Would you like to impress your audience using professional-looking videos? If yes, you’ll need to learn the tips that will help you create professional looking videos. You can make dynamic videos by following these top videography tips below.
Table of Contents
Use Plenty Of Light
A video with poor lighting can cast shadows on people’s faces and make a room look dull and flat. Make sure you have lights set up using the 3-point lighting technique when filming an interview. If you are filming a product or room, ensure you have set up lights so there are also no shadows.
A Clean Background Is A Must For Filming
Do not film with a messy or distracting background. A solid-colored background such as a wall produces good results.
Shaky Footage Should Be Avoided
Shaky footage spoils your video quality, and so use a tripod or place the camera on a stand for best results. Using a camera with a gimbal, such as an Osmo + can improve the quality of your footage and result in a better overall video that people want to watch.
Plan Your Shoot
It’s important to plan everything well ahead of your shoot. If you are filming outdoors you may need to get council approval, so make sure you make all necessary arrangements before you start filming. If filming outdoors you’ll also need to keep an eye on the weather ahead of filming and have plans for alternate arrangements if the weather is not looking good.
Proper Camera Placement
Where you place your camera is important in terms of where the light source is coming from and what is behind the person being interviewed. People often think they should film with a window behind them, for example, because they have a great view outside. However this could cause a “blow out” from the window, meaning it is all white in the background and you can’t see the view after all. This can then result in the person being overly dark or in shadow.
The best solution is to balance the light when filming with a little light from a window and some lights in front of the interviewee.
Variety Of Angles
If filming a person for an interview video, you may want to have two camera angles so you can cut from one angle to another. To make the video more interesting you should also include b-roll footage which relates to what is being said.
Use Cinematic Techniques
Cinematic techniques are dynamic filming styles that maintain interest for the viewer.
These include filming techniques such as recording from aerial perspective, over the shoulder shots, “wipes” which is when an image appears to be pushed or “wiped” to one aside of the screen to make way for the next shot, and “pans” which is is panning from left to right or right to left
Manual Settings On Your Camera
Switching to manual settings on your camera means you have more creative control over what you are filming. Relying on autofocus or auto settings means you are reliant on the environment, rather than controlling the environment. Start by learning the basics, enrol in some online courses and join some Facebook groups and look out for other people’s Q&A’s. Then start practicing on your camera.
Framing & Composition
By learning proper framing and composition techniques you will improve the look of your videos. By following the “Rule of Thirds” for the composition and balance you will have more visually interesting footage. This technique has been proven in studies to show that people’s eyes usually go to the intersection points of a grid rather than the centre of a shot.
Clean Audio Is Essential For Any Video Production
A key video production element when filming is making sure you record quality audio, especially when interviewing someone. Investing in good audio equipment means your audience won’t turn off your video because they have to listen to poor sound.
Also make sure you place the microphone close to the subject for the best results.
To learn more awesome videography tips, you can follow us at 1 Minute Media or view our videos online. 1 Minute Media is a leading video production agency in Australia, with bases in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Our services include company profile, eLearning, event, marketing, corporate, educational, training, testimonial videos and more.
