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With so many people creating their own video content at home right now, I wanted to talk about three things to avoid when shooting video so your content will look and sound it’s best!
1. POOR LIGHTING.
Too many times I’ve seen people shooting video with too much backlight. See example below. This happens typically when the subject’s background is a window. All the light from behind causes the subject's face to become dark with shadows leaving the viewer with an unpleasant image to watch.
THE SOLUTION.
As simple as it seems, turn around and let the natural light shine on the subject. If the background isn’t aesthetically pleasing, then shoot at a slight angle where most of the natural light will still fall on the subjects face/front side. Most of the time this gives a more artistic look with more depth as the shadows "fall off" to one side of the face.
2. POOR SOUND.
This is something I’ve recently talked about. Poor sound equals poor quality. This happens a lot of the time when someone uses the internal mic on their device.
THE SOLUTION. The easiest thing to do is get your camera (or if you’re using your phone) closer to the subject. Typically a couple of feet away will work. You can also hook up an external mic to most phones these days (see example below).
The other solution would be a #hack I talk about in this video, where you use another phone to record your audio separately.
3. NO STABILIZATION.
So unless it’s an artistic choice, like watching any of the Jason Bourne movies, then stabilize your camera. Especially if you're teaching or sharing valuable information. Believe it or not, having your hands freed up helps many people feel more natural on video. So I don’t typically suggest going handheld, unless of course you’re Vlogging at the park walking like this guy.
THE SOLUTION. Buy an inexpensive tripod or table tripod like this. If you can’t buy one at the moment or just don’t have one around and need to get your video out there, I suggest a quick DIY version like the photo below and check out this video on how to make them.
Anyway, I hope these three tips help you and all the best with making your own video content! If you have any other video related questions, please reach out to our video agency and we'll glad to answer any questions you may have!