What tips do you have for making a great project video on a limited budget?
Wondering how you can make your Kickstarter video look fantastic? Well, you don’t need a million dollar budget to make it happen.
Our latest video, featuring Community Education cheerleader Carol, provides you with a behind-the-scenes rundown. If you have a webcam and decent lighting, you’re good to go!
We also have advice from creator Ryan Dunlap, via our community Q&A space, Campus. He understands what it’s like to work through the video process from start to finish. Check out his tips for creating a great Kickstarter project video:
- Keep it 2–3 minutes. Attention span is low, and everyone has a threshold for how long they’ll pay attention (or can pay attention before a manager comes to look over their shoulder). The opening moments will have the backers judging your video and deciding if they want to keep going, so try and hook them early.
- Get to the point quickly. If people are watching your video on Facebook, they’re going to have plenty of opportunities to be distracted by ads or content above or below your pitch video. If it takes more than 5–10 seconds to start talking about the heart of your project, you risk people just scrolling on by because you haven’t grabbed their attention.
- Focus on audio quality. If you don’t have a microphone and have to use the in-camera audio, get as close to the camera as possible. You can kill audio bounce by hanging a blanket behind the camera. A cheap solution is getting a Zoom H4n (or another device that works as a microphone/recorder)and holding it in your hand just beneath the frame. Also, make sure where you’re shooting isn’t riddled with background noise.
- Use captions. The vast majority of mobile users are running silent, and since Facebook shows the video when the project is shared there, give people an opportunity to experience your story even when they aren’t in a place where they can listen to your pitch. (Note: You can use our subtitles and captions tool!)
- Shoot near a window. As a filmmaker, I use a light kit, but for the natural look, I tend to just shoot near a window so the soft, diffused light can look good and natural. Just be careful to keep continuity on days where the sun peeks out from behind the clouds while you’re filming. It’s a cheap way to look well lit.
- Find the line between informational and inspirational. Some people pitch the big picture without satisfying the detail-oriented people. Some people focus on the nitty gritty without explaining why they’re running a campaign.
- Be fun. Not all campaigns can focus on this, but I’m more likely to keep watching if I’m entertained. I want to like you and if I like you, I’ll be more likely to support you.
- Tell a story. Lastly, let the backers in on why you’re doing this, and give them a sense of the origin story if it’s interesting. These people are being invited to be on the ground floor of something cool, and as long as you don’t come off as needy, a fun relationship can form between creator and backer.
Most of those have no impact on the budget, but are important to get right.
Use this solid advice to transform your project idea into a spectacular finished video. Join the conversation on Campus — and ask us questions too.
You can also take our Skillshare class: Strategic Storytelling: Building Community Around Your Creative Project.
