Video has taken center stage in the world of digital marketing, and most organizations have video as a part of their content strategies., These days, merely creating video content will not suffice, and organizations need to ramp up their video marketing strategies and keep up with the times. Here are 15 tips that will help you film and edit your marketing videos perfectly.
Have a Storyboard
Sit back and chalk out a storyboard that outlines the props, lighting, subjects, and other minute details of each shot. If the nature of your video permits it, try to have a screenplay or shooting script for the video. Understand that planning is one of the most crucial steps of your video-making journey, and the more time you spend on it, the easier the editing will be.
Prepare Your Subject
Once you have a clear understanding of what to expect from each shot, the next stage is preparing your presenters and interview subjects. To avoid wasting valuable production time on the day of the shoot, make sure that your subjects are aligned with what you expect of them.
Plan Ample B-Roll Footage
In technical terms, video clips that do not contain your primary subject are the B-roll footage. You need to collect ample B-roll footage during your filming to do justice to the editing. Spend time to evaluate the type and quantity of B-roll footage that you need. For small-budget films, you may find it challenging to film all the B-rolls that you need. In such situations, we recommend that you make the most of available stock footage.
Stick to the Rule of Thirds
Imagine that your shot is divided into a 3 X 3 grid. For better visualization, have two imaginary equidistant horizontal and two vertical lines make the grid. The four points where the lines intersect each other are the anchor points. By positioning your subject in a way that touches two of the four anchor points, you ensure that the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the points of interest in the shot.
Avoid Mixing of Lights
Understand that artificial and natural lights have different temperatures. When you attempt to mix the two, you compromise with the quality of the footage. As far as possible, try to film in even and consistent lighting conditions.
Set the White Balance
Most smartphones, cameras, and recording devices have auto-white balance features. However, we suggest that you refer to the camera’s instruction manual and set up the white balance on your own. The manual setting of the white balance helps to avoid color casting and tells the camera what ‘true white’ looks like in the given setup.
Avoid Spotlighting
For professional-quality video filming, avoid having your subject in a bright pool of direct light. Such an act will hamper the brightness and contrast of your clip and result in unwanted reflections on your subject. As far as possible, try to use diffusers and reflectors to get even lighting for your clips.
Check the Location Acoustics
The acoustics of a place should play a role in deciding its shooting viability. While you need not have a soundproof setting, try to ensure that the location does cause any echo. While the best online video editor tools can fix most audio issues, it is almost impossible to do away with an echo.
Shoot Multiple Clips
To give yourself the luxury of comfortable editing, make sure that you get multiple takes of your film. That way, you have a safety net to fall back on if something goes wrong with your primary take.
Tidy Up Your Clips
Before you start assembling the rough cut, tidy up the clips by trimming pauses, false starts, hiccups, giggles, etc. Understand that when you get to the actual editing, it will be much easier to work on clean clips than juggling the cleaning and assembling.
Know When to Call A Cut
If your video clip involves a shot of the subject doing something, call a cut when the action is being performed. For example, if you are filming a shot where your subject walks into a room, call a cut just after the subject has turned the knob. This will hold the viewer engrossed in the video and make them relate to it better.
Prepare the Rough Cut
At the next stage of your video preparation, you need to get the rough cut ready. That way, it will be easy for you to take up the clips frame-by-frame at the later stages and edit them to perfection. While preparing the rough cuts do not worry about the precise timing of each shot. Understand that such finer nuances can be worked at a later stage, and your present focus should be on giving a basic structure to your video.
Do Not Overdo Special Effects
Transitions and Special effects help to make the video interesting and draw attention to the subject. However, you need to know when to draw a line. Over editing such as the use of radical wipe transitions and star wipes will make your video come off as amateurish. This may make viewers question your credibility as a brand.
Select an Appropriate Music
Understand that not all videos require background music. If you feel that having a background score will improve the overall appeal of your video, ensure that you avoid copyright-protected music. Take proactive measures to ensure that the music is relevant to the theme of your video.
Have Realistic Hopes from Post-Production
With tools like InVideo, you can have significant improvements in the video quality and come up with professional-level videos. However, you cannot assume that everything will be fixed at the post-production stage. For example, you may not be able to alter the brightness as much as you want. It may not be feasible to isolate the voice of your subject in a crowded room. To do justice to your video editing journey, you need to have a clear picture of the scope of video editing.
By now, you know what to look out for when creating your video content. Such proactive measures will improve the overall quality of your promotional videos and get you better marketing results.
