Shoot your Own Video Content
Everyone wants video content for their website or facebook page and unfortunately for us, technology is making it easy for people to shoot it themselves. Fair enough, budgets are tight, and the technology is readily available. There is, however, nothing like calling in a professional to get the job done – like a dentist if you need a filling or a mechanic if your car has broken down. It’s the same when making powerful, engaging video content. But if you are going to shoot your own video, we can’t stop you.
Here’s How to Shoot Your Own Video Content and get it right!
1. Pick the Right Subject
Do your homework, sometimes the person who knows the most about a subject isn’t necessarily the most engaging on-screen. Try and use someone who feels comfortable on camera or who has had experience with interviews before. Ensure they are not wearing conflicting branded T-shirts, fine striped or busy printed shirts or dresses. These fine lines make a crazy diagonal motion on camera and can be a bit distracting to the viewer.
2. Choose an Interesting Background
Find a location that suits your subject, for example, it probably won’t look right interviewing a fireman in a police car. Put a bit of distance between the camera, the subject, and the background to create depth in the scene. If you have space – about 2m will create depth in your scene. Avoid big, dirty shadows on the wall when you put lights up too. Avoid windows as your background, unless you have the skills to light your subject well. The backlit look is wonderful if you can pull it off, but without the right lights, you risk making the subject look like a big black blob. Nobody wants that!
3. Shoot the Interview Twice
Unless you are shooting 4K videos and have the resolution to cut in to change your shot size in the edit, shoot your video content – once in the Wide and once in the Close Up. It will give you more options in your edit, and your editor will thank you. You never know, you may get a better response from your interviewees the second time round. Don’t be afraid to ask questions again and again until you get a usable answer. You are after short usable sound bites… not chapter and verse.
4. Record Good Quality Sound
One of the most overlooked elements when shoot video content is sound quality and background noise. If you have a sound recordist, they’ll be able to handle all this for you. If you don’t remember these tips: Try and find a quiet location and avoid busy doorways, noisy lifts, office receptions, fridges, traffic, air conditioning units, waterfalls, barking dogs and…. well, anything noisy! Make sure the mic is as close to the subject as possible, this is a great little tool to adapt your iPhone into a professional mic. REMEMBER: Unusable sound means an unusable video. If you can’t see the sound source on camera, then those clanks and hums are distracting to your audience, so make sure it is quiet.
5. Plan your Shoot, Shoot your Plan
Before you start to shoot your own video content, figure out exactly what you what you need to say, what purpose does the video serve, who is the audience, etc. This will save crew time, labour cost and production headaches. Using a storyboard is a good idea and helps to visualise how your shots fit together before you’ve shot a single frame. Remember to set the scene with an establishing shot or maybe it’s more appropriate to get a close-up of the detail of an object – but it should be something that grabs the viewer’s attention. Finish off with a closing shot, something that will stick in the minds of your viewer and wrap up your story.
Picking the right video production company will take the stress out of any video production. But use these tips to help you if you Shoot your Own Video Content and you should be fine.
If you need assistance Contact Flicks, we’d be happy to help you.
Happy Shooting!!