Mistake To Avoid When Shooting A Good Video

Fola

Member
If you're new to video, the biggest mistake you can make is to focus on slick professional visuals and then completely ignore the sound. Your audience can actually be pretty forgiving of issues are in the video quality, but trust me, there's nothing like poor audio to ruin the illusion and make you look like an amateur. Seriously, if you're going to buy one piece of equipment, get a decent microphone. Place your microphone as close as possible to your subject, close all the windows, switch off the air conditioning, turn off the fridge and do your best to kill any other unwanted noise.

Avoid Echo
Hang blankets or place them on the floor to dampen echo. Your ear does a great job of tuning all these distractions out but the microphone will pick up everything and your audio will sound much better in a silent room.

Frame Your Shot
Right, now you need to frame your shot. If you're shooting an interview, you want your subject at an angle but not in profile. Centering your subject isn't very aesthetically pleasing but weighting your subject to the wrong side feels tense and claustrophobic, which is great for prison documentary but not for, say, a corporate recruitment video. And don't go too wide.

Your audience needs to connect with the subject's facial expressions so zoom in or just move closer. Careful though, too close and you're back to claustrophobic.
There we go. Also, keep the camera steady. Shooting video handheld is going to give you some pretty horrible footage. Mount the camera on a tripod to keep it perfectly still or for really low budget you can just balance it on something sturdy.

Lightning Your Video
The difference between footage shot just in your hands and the same shot stabilized is pretty huge. The most important thing to remember about lighting your video is, light your video. Not everyone can afford expensive studio lighting like this but the sun is the most powerful light in the world and it's free. Use the nearest window to your advantage but remember, the best time to shoot is on an overcast day, so the light is flat and super consistent.

Light Source
However, don't mix light sources. All lights have a specific color temperature and mixing these can look weird so try to match them together. If you're using daylight, which is really blue on the color spectrum and switch off any indoor lights, which can make your talent look orange or green. On the flip side, if you can't adjust the lighting then close the blinds and stop the sunlight creeping in.
You can get pretty good results from any lighting options you have on hand as long as you take the time to consider how you're using them.
 

ben771williiams

New member
The tips are really helpful, to make it all easier I would advise to buy a stabilizer. There are expensive, but now is such a time that a lot of cheap but practical fakes from China, so it is worth looking at these things for good videos.
 
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