It is easier to make simple and effective videos than you think. Since the standards of video quality are growing rapidly through the years, so has the efficiency of the art of video making. Moreover, if you are a business owner, posting low-quality videos is out of the option. You can even make high-quality professional videos with only your phone. You no longer need to spend tons of money on expensive equipment.
Here are a few guidelines to make simple yet effective videos:
1. Make A Plan
Before you get started on video making, you need to plan your video content. A professional video not only needs good quality and good editing skills but also good content. Write down how you expect your final video clip to look like, and the main purpose of the video. Once you have your answers, it will be easy for you to develop a content plan that aligns with them. If you need to create a video to promote your fashion brand, then think about the brand message and brand values you want to showcase. You can make different types of videos for your brand; you can include product videos, tutorials, or video testimonials.
While you are setting goals for your video content, make sure that they are realistic and easy to achieve. Also, define the purpose of your videos. Do you want to increase sales? Reach more people? Promote your brand or provide information to your audience? Having a clear goal provides you clarity during video making. To be more organized with your content plan, you can also come up with a video script.
2. Make Sure The Lighting Is Perfect
Perfect lighting helps make any video look professional. Make sure that you focus on lighting and make it your top priority while filming your videos. You don’t want your video or your brand to look amateurish by using bad lighting.
It is suggested that you use natural light. The best time to film is during early mornings when the sun is soft and not harsh like the midday light. You will need artificial lights if you are planning to film indoors. You can use windows or a large lamp to imitate natural lighting.
3. Use A Clean Background
A messy or distracting background could make any well-thought video look less professional. The easiest way to ensure a clean background is by using a solid color background. For this purpose, you can use a plain bedsheet, a wall or a sheet of backdrop paper also. To avoid casting, make sure that the subject that you are about to film stands several feet away from the backdrop.
You can also curate professional setups; these can be places you work or are comfortable spending time in. It can be your room, with a wall full of collages behind you, your workplace, or your desk. Be careful while filming and do not film with a window as your background or any other reflective surface in the background of your film, so you don’t catch the camera in the reflection. Moreover, using light as your background can make your subject dark and shadowy.
4. Avoid Shaky Hands
If you are a beginner who has just stepped into the filming world, then you are bound to have shaky hands. To avoid shaky footage, it is suggested that you use a stabilizer for your camera. Shaky hands may turn off the viewer with low quality and blurry footage.
You can also use a tripod or use anything to support your camera while you are filming. You can look for a stabilizer if you want to achieve dynamic filming. Stabilizers come at all prices, and if you are filming on a smartphone, you can find cheaper options.
5. Add Smooth Transitions
Another important aspect to focus on is to add smooth transitions between the video clips. Awkward cuts, sudden transitions, incomplete phrases will make your video look amateurish.
Before you decide on adding transitions to your video, experiment with different transitions like fades, dissolves, crossfades, wipes, or add some interesting effects. While you are experimenting with different transitions, make sure that you keep it consistent throughout the video to keep the video style coherent.
6. Use A Good Video Editor
If you have the money for it, you can invest in professional video editing software. Although it is not necessary, you can also find several professional, free online video editor to get the job done. You do not need to necessarily spend money on expensive software.
While playing with different editing tools and editing aspects may sound fun, make sure that you don’t go overboard and overdo the editing. It is also helpful if you learn basic video editing. Keep it as simple as possible to make your video look professional.
Here are some key aspects to focus on during editing;
- Clear out any background noise with noise canceling.
- Adjust your lighting a little to give it a clean finish.
- Add background music and transitions if necessary.
- Cut out irrelevant pauses and clips.
6. Promote Your Videos
Your job is not entirely done once you are ready with your final video clip. You also need to focus on how to get people to watch your videos. If you want to be a serious and professional video creator, you will need to promote your videos and increase your following.
Research video SEO or video marketing and learn a few tips on how to grow your audience. Create a content schedule and stick to it, upload videos regularly to keep your audience hooked, and also interact with your audience.
The bottom line is, video making should be easy and fun. You do not need to feel overwhelmed with all the complicated details and instructions. Keep it simple and easy. If your goal is to make professional videos, keep practicing and experimenting with video tools to understand what works best for you.
