Online video has been exploding over the last several years. And there’s an army of wanna be auteurs posting to YouTube and Facebook with garage quality video aiming to meet the demand. This is great for personal projects and just having fun. But it’s not the way to proceed if you’re representing a quality brand.

How should you proceed? Well, if you have the budget, hire professionals – heck, hire me. If you don’t have the budget, here are a few tips to help you improve your production quality.

Start with a script. Winging it is for improv artists, not for serious marketers. Get a script that speaks to your audience, demonstrates a key benefit, tells a story, and stays true to your brand. And why not make it entertaining? No one wants to listen to a talking head drone on and on about product benefits.

Plan your shoot. That’s awesome if you’re going to keep it simple and just shoot yourself in a simple setting. But know exactly what you will need ahead of time including appropriate clothes, props, snacks, equipment, and helpers. You should even create a formal schedule. An art director I used to work with taught me to literally draw a frame for every single second of a 30 second spot.

Location, location, location. It may be real estate parlance but it’s just as important in film and video. In your case it’s not about wow factor, it’s about finding a place that’s quite, easy to light, will fit all of your gear, and looks good. You want it simple, uncluttered and without any bright colors or patterns.

Use a great microphone. It’s not the one attached to your camera. If you’ve ever been to a regional film festival, you may have noticed that bad films usually have really bad sound. Bad sound makes it hard to follow the story and renders your production a worthless marketing tool. Professional films always have great sound. Your brand marketing is professional, right?

Hire a cameraman. You wanted to do this all yourself, but if you don’t know how to properly level a tripod or check your focus and exposure maybe you should get some professional help. No budget, well at least RTDM.

Rent the appropriate camera. I’ve written about cameras before so I won’t go into great detail here but suffice it to say, the better the camera, the better the end product. Also, the more expensive the camera, the more complicated. Your $100 flip camera may have an HD logo on it but it doesn’t have and XLR microphone connector (or any microphone connector) or decent glass attached to it. Just go rent a camera and ask for advice on which one to select.

Use a tripod. And don’t move the camera while it’s recording. Heck, don’t move it between takes either.

Hire an actor. Sure, you may be great at meeting theater but if you were destined for the big screen you’d probably have been discovered by now. Personal dynamism and what shows up on the screen are different. Trust me, I’ve met some pretty insecure actors who blossom in front of a camera. And speakers, that can hold a room in the palm of their hand, yet falter under the lights.

Bring a stopwatch. What for? Well, you wrote a script and know how long this thing is supposed to be, right? There are also a lot of placement opportunities for web video that are in 15 second and 30 second increments too. You’ll need a stopwatch if you want to make sure your timings are correct.

Light it properly. Lighting is photography and it’s also cinematography. I can’t teach a reader to light in one paragraph. So I’ll just say get one of those LED light panels and position it at a 45 degree angle to the side and above your camera. Provide enough light to “fill” the subject but not make the subject considerably lighter than the background. Pay special attention to the eyes.

Shoot more than you need. Those stories about directors doing it all in one take – they may be legend but they’re also myth. It’s not going to work out well for you if you try it. Stanly Kubrick was famous for shooting hundreds of takes. You’re better off using him as a role model – without the surly demeanor, of course.

Review. Review. Review. In the old days they’d say check the gate to make sure their was no dust that could have spoiled the negative. Today we can actually look at our digital capture and make sure it doesn’t suck. Do this before you move to the next shot. Once you move the camera it’s unlikely that you will get it back in exactly the same place, ruining your ability to inter cut.

Back up. Hell, back up twice. If you’re shooting on location send one with your partner and one with you. You never know, your car might catch on fire on the way back to the office (yes, it happens). Heck, I’ve even met producers who won’t fly with the rest of the crew for this very reason.

Watch your footage with a note pad. Then watch it again. Take lots of notes.

Hire an editor. Give her your notes and your footage. Want to do it yourself? OK, use something like iMovie and dig in. Remember to keep it simple and don’t use any silly transitions or special effects.

Sound mixing. When you’re done with the edit seriously consider whether the sound needs professional help. If you’re mixing music and dialog or you have any problems from your footage, you do. Also, make sure your levels are 0 db. Don’t know what the means? Hire a pro.

Color correction. This is when you adjust the color balance and output levels so that all your footage matches and looks great. Apple Color is a great low budget tool to accomplish this. Most editing programs have limited tools for color correction. If you’re using Final Cut, try the 3-way color corrector but make sure your monitor is color correct before you start moving sliders.

Use simple titles and graphics. Professionals do this in After Effects and Cinema 4D. Since you probably don’t have these tools or the training keep it simple. White type on a black screen has been used successfully by Woody Allen for 40 years.

OK, so now you have some of the information you need to make a video that will live up to your brands reputation. Break a leg, as we say in show business.

 

Posted on: June 16, 2011, by : Jimmy Gilmore