Catch Your Customers’ Eye: Essential Video Production Tips

Marketing, Podcasting, Video

Views don’t trickle down. There are more than 43,000 channels that have at least 250,000 subscribers on YouTube. These channels received 14 billion views over the course of one week in 2019.

It’s hard to grab people’s attention when you are producing videos. Yet you can, as long as you know how video production works. 

What do you have to do before you take out your camera? How can you produce great visuals? What should you do to edit your videos? 

Answer these questions and you can produce quick yet effective videos that people want to watch. Here is your quick video production guide.

Listen to this content in audio format.

Write a Script

You must write out a script for any video you make. It does not matter if the video is short. A short video can feel bloated or awkward if the content is not clear and well-paced.

Think about the general concept for the video you want to make. If you want to promote a product, you need to show what the product does. If you are making a tutorial, you need to lay out each step with clear detail.

Write your script with the concept in mind. It is okay to include a line of dialogue that will entertain your audience. But don’t waste their time with extraneous details.

Try to find opportunities to build your brand a little. You can include a call-to-action at the end of your video, encouraging the viewer to visit your website. You can also throw in your company slogan or logo.

Keep Things Simple

Viewers are not expecting Oscar-winning content from you. Someone clicking on a video entitled, “How to clean your house,” just wants to know tips about cleaning their house. 

Base each video around one concept, such as cleaning a home. Give all the information you need to present and then conclude the video. You do not need elaborate visuals, special effects, or extensive scripting.

If you are in a pinch, you can record a basic video using your phone. You or one of your employees can present the content. 

It is okay to put text on the screen. But you should try to use bullet points or short sentences. You do not want your viewer pausing the video to read what you are presenting. 

Plan Out Your Visuals

Understanding video production means understanding visuals. You can rely on basic and conventional visual codes.

The rule of thirds is a rule of thumb for composing a shot. You divide your frame into thirds and place the presenter along a dividing line. This gives them space to gesture with their body, and it creates energy within the shot. 

To follow the rule of thirds, you need to figure out how you will frame your shot. You should decide on where you will place your camera and where the subject of your shot will sit. 

You also need to find the right lights. You need enough light so the viewer can see everything, but you don’t want too much. Make sure the presenter wears clothes that do not reflect the lights.

While the video is being recorded, someone should be watching the camera feed. If the camera goes out of focus or if the lights are too bright, the video should be shot again. It is okay to use footage from a bad take, provided that you edit the bad parts out.

Shoot B-roll in addition to A-footage. B-roll is footage you can cut to in order to conceal errors or illustrate points. A-footage can be a close-up of your subject while B-roll is further away. 

49% of podcast listening happens at home while 22% happens in the car; making it a unique form of advertising!

Create a Good Flow

The video production process emphasizes editing as much as scripting and shooting. The key in editing is to let one shot flow naturally into the next.

Have visuals match in between shots. Your presenter should wear the same clothes and be sitting in the same spot. 

Cut out all moments where nothing is happening. If your presenter stuttered or said something incorrectly, cut the moment out and add in a moment of B-roll. 

You can cut from one shot to the other without a transition. Fading in or cutting to black can be jarring.

Be Mindful of the Sound

If you are familiar with podcast best practices, you can follow many of them to produce great sound for your video. You should remove all of the blank space in your sound.

You are not obligated to use the audio you recorded initially. If the sound is not good, you can ask the presenter to come in and record their audio again. You can then lay the new audio track over the old footage. 

You do not have to add music to your video. But music can help create a tone and cover up little errors in the audio. 

Try to find music without lyrics. Keep it in the background at a lower volume than your main audio track. 

Do not use copyrighted music, even if you are not making a video for profit. You can find royalty-free music from websites off the internet. If you have a lot of time, you can ask someone to record a song for you and put it in.

Master the Essentials of Video Production

Video production involves several essential steps. You must write a script that expands on a core concept. 

Nothing you make needs to be spectacular. People want to know how to do things, so you should make simple tutorials and product guides. 

Yet you should pay attention to technical aspects. You should plan out how your shots will look and you should use great lighting. You should edit the videos to create a good pace and high-quality audio. 

Get the resources you need for terrific videos. Purple Comma Podcasting provides video production services for Raleigh-area businesses. Contact us today.