10 Videography tips that will make your life 100% easier
Taking an interest in videography? Take a read of some tips below, to help you make awesome content (you can thank us later!)
#1 Panorama — If you want to take a panorama, please ensure that your camera is stable. Use a tripod or a flat surface to guide you. Trust us, it will save you cursing at the computer when it comes to editing, as stabilisation in Adobe Premier Pro, or Apple’s Final Cut Pro, won’t be able to fully stabilise your video as much as you would like. Moreover, when you’re doing your panorama, don’t pan too quickly. Slowly, move the camera around the axel. If you pan too quickly, the camera won’t be able to record the images in time and it will end up being unusable. You can always speed up the video when it comes to editing.
#2 DON’T zoom — There’s nothing worse than zooming whilst you‘re filming someone talking! This is because you cannot edit this out if they muck up their sentence. If you were to cut the scenes to make the voice flow, the camera angle would jerk from one position to the other in the scene. Just don’t do it. If someone does muck up, just re-shoot the scene from both positions so you have the option.
#3 Always film B roll — Not only will this add personality into what you’re saying, but will be easier when trying to cover up some editing (or accidental camera jerks) making it look much more professional. B Roll is just extra shots of your location, surroundings or products/services, to bring in some life around the topic. e.g. if someone is talking about their business, cut to some short 5–10 second videos of what they do.
#4 Lighting — Never film with direct sunlight behind your subject as this will cause shadows and a glare. Having these defects in your video, will draw attention away from the subject when watching the video. This distraction will take away from what your subject is saying.
#5 Whats around you? — Take a moment to hear your surroundings. Traffic, talking, wind, etc? If you can hear it, the microphone will too. There are ways to minimise wind, but not to a full extent. If the video has to be taken outside, purchase a dead cat for your microphone, a wind reduction sleeve you wrap around, to ensure the strongest audio (voice) is being collected. It’s very difficult when editing to edit out background noise, try to minimise it as much as you can, if you can’t cut it out completely.
Pro tip: If you know when and where you’re filming, go there the day before as a practice at the exact same time, to ensure no harsh lighting or background noise.
#6 Have a plan! — This means that you won’t forget to film something or miss a particular moment, meaning you don’t end up wasting time. It also ensures that you have a story to your video, making it more interesting rather than just chucking clips together and trying to build something. Draw a storyboard up before you shoot and get your audience to review. You might find vital points that you would have missed before hand.
#7 Music — When filming, have in your mind what music you wish to have in the foreground, if any. This will make it seem more professional and flows perfectly when it comes to editing. Remember though that if you do chose a song, you need to establish their rights.
Pro tip: Use bensounds.com or royalty free music on Soundcloud — these are free to use commercially.
#8 Tell your subject your idea — Tell your subject what you are thinking so they know how to act, say & do. This means that a) they can act natural, by moving their head freely, and not just staring into the camera. Ask your subject to use hand movements too, and b) tell them that if they stutter or muck up a sentence, to pause, breathe and start that part from the beginning — this will make your life so much easier when it comes to editing.
Pro Tip: There are free softwares online to use a teleprompter. This will help your subject feel more comfortable when talking directly to the camera.
#9 Rule of 3rds — Sometimes when shooting, mainly B Roll, use the rule of thirds. Imagine there are 3 equal lines horizontally/vertically (sometimes you can use a function on your camera to do this for you). Your subject should be on the cross-section of these lines rather than in the direct center, it’s more visually appealing from a physiological point of view.
#10 Understand editing — Lastly, but most importantly, take some time to learn editing. Make sure you understand the basics — how to add music, hum reductions, how to add transitions, end scenes, how to cut out mistakes, etc.
If you need any video filming, and or, editing assistance, we’ll be happy to help you!
