Having fabulous content that knocks people’s socks off is fantastic. But nothing’s worse than finding a video with great information that really can transform a persons life and have the video look terrible.
Everything matters online. Every detail is another piece of your reputation, presence, and credibility. The German architecture Ludwig Mies van der Rohe put it perfectly when he said, “God is in the details.” So if you have incredible content, then treat it like it’s incredible. Film it properly and make it look professional.
Here are a few tricks you can use to make sure your online videos look fantastic:
1. Create a home-made teleprompter: if you’re using a script plug the script into a PowerPoint/Keynote presentation on your computer. Make the background black, the text white, and use a plain font like tahoma or arial. Now place your camera on the laptop of your computer and scroll through the slides with a clicker (or grab a buddy to push the buttons). This way you’ll still be looking right at the camera even though you have a script.
2. Use a lapel microphone. Grab one for $30 off of amazon. Plug it right into the microphone port on your computer/camera, make sure it works and shoot. Using the microphone in the camera tends to sound hollow as it picks up all the other sounds in the environment.
3. Use an HD Camera. The new iPhone 4S cameras look ok, as long as the size of the video on the screen stays small. Using these hi-def camera phones is fine for short youtube videos, but not for launch or sales videos that go full-screen. If not grab a hi-def camera off of amazon (kodak zi8‘s work well and you can plug the lapel mic into the camera – be sure to get a bigger memory card though).
4. Don’t be back lit. If the dominant source of light is coming from behind you, you will look very dark. If need be, get some flood lights from your local hardware store. Try bouncing the light off the wall and onto your face. This makes the light much softer than if the light was pointed directly at you.
5. Expect it to be tough at first. If you’ve never done direct to camera filming before, then you’re in for a treat. It took me several rounds of camera work, youtube videos, and product launches before I finally got totally comfortable in-front of a camera. If you’re struggling with this, then we teach an great module on how to connect with your audience over camera in a deep meaningful way. It’s part of our Big Kahuna List Builder Program. Check it out here!
Related articles
- Shooting your First Video – Stupid Mistakes We’ve All Made (marketing.yell.com)
