Create Your Own Quality Video For Social Media
Creating good video for social media doesn’t necessarily mean going out and spending thousands on cameras and lights.
Video is favoured over still images on most social media platforms, and with the quality of hardware that is available on mobile phones, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be taking advantage of this.
Here are a few tips to get you on your way to creating quality content for your social media channels.
1) Planning
- Spontaneity might be the word of the day for most content on social media but if you really want to stand out, make sure you put some thought into what you’re doing prior to filming.
- What is it you want to make?
- How are you going to achieve this?
- When and where are you going to film?
- What equipment will you be using?
2) Story
- Everything has a story.
- Whether it’s how to videos, interviews or scripted drama.
- Think about the story you want to tell.
- What is the start, middle and end.
- Making a rough outline of the shots needed can also help, even if the camera is static throughout, as it’ll get you thinking about interesting angles and framing. Changing up the shots will help keep your film interesting and engaging.
3) Equipment
These days there are good quality cameras on most smartphones. Heres a few tips to get the best from them.
- Shoot in landscape (horizontally) unless the platform you are uploading to specifies otherwise.
- Use the back camera. It’s far superior to the quality of the “selfie’ camera on the front.
- Use a tripod or stand to get steady video and a consistency between shots and framing. A device called a ‘gimbal’ is also handy. This will stabilise your shot if the phone is being hand held or if you’re walking while shooting.
- While cameras on mobile phones are usually a fairly high quality, the same can’t be said for the microphones. Use an external, directional mic. These are small and very affordable and can be found with a quick google search (just type in your phone model followed by external microphone).
- Lighting. This is often overlooked. Make sure the subject is well lit. If possible set a light up directed at your subject and always make sure there’s not a bright light source behind them as this will dominate the shot and put your subject in silhouette.
4) Editing
- Once you’ve shot your footage, you’ll need to edit it.
- This could be something simple like tidying up the start and end of your film or more in depth cutting together of scenes and adding text.
- There are lots of free and easy to use apps that can help and it’s worth trying a few to see which one suits your needs best. FilmoraGo, Inshot, iMovie and Adobe Rush are just a few suggestions for you to try.
We have over 20 years experience in film making and animation working with clients such as Imperial College, Royal College of Music, MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) and Welsh Government. Subscribe to our Youtube channel and check out some of the fantastic projects we’ve been fortunate enough to take part in.
