We offer best practices and tips for producing polished, high-quality videos on any budget with the right gear and techniques. Our goal is to make video production accessible by breaking down the key steps, equipment needed, and best practices. Use this comprehensive guide to plan, shoot, and share amazing video content.
Video has become an essential marketing and sales enablement tool. With some basic equipment and following fundamental best practices, businesses of any size can produce effective videos in-house. This guide covers everything needed to create professional-grade video content on a budget.
Table of Contents
Video Equipment and Software
The video equipment you need depends on your budget, skill, and team size. You can start with a simple smartphone or webcam, or upgrade to a DSLR camera or a professional video camera. Here are some examples of video equipment for different levels of production:
- Beginner: Smartphone with a lavalier microphone, tripod, and ring light ($200) or laptop, webcam, and USB or Bluetooth microphone ($300). This is good for sales messages, blog videos, and low-budget videos. It is also easy to carry and use anywhere.
- Intermediate: DSLR camera, 50mm lens, wireless microphone, tripod, and lighting kit ($1,500 to $1,700). This is good for customer testimonials, scripted videos, and medium-quality videos. It gives you more control over the image and sound quality.
- Advanced: High-quality video camera, lens adaptor, 50mm lens, 24-105 f4 lens, shotgun microphone, wireless lavalier microphone, tripod, full light kit ($9,000 to $10,000). This is good for brand videos, TV commercials, and high-end productions. It delivers the best possible image and sound quality.
You also need video editing software to edit your videos. This is how you cut, arrange, and enhance your clips. You may already have basic software on your computer, such as QuickTime or iMovie. More advanced software, such as Camtasia or Adobe Premiere, offers more features for adding graphics, animations, and audio effects. The main challenge is learning how to use them effectively. There are also new and innovative AI video editing tools that make editing faster and easier than ever.
Video Pre-Production
Pre-production is the planning phase of making a video. It takes longer than production, which is the actual filming. Pre-production is where you decide what type of video, script, storyboard, and cast you need. Pre-production is important because mistakes here can affect the whole project and waste time.
Choose a video producer
This person is in charge of everything related to the video. They need to be reliable and organized. Video Producer’s Tasks Video Timeline: Start from the launch date, add some extra days, and plan backwards. Video Creative Brief: Use a template to define the video’s goal, audience, tone, budget, and materials. Video Budget: How much can you spend on this video? If it’s for lead generation, you can calculate the expected return on investment (ROI) in terms of leads or pipeline and work backwards. Video Script: Write down everything that will happen and be said in the video in order. Video Storyboard: Sketch the script scene by scene. (You don’t need to be good at drawing.) Video Talent: Find actors and extras from your company or hire professional actors for a bigger production.
Video Production
Video production is the filming phase of making a video. It should be quick if you plan it well. Your main rule for video production is to capture more than you need. You can always cut out things later, but you can’t add them. If you need to reshoot one scene, it will be annoying and time-consuming.
Video Production Checklist Make a checklist to make sure you have everything you need. Include these items:
- Charge all your devices the day before
- Bring extra batteries
- Test your locations before filming to make sure they look good on camera
- Mark off the areas where you will film and let everyone know when you will film
- Lighting for Video Production Natural light is best for smaller productions. If you use indoor lights, you can use a three-point setup to avoid harsh shadows:
- A key light on the subject’s good side
- A fill light on the other side
- A backlight behind the subject to separate them from the background
- Shot Composition Follow the rule of thirds: Divide the screen into nine sections. The four points where the lines meet are good places for your subject. Don’t put them in the middle of the frame. And don’t shoot in portrait mode (unless you’re filming for social platforms).
Audio for Video Test the audio in the area you’re filming. Sometimes noises get louder, and a humming appliance can sound like a plane. Tell actors to speak into the mics and not touch them. You should also record a minute or two of the room’s sound so you can use it to edit smoothly.
Directing Video Production The director (or the video producer, if the team is small) guides everyone through the storyboard shot list. It’s good to get a few takes of each scene to avoid reshooting.
Camera Basics Get comfortable with your camera. Here are some tips:
- Understand Your Focal Length. If you’re shooting on a phone, you might distort your subject when shooting close.
- Level Out Your Shots. Use gridlines to keep your shots straight.
- “Tap” into Your Camera’s Capabilities. Tap the screen to focus on your subject, and then lock.
- Remote Video Production If you can’t film in person, you can still make great videos remotely! You can use your webcam, screen recorder, and video conferencing software to get more people into the video! If you don’t want to be on camera, you can try these options:
- Stock footage. Our video team likes Adobe Stock, Artgrid, and Envato Elements for stock footage.
- Animation. Vyond is an easy animation tool that anyone can use.
- Using existing footage. If you have old videos, you can reuse clips for a new context.
Video Post-Production
Post-production is the editing phase. This is where you choose the best shots, put them together, and add any graphics, animations, music, or captions you want.
This phase can take a long time. You may have to fix lighting and audio issues, or change transitions that don’t work. The more careful you are in the previous phases, the easier this will be.
Before you edit, get organized. Make a folder for the project and name each file clearly, such as “Project name – item name – date.” This will help you find the right files later.
Here are the steps for editing your video:
- Upload the videos to your editing software. Make sure they have the same screen ratio, such as 16:9 or 4:3. If not, you’ll have to adjust them.
- Trim clips as needed.
- Arrange clips in the right order.
- Add effects. You don’t need them, but you can add animations, transitions, or graphic overlays if you want.
- Review. Get feedback from someone who wasn’t part of the project.
- Edit the audio. After the video is done, fix the audio. Make the sound smooth and clear.
- Correct the color. You don’t need to do this, but color correction can make your video look better.
- Export and save. Save multiple copies, and save at least one to a backup drive or the cloud. This will protect your work from being lost.
The Value of Using an Enterprise Video Hosting Platform
You need a place to host, share, organize, and track your videos. You also need to control who can watch them and use the data for marketing and sales. An online video hosting platform can do all that for you.
Video platforms let you upload and distribute your videos across your website, landing pages, and emails. You can also create video hubs for different topics or audiences. Video hosting platforms help you get the most out of your videos and reach more people.
6 Tips for How to Make Great Videos
You want to make great videos that get results. Here are six tips to help you do that:
- Speak Lower, Slower, and with Certainty Look at the camera to connect with viewers. Speak lower, as your voice can sound higher on camera. Be confident. For some people, that means memorizing the script. For others, that means using bullet points. Do what works for you.
- Wear Solid Colors Dress appropriately for your audience. Don’t wear casual clothes when talking to formal businesses, and don’t wear a suit when talking to startups. Pick clothes with solid colors. They look better on screen and don’t distract from your message.
- When Interviewing, Let the Conversation Flow Talk to your interviewee before you start recording to make them comfortable. Keep your questions short and let them do most of the talking. Don’t interrupt them for your script. Viewers want to hear their thoughts.
- Make Sure Customer Stories Involve a Who, What, and How Think of customer stories in three parts: Who the customer is, the problem they had, and how they solved it. Interview different people to get different views and record them from different angles. Use two cameras if you can, as it gives you more options to edit.
- Find Well-Lit, Quiet Places to Shoot Find a spot with good light for your video. Film subjects facing natural light, not against it. Avoid filming in noisy places unless you have a good microphone.
- With Social Videos, Get Right to the Point People scroll fast through their social media feeds and don’t have time for long intros. Start with the most interesting clip to hook them, then play an intro and get into it.
Conclusion
You can learn video production in a day with this article. The best way to learn is to try it out, see what works for you, and come back to this guide when you need a tip. Video creation is easy and affordable. You just need to start.