Get started with mobile video
I’m not joking when I say ‘Get started’, that’s what it’s all about! You won’t improve if you don’t get your phone out and actually start recording *looks over glasses like a teacher*
So here are a few basic tips to get you off to a cracking start with mobile video.
Recording an interview
You’re sitting with a client or colleague and you love what they’re saying. You think your audience would be interested in the conversation and would get value from it. Great. How can you best capture that info to share?
If you’re colleague is willing, you could do a quick interview on camera. If they’re a bit shy, you could record an audio interview and share it as a podcast or put the audio over some stock footage or imagery. Obviously, the on camera interview is the best option so let’s go through your checklist for recording a great interview:
Hardware
Where possible use a tripod and an external microphone. There are lots of microphones available that plug straight into your mobile phone headphone socket. Here is a quick kitlist to get you started:
Setup
You’ll notice in the picture above that I have a plain, bright cover for my phone. This is so that anyone looking at it will be able to see very clearly where the camera is. If you have a complex / patterned phone cover, remove it before recording so that your subject can easily see where you want them to look.
If you see that your subject is having trouble keeping their eye on the camera, you can help by placing yourself directly behind where you want them to look and ask them just to talk to you. To be honest, you should just do this anyway because it really helps.
It can also be a good idea (if you have enough equipment and set up time) to have a second camera recording from the side if you want to do some fancy edits later and swap back and forth between the two.
Make sure you check the lapel microphone after you’ve attached it to your interviewee. There may be jewellery or fabric which rubs a bit when they move so just record a few seconds and chat to them so that they’re acting naturally. Listen back on headphones just to troubleshoot before jumping in to the main interview.
Comfort on Camera
I’ve interviewed people who’ve just spoken on a stage in front of hundreds of people but you put a camera in their face and they freeze. It’s up to you to make them feel at ease and get the best performance.
- Press record before you get started and tell them that you’re going to be cutting out any mistakes and that they can repeat an answer as many times as they like.
- Use your face to encourage their expressions. We want them to look engaging and that can be difficult if you’re uncomfortable on camera. When someone is looking at you with a big smile and animatedly nodding in agreement with you it is reflected in your own expression so help them out!
- Don’t respond with noises. Keep ‘aha’ and ‘exactly’ and ‘of course’ responses to a minimum. And when I say minimum, I mean zero. You won’t want to hear yourself in the final interview. This can take a bit of practice.
- Ask your subject to repeat the question where possible so that you can easily edit yourself out later. If they forget, that’s fine, you can add it as a screen title later.
If you’re interviewing someone at an event and that event is being talked about online now, it’s important to post your video asap. It helps therefore to have a simple video editing app on your phone so that you can make quick cuts and add your logo before uploading straight to twitter with the appropriate hashtag.
We use iMovie but you could also use Adobe Clip which is available for Android and iOS.
Make the most of live video
There are so many platforms that let you share live video now and it’s a real opportunity to engage directly with your community in a more intimate way.
Whether it’s Facebook Live, Periscope or Instagram Live, the principles for preparing and sharing are the same:
Fear
The main excuse I’ve heard for not sharing live video is fear of making a mistake, looking silly or the negative impact of bad quality video on your brand.
Let’s just draw a line through all those now!
I’m not saying that you can’t damage your brand with bad video (especially live), of course you can. However, live video can actually be very forgiving, especially when it comes to production quality.
Audiences LOVE to feel like they’re getting a peek behind the scenes and expect the quality to be a bit more ‘quick and dirty’. Live video is authentic and off the cuff, that’s the benefit. It’s a quicker way to get emotionally closer to your audience because they can feel the urgency and yes, the risk of a live performance.
Safe Spaces
Like everything else, you will limit risk by practising and preparing. Live video is obviously a bit harder to practice so you should go for places with a limited audience first.
On Periscope you can do a live video shared with only certain people. With Facebook Live you can share within a Facebook Group or with individuals.
Style Tips
Simple changes to lighting and background as well as angle can make a big difference to the quality of your video.
- Make sure the light source is in front of you (but not shining so brightly that you end up squinting!)
- Is the background distracting? Move until you’re happy with how your video looks
- How much noise is there? Use an external microphone if you think it will help
- What angle is your camera at? Practice to get a good angle before you go live.
Live Q&A
A live question and answer session is a great way to build rapport with your audience but clearly there are dangers.
Troubleshoot:
- Practice in smaller, closed groups first to limit the audience and visibility of the conversation
- Have questions lined up just in case no one is watching live (I’ve used this loads of times and it’s an important back up)
- Check up on your live Facebook videos to see if replay viewers have posted more questions
- For Facebook you could have a colleague moderating comments while you’re broadcasting to avoid any embarrassment
- Close comments and ask that they be submitted in advance if you know you’re likely to attract problematic questions
Do a risk assessment if you’re really concerned but remember; transparency is often the best protection if you’re truly dealing with a PR crisis. An open Q&A where you tackle the ugly and difficult questions can go a long way to rebuilding trust.
