To best showcase your business, here are some tips to easily create your videos and engage your audience.
Many consumers now have low attention spans and often prefer short videos, approximately 1 – 2 minutes in length. So what we squeeze into a single video should tell a story and bring an emotion for a big impact. Think of some commercials you see, some bring wonder, other commercials bring drama. Remember we’re trying to give the audience a sense of exploration.
Here are some tips to consider with your videos:
Lighting
- For outdoor videos, the sun is one of the best light sources for video. If you’re filming in natural light, it’s best to get your footage in the morning or evening, when the light is softer. Midday light coming from straight overhead can cast shadows on your subjects, while morning and evening light is more flattering. If you have to film in the middle of the day, try to do so on a cloudy day, or find a shady area for softer light.
- For indoor videos, if you want your subject (person or object) to have a bit more shadow and depth, you can try using a 3 point lighting set up to achieve it.
- How to setup 3-point lighting
- The light sources:
- Key light — Used as your primary lighting
- Fill light — Used to fill opposite the key light
- Back light — Used to extract the third dimension
- Keep things steady and level with no shaking for a professional looking video. Often a tripod is used to keep things steady.
- Many videos often have filler footage called ‘B Roll’. They are used for transitions between activities. If you see scenery, landmark or objects that also showcase your video, include the footage. Extra footage always is helpful.
- How much footage do I need to capture? For films it’s normally a 2:1 ratio. For a 1 minute video you would need at least 2 minutes of video, but the more the more footage the better, extra video footage can always be cut.
Camera Type
- You may think you need a fancy camera to shoot videos, but modern smart phone cellular cameras take great video. If using a cellphone camera please use the camera lense facing away from you, it has higher resolution.
- Remember to turn on the 3 x 3 grid on your phone for the rule of thirds tip above.
Video Structure
- Before starting your video, think about the story you would like to tell? Start with its purpose? What do you want to achieve or communicate by making this video? Also, define your target audience. How will you make your video speak to these viewers in particular?
Sound
- If you plan on having someone speaking in front of the camera, having a microphone is best, since sound is big part of a video. Clip on lavaliers are commonly used for best results.
- If capturing video outside, sometimes there is wind noise that you many not want captured in your video. Consider using a microphone with a sponge to filter out unwanted noise. In most cases, sound can be edited out and replaced with music.
Composition / Footage
- With your videos, think of how you may want to show your video. Is it scenery were having a wide view and zooming in would have a good effect? Or is it people walking by and staying stationary would be better? Think of how movies start, they often have panning scenes of landscapes. Consider the angles that are being captured? Should the camera go from bottom left corner to top right corner? Or is it left to right while slowly panning not to cause motion sickness?
- For centering video picture and videos, the rule of thirds is often used for film composition. Imagine that there’s a 3-by-3 grid laid over the field you’re filming. Instead of placing your subject right in the middle of the shot, you should place your subject along one of the lines of the grid. The points where the lines intersect are particularly strong areas of focus, so put important elements of the video there, if you can.
Professional videographers use story boards to plan their videos, but they are really breaking down the scenes and how you would to show them on video. (Similar to writing a letter with an Introduction, Body and Conclusion). For example, if I want to show a video of my store, I want to show it with a wide zoom on the door. Here’s an example:
To best showcase your business, here are some tips to easily create your videos and engage your audience.
Many consumers now have low attention spans and often prefer short videos, approximately 1 – 2 minutes in length. So what we squeeze into a single video should tell a story and bring an emotion for a big impact. Think of some commercials you see, some bring wonder, other commercials bring drama. Remember we’re trying to give the audience a sense of exploration.
Here are some tips to consider with your videos:
Lighting
- For outdoor videos, the sun is one of the best light sources for video. If you’re filming in natural light, it’s best to get your footage in the morning or evening, when the light is softer. Midday light coming from straight overhead can cast shadows on your subjects, while morning and evening light is more flattering. If you have to film in the middle of the day, try to do so on a cloudy day, or find a shady area for softer light.
- For indoor videos, if you want your subject (person or object) to have a bit more shadow and depth, you can try using a 3 point lighting set up to achieve it.
- How to setup 3-point lighting
- The light sources:
- Key light — Used as your primary lighting
- Fill light — Used to fill opposite the key light
- Back light — Used to extract the third dimension
- Keep things steady and level with no shaking for a professional looking video. Often a tripod is used to keep things steady.
- Many videos often have filler footage called ‘B Roll’. They are used for transitions between activities. If you see scenery, landmark or objects that also showcase your video, include the footage. Extra footage always is helpful.
- How much footage do I need to capture? For films it’s normally a 2:1 ratio. For a 1 minute video you would need at least 2 minutes of video, but the more the more footage the better, extra video footage can always be cut.
Camera Type
- You may think you need a fancy camera to shoot videos, but modern smart phone cellular cameras take great video. If using a cellphone camera please use the camera lense facing away from you, it has higher resolution.
- Remember to turn on the 3 x 3 grid on your phone to help align your picture. Its best to have your image in the intersections of the lines.
Video Structure
- Before starting your video, think about the story you would like to tell? Start with its purpose? What do you want to achieve or communicate by making this video? Also, define your target audience. How will you make your video speak to these viewers in particular?
Sound
- If you plan on having someone speaking in front of the camera, having a microphone is best, since sound is big part of a video. Clip on lavaliers are commonly used for best results.
- If capturing video outside, sometimes there is wind noise that you many not want captured in your video. Consider using a microphone with a sponge to filter out unwanted noise. In most cases, sound can be edited out and replaced with music.
Composition / Footage
- With your videos, think of how you may want to show your video. Is it scenery were having a wide view and zooming in would have a good effect? Or is it people walking by and staying stationary would be better? Think of how movies start, they often have panning scenes of landscapes. Consider the angles that are being captured? Should the camera go from bottom left corner to top right corner? Or is it left to right while slowly panning not to cause motion sickness?
- For centering video picture and videos, the rule of thirds is often used for film composition. Imagine that there’s a 3-by-3 grid laid over the field you’re filming. Instead of placing your subject right in the middle of the shot, you should place your subject along one of the lines of the grid. The points where the lines intersect are particularly strong areas of focus, so put important elements of the video there, if you can.
Professional videographers use story boards to plan their videos, but they are really breaking down the scenes and how you would to show them on video. (Similar to writing a letter with an Introduction, Body and Conclusion). For example, if I want to show a video of my store, I want to show it with a wide zoom on the door. Here’s an example: