Today’s content creators know that video is the most effective way to capture viewers’ attention and make your brand recognizable. The right video can cut through the clutter and tell your story in a way nothing else can. But creating a video isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t have experience as a videographer. It can take time to find the right lighting, camera angles, and editing software for your project.
And then there are all of those other little things that can make it even harder to shoot great videos on demand: You might not know where to start or what kind of equipment is available to you at home. Fortunately, shooting good videos doesn’t need to be so complicated. Check out these video creation tips to help you get started in no time!
Plan your shoot before you shoot it
One of the most common mistakes that amateur videographers make is shooting during the wrong time of day or at the wrong time of the day. The lighting, weather, and other atmospheric conditions can drastically affect your video shoot, so you need to be aware of them when planning your shoot.
If you’re planning to shoot outside in sunny weather, you’ll want to shoot in the early mornings or late afternoons. If you’re shooting outside in the winter months, you’ll want to shoot in the afternoon or early evening. Also, if you’re planning to shoot indoor video, you’ll want the lighting to be natural and the surroundings to be as dark as you can get them.
Shoot in the screentime of your video
One of the most common mistakes amateur videographers make is shooting video too late in the day when it’s too dark to shoot video. This can make your video look significantly less professional than it could be. You don’t have to be shooting outdoors to have this problem the light in your home can have a big impact on the time of day you shoot.
If you have high ceilings or walls that block the light, it can make it harder to shoot video on a day with low lighting. You also don’t want to shoot when you’re in the middle of a family event or when there are other people in your home who might be distracting for video. You don’t want to interrupt the flow of your video and distract from your story.
Always have a script to refer back to
When creating your video script, use the screen time of your video as a guide for how long each section should last. This will help you stay organized when shooting and make sure that your video isn’t too long or too short.
If your script is too long or too short, you’ll have to cut things out and lose some of what you want to say. When shooting your video, keep a pen and paper by your camera and write down additional things you want to say while you’re recording.
Use audio notes to help you sync audio with video
When shooting audio, it’s incredibly helpful to sync it with your video. This can be done by marking your audio when you start and stopping recording the video. You can also use audio notes to help you find the audio you want to be playing while you’re shooting a video.
This can be especially helpful if you’re shooting in a busy environment that’s making it hard to hear yourself or if you want to play multiple audio tracks at the same time.
Shoot and edit in sequence so your edits are seamless
When you’re shooting video, you don’t want to be switching between camera angles too much. It’s very easy to accidentally jump from one angle to another, especially if you’re recording from different points in your home. You want to make sure that each camera angle is in the correct sequence and will work together as a part of your video.
Don’t be afraid to rough cut or test with a short clip first
If you’re uncertain about the direction your video is heading, you don’t have to take the risk of being critical of your video. You can rough cut your video and test out different angles to see what works and what doesn’t.
This will help you get some things out of the way while you continue shooting and trying new things. You can also come back to these rough cuts to see what you’ve missed and what you might want to change.
Conclusion
As you can see, video creation isn’t very complicated when you know what to do. With a little bit of preparation ahead of time and careful shooting, you can get great results from your video shoots in no time.
Now that you know how to make better videos, you might be wondering how to monetize your content. Luckily, there are different strategies you can use to make money from your videos. We’ll look at some of these strategies below.