your subjects head, leave a little margin.
• Try not to shoot a person from a low angle, it looks awkward.
• Include motion, action shots and interesting visuals.

5. Edit appropriately

Editing  can make or break your final product.

Though professional level desktop tools, like Adobe Premiere, are ideal, you really only need the basics. In fact there are a number of great free or cheap apps available for smartphones and tablets that have all the functionality you’ll need.All you should be looking for in a video editor is the ability to trim, rearrange shots and overlay an audio track.

Before you start cutting away you should watch a few videos that are similar to the style you’re trying to create.  Pay attention to how long each shot takes, what type of cut they use (does the scene fade away or jump to the next shot), and anything else.  There are plenty of different stylistic choices you can make and they can have a big impact on the mood impact and watchability of your video.

Need some more help on a video project? Our video production team has the skills and creativity to help your brand shine! Contact them today.