How do I make a great video?
First, let’s go over some tips.
Audio is just as important as video. Most people don’t focus on audio but really should. Most viewers can let bad visuals pass, but when their brain hears bad audio it tells them the video is bad as well.
NO COMEDY. Unless you are a pro don’t try to be funny. There is nothing more painful than someone not connecting with humor.
NO SCRIPTS. There is no better way to show something stale than to read off of a script. We will see you reading. And don’t memorize it either. That just doesn’t sound natural. The only time you should use a script is for voiceover.
Go
Clean Up. Look at the background of your video. Have a stuffed animal sitting behind you? People will stare at it and miss your message. We’re naturally distracted like that. So don’t give them a reason to look elsewhere.
Sunlight. Don’t shoot with a window behind the subject. Most cameras cannot capture you and the outside at the same time. Either you will look really dark or the outside will be completely white, especially on beautiful sunny days.
Sit up straight. It looks really bad when you are slouching in a video and takes the energy away. One more tip. Use a non-swiveling or reclining chair.
Keep It Short. Make the video as short as possible while putting in the needed info. Under two minutes is best. Some would say under one minute. You can have longer videos for tutorials, but people generally don’t have long attention spans.
FINALLY, NO COMEDY/NO SCRIPTS!!!
The
LIGHTING
SUBJECT POSITIONING
Your subject should be placed to one side of the frame with their eyes at the point that the top third meets either the left or the right third. If the subject is looking right into the camera place them in the middle of the frame, but keep their eyes on the top third line. Now that you have placed them make sure they are looking toward the center of the screen. So if they are on the left they look to the right and if they are on the right they look to the left. Lots of people mess this up and end up having their subject looking off screen. You wouldn’t know why, but this will make the viewer feel uncomfortable because they can’t see where the subject is looking. They feel cramped.
CAMERA SETTINGS
Depending on your camera there are some settings worth noting – frames per second, ISO, aperture, white balance and shutter speed.
Frames Per Second – 24 FPS is what you should default to because it gives you the most film-like look. Some cameras will only be able to do 30 FPS which is what most TV is shot in. If you want to do slow motion then 60 FPS+ is what you want to do. You can then set it to 24 FPS while editing and it will look slowed down.
Aperture – This is how much light that is allowed into the lens. The main thing to know is that the lower the number, the more blurred the background will be. I like to shoot with a low aperture because again it looks more like
ISO – The easiest way to think of the ISO is that it’s about brightness. The higher the ISO the brighter it will be. When you are inside without a lot of light you can set this higher and get a better picture.
White balance – This is what makes your image warmer or cooler. This can be very complicated. Luckily most cameras make it as easy as possible. They have settings for things like direct sunlight, shade, incandescent light… I would stick to those. One thing you don’t want to do is put it on auto because then it can change during the shot if the lighting changes and give you a weird look.
Shutter Speed – There is only one good setting for this unless you want to look like “Saving Private Ryan.” action scenes. If your camera lets you change this you want it to be around double your FPS and keep it there. This will give you the correct speed. A higher shutter speed will give you the scattered jumping look while a lower speed will give you a dreamy look.
So what should your setting be? FPS should be 24 if you can. Aperture is where I start when making the scene look right. I get it as low as I can to blur the background. This also brightens a darker room. Once I have set that then I change the ISO until the image is sufficiently bright. It is better to be a little darker than too bright. Once something is blown out (all white) it can’t be saved. So if the video looks too dark raise the ISO if too bright then lower it. Set the white balance to match your main source of light. Finally set the shutter speed to double your FPS and leave it there.
AUDIO
EDITING AND EXPORTING
Editing is a longer course all by itself. If you are able to film two angles that’s better because then you can edit the person easier by switching angles. You can also fade into the cut or even do a cut without a fade if you zoom in a little on the subject. Use b-roll (images, animation,
For exporting the best thing to do is export using h.264 encoding. Most programs let you pick how you will export and this will be an option. It is the default for youtube and other web videos. If you can change it, the MBPS should be between 5 and 12. This is going to affect the quality and size of the video. So the higher the better quality and bigger. With these two settings, you should have a nice looking video for youtube, Vimeo or wherever you are going to put it.
If at any point you have questions or want some advice on how to get your message across please contact me. See you soon!
"Give them quality. That's the best kind of advertising."
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