By Toby Schwartz, Real Normal Productions
For small business owners the digital age has created an abundance of do-it-yourself marketing opportunities, but video is often still perceived as more difficult and costly to produce. While it is true that high-end production quality has its place, there are often instances when a low budget video for the web makes the most sense. In fact, a recent study by Forrester Research referenced in Business Week magazine shows that videos are 53 times more likely to end up on the first page of a Google search.
Over the last few years, quality equipment and software has become unbelievably cost effective yet most self produced videos end up looking and sounding like bad home movies. This guide is an attempt to help entrepreneurs and small businesses produce better videos with some basic knowledge about choosing a location, setting up a shot, recording audio, and generally planning ahead before turning on the camera.
CHOOSING A LOCATION
There are many factors to consider when choosing a location to shoot your video. One of the most important and often overlooked one is sound. You want to choose a location where you will have total control over your sound quality. This means no outside or traffic noise, no echo, and the ability to turn off air conditioners and other appliances that make noise. Aside from sound, your main goal is to choose a location with the right visual aesthetic. In an interview situation you often want the location to capture the environment of the subject.
Another important factor in creating visually pleasing shots is depth. You should have a background behind your subject that conveys depth. Flat walls never look good. If you don’t have the room for depth, then you can add objects like lamps, plants, or art to break up the background. You should place your subject as far away from the background as possible to add to the feeling of distance and create a softer look behind them.
While depth behind your subject is important, so is depth in front. You would like to have the camera as far away from your subject as possible, with your lens zoomed in. This not only enhances the features of your subject (think the opposite of a wide angle lens), but also softens the background focus. Whether it is for location selection, framing or any other of the topics covered in this blog, I highly recommend visiting Philip Bloom’s web site for all kinds of advice and references for filming better videos.
Framing the Shot
FRAMING THE SHOT
Now that you have your location picked out, you need to set up the composition of the shot. Always use a tripod. No exceptions. Shaky video is not “edgy”, it turns away viewers and makes you look like an amateur. It takes a heavy camera, solid mount, and steady hand to pull off handheld shots, so leave it for the pros.
The first decision when shooting an interview is to determine whether the subject will be speaking into the camera or slightly off camera. If they are addressing the viewing audience directly, then they should speak into the camera. Otherwise, they should look slightly off camera (not too far, maybe 15 degrees). If your subject is speaking into camera they should be centered in the frame. If off camera, then they should have slightly more room in front of them. A good interview is often framed from at least the waist up if standing, or above the lap if sitting, in order to capture the facial expressions of the subject. Do not go too tight though, as you will make viewers feel claustrophobic. Don’t allow too much room above their heads, but don’t let the frame touch it either, just a little breathing room at the top of the frame.
CAMERA SETTINGS
Now that you have your framing and background, you need to make sure the camera is set to the proper settings. I suggest always using manual focus and auto exposure and white balance. This means you will be responsible for focusing the camera by hand, but the camera will determine the right exposure and color temperature automatically. If your camera is HD you will have the option to shoot widescreen, so set that as well. You may need to adjust your composition slightly to accommodate the wider frame. In order to get good focus, always zoom in as far as you can to the subjects eyes and focus. Then zoom out and it is set.
3-Point Lighting
LIGHTING
The basic principle of lighting is called three-point lighting. This means you have a key light from one side, a fill light from the other, and a backlight from behind. I always recommend using the softest light possible (not the dimmest, but the softest). The more light you have, the better the quality of the image. This doesn’t mean your shot should look any brighter, but that there is more light for the camera to use.
Light should look natural and soft. If it is obvious that you have a bright light beaming on your subject it will not look good. If you are going to be shooting a lot of video I recommend investing in a small Kino Flo light kit with daylight bulbs. The color output of these bulbs will allow you to use your lights with natural light from a window or outdoors.
Your key light should determine the exposure. You want a powerful light with a soft filter in front of it. You can even use wax paper or a white pillowcase to soften the light, but watch that you don’t catch anything on fire by leaving them a small distance from the front of the light. The key light should be at about 20-30 degrees off center from the subject, so that there is more light on one side of the face than the other. If the subject is looking off camera always key light the side away from camera.
Fill
The fill light should be just that, a light that fills in the shadows, smoothing them out. You want some variation from one side of the face to the other, so use a soft light at about a 45 degree angle on the opposite side from the key. This side should still be darker than the key side.
The back light creates separation from the subject and the background. It should be slightly off camera and hitting the subject in the back of the head to create a slight glow around the edges. Nothing to overpowering, but enough to be noticeable. Again lighting should look natural and soft.
These same basic principles should be applied when using natural light or shooting outdoors. A window makes a great key light. Just position your subject at the proper angle as if the window was a large light. You can use a reflector to reflect light as the fill. Another site I recommend for entrepreneurs and business owners to check out that my partner (Lyn Graft) highly recommends is The Bui Brothers done by Vu Bui and Lan Bui – they teach and share their experiences with beginner and expert photographers about photography and videography.
SOUND
Nothing will degrade the quality of a video like bad sound. First and foremost you need a quiet location with no echo. After you have the location quiet, you can use either a lavaliere mic (a small mic that clips to your subject) or a shotgun mic. Never use your camera mic. I prefer a shotgun mic either hung or held right out of frame above and slightly in front of the subject. Always monitor sound quality with headphones through the camera, so you are hearing exactly what is going to tape. Most cameras have a menu setting to switch to an external mic. You will need to set this or you might be using the camera mic without realizing it.
TALENT AND WARDROBE
The final piece to the puzzle is the subjects themselves. If it is an interview, you will already have your talent. Make sure they are well prepared, that they know what to expect, and that they are comfortable and confident. You might need many takes to get them calm enough to start giving you what you are looking for. Be patient and keep encouraging them with positive feedback like “Great job, let’s try it with a little more energy”. Make sure they are speaking clearly and confidently. You can use a teleprompter if it helps them to remember what they need to say.
What your subject wears can add a lot to your shot. Think about colors and styles that enhance your composition. Avoid too many bright colors and busy patterns or stripes. White shirts can be problematic as well as they sometimes reflect too much light and make it hard to get a good exposure.
PRACTICE
This is just a simple guide to help you improve your videos. The biggest thing to remember is that the final video is a culmination of many factors that need to be thought out and planned ahead of time in order to give you the best possible results. It takes a little practice and the right equipment, but in the long run you’ll be happy you made the effort to improve your videos. David Garland (@TheRiseToTheTop) over at The Rise to the Top does a number of video blogs on how to do video on the cheap so take a gander there when you get a chance for a 360 degree of this process.
Once you’ve got your footage “in the can” you’ll need to edit and format it for final output. We’ll cover that in the next post: “Editing Better Videos”.
P.S. I just bought an DSLR camera (Canon 5D Mark II) and a great site I’m using is the DSLR Film – The Best Damn DSLR Video & Movie Blog (their words) to learn more about shooting with this camera.
Toby Schwartz has produced over 500 film, video, and interactive media properties over the last 15 years. He is the founder and owner of both Real Normal Productions Inc. and Brainseed Interactive Inc., an eLearning company with a focus on web-based interactive training for businesses. Toby has produced video and TV spots for entrepreneurs and small business owners to clients as big Nokia, US Air Force, Ernst & Young, American Airlines, GSD&M, Pepsi, Dell, Frito Lay, NBA, (RED), AT&T and Chili’s. Toby is also one of the co-founders of BidModo.com
{ 2 comments }
