How To Shoot Social Media Videos
Introduction
When it comes to video equipment, you already have the #1 tool for recording all of your social media videos… your smartphone. Regardless of the type of phone you have, the advancements in the imaging technology is such that professional cinematographers have started using smartphones in their productions.
But, outside of your phone, there are a few key pieces of equipment and tools that will make it much easier to produce higher quality videos on your own. Below you will find our suggested items, as well as.
Lighting
Want to take your video from mediocre to professional in the flip of a switch? Add a light. Lighting is the single biggest way to enhance any social media video. Check out the video above to see our suggestions for the types of lights to use and tips for getting the most our of them.
Suggested Light Options:
Using The Different Color Temperature Settings
One of the most important things to consider when purchasing your light kit is for it to have customizable settings. The ability to change the color temperature is key. Most light kits will offer a color range from 3200-5600K.
Why is that important?
This will allow you to match the temperature or color of the light in your shoot location.
Check out the video above for a full explanation of color temperature and how to adjust your light settings.
Cheat Sheet:
Indoor Settings With Artificial Light = 3200k Range
Outdoor or Indoor Settings With A Lot Of Natural Light = 5600k Range
Phone Mounts
When it comes to phone mounts, almost all of the ring light kits mentioned above include phone mounts. However, it is a great idea to have a phone mount for your car dash.
Suggested Car Phone Mount Options:
Microphone
Good clean audio is another key to creating more professional videos. Now, with that said, in many situations your phone’s microphone will be more than adequate. But, for those situations where there is a lot of background noise an inexpensive microphone will make all the difference. Check out the video above to see our tips for proper microphone placement and some suggested options.
Iphone Compatible Microphone Options:
USB-C Compatible Microphone Options:
Teleprompter
One of the best things you can do to uplevel your video production is to have a well thought out and concise script. While you could try to memorize a short script or have it printed out for reference, there are a ton of great teleprompter apps available. Each teleprompter app will have its own unique set of features and price points. Down below you will see links to some of the most popular teleprompter applications on the market. Find the one that offers the best features for your needs and give it a try. In the video above, we show you how to best transfer our template scripts onto your phone for use within the teleprompter application and what features to look for in a teleprompter app.
Teleprompter App Suggestions:
Iphone
Android
Before shooting any video it is extremly important to pick a suitable location. The key things to keep in mind are light source location, background audio and shot framing.
Light Source Location:
When it comes to lighting, then number one thing to avoid is windows and bright lamps in the background of your shot. Your camera will have a hard time compensating for the bright spot in your background leaving you very dark. Ideally, if you are in a room with windows, you want to face that window. It will act as you key lighting source and give a much more appealing picture.
Now with that being said, by purchasing a ring light you can be much more flexible when picking your shoot location.
For outdoor video shoots, you have to pay attention to the sun. Try to avoid shooting mid-day. This will cause you to have dark shadows under your eyes. When selecting your shoot location outdoors it is best to match the background. For example, if you are standing in the shadow of a tree, you want to make sure that the background is also in shadows or dark in color.
Background Audio:
Nothing destroyes a video faster than bad audio. The shot can look fantastic, but if your audience can’t hear you over the crowd of people in the background or over the noise of the wind they will quickly tune you out. So, when picking your shoot location be mindful of how much background noise there is. In most office or in car settings, you will easily be able to shoot you video using just the microphone on your smartphone. However, if you’re in a resturant or walking on the beach, using an external microphone will cut out the noise and allow viewers to hear you clearly.
Shot Framing:
When it comes to social media video, you will be shooting in portrait mode the majority of the time. Make sure you are in the center of the frame and leaving yourself enough headroom (the space between the top of your head and the edge of the screen.)
It is also very important to do a quick check of your shot before hitting the record button to make sure there is nothing distracting in the background.The great thing about social media video content and the templates that we have provided is there is minimal editing required. You can simply use the editing tools right in your phones photo application to trim the ends off your video.
A great free video editing app available both on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store is Splice.When it comes to getting in the right mindset for shooting video content, we follow the same formula each and every time: Get It Done!
No matter the amount of videos we need to produce or all the other things we would rather be doing, we know that in order to stay top of mind, we have to consistently create video content.
Now, there are several steps we take to ensure each recording session is a success and we are sharing them with you in the video above and listed out below.
Before You Get Started:
- Make sure you have a minimum of 4 hours of uninterrupted time
- Put your phone on silent mode and do not disturb
- You need privacy and quiet to shoot these videos, we recommend doing them alone
10-Steps To A Successful Video Shoot:
- Read the scripts out loud 1-2 times until you’re comfortable
- Setup your camera and lighting, choose your shoot location
- Put the script on the teleprompter on your phone,
- Gather your books or any other props you might need
- Practice using the teleprompter, get the speed and font sizing just right
- Get dressed in your best clothes, do your hair and makeup
- Men, you can use a little makeup stick
- You’re a professional doing a professional job, and all camera people use makeup
- Start recording and do a soft take, meaning you read all the way through the end even if you screw up
- Do a live take, meaning you’re aiming to get it all done in one take
- Do this until you’re able to get through the whole video in one take
- Have patience and be kind to yourself, this is your first time doing this. You wouldn’t expect someone else to be perfect and you can’t expect yourself to be.
- It might take you 10,20, even 50 takes to get it right
- Tiny mistakes like saying a word wrong or a little funny can be overlooked
- Once you’ve got a good take, watch the video back and make sure you like it.
- Give yourself a pat on the back, you did a great job!
