Professional videos on a budget! So, you want to create professional videos on a budget? Well, there are some important things to consider when creating videos for your targeted audience!
Who is the target audience for your videos?
Who are the videos for? Is the video an introduction to you or your company? Is it part of a series? Your target audience is your goal. If you are a Functional Medicine Practitioner, then your target audience is more than likely a potential patient – possibly with potential conditions, be it an in-person patient or a virtual patient via an online consultation. So think about this before making a video and writing a script for the video!
Do I need a script for my videos?
Yes, and No! You are a professional in your field, writing some notes cannot hurt, but writing and reading from a script will no doubt look fake. To me if you know your business and what you do, it should roll off naturally. So, yes, make some notes and think about these notes in your video. Having a key card right below the camera will probably help, and ensure that your eyes are not darting all over the place when making the video, but if you can, ditch the notes as well.
Where is the best place to shoot a Professional Videos on a Budget? Light and Quiet is the Key!
Natural Light, Natural Light, Natural Light. Did I mention Natural Light? Look for a nice quiet place (no background noise) with great natural light and your phone camera (iPhone 6 or Android Pixel/ Samsung S7/S8) with a microphone will be more than enough. Light and Quiet is just so important in making a good professional video.
What Tools Do I need to Create a Professional Videos on a Budget?
The first thing you will need is a Tripod to Keep the Camera Steady and a Mount for your Phone. The Joby GorillaPod Tripod is a great tripod and can be used with bigger cameras as well, pair it with the Glif Phone Tripod mount or the Joby mount and you are good to go.
If you have a really quiet space, you can get away without a microphone, but better to be safe than sorry – purchase a microphone for your phone. A simple one that is easy to setup and requires no batteries is the Rode Video MicMe (iPhone and most high end Android Phones) or the Rode Video Micro however, with this you will also need a tripod attachment)
Then we need to think about lighting. If you have a good space with natural light, this will not be necessary, all high-end phones (iPhone 6/7/8 and Android – Samsung S7, Pixel etc) can shoot great videos in good light. They fall away dramatically without good natural light. So with this in mind, a ring light is perfect for this type of shooting. A ring light is a circular light that gives you even light on the subject directly in front of it. This Neewer package is perfect for lighting subject directly in front of the camera.
Best Software Editing Tools for Creating a Professional Videos on a Budget?
Ok, so here is where it gets interesting both the iPhone (iMovie) and all high end Android Phones come with basic video editing tools (depending on manufacturer). For me the best one for you is the iMovie App (comes stock on iPhone and for Android – Filmora Go. I use Wondershare Filmora on Desktop and also on my phone.
I could use Adobe Premier or Apple Final Cut Pro on my Mac, but I about the speed and content and not trying to make my videos too spiffy! It also depends entirely on your workflow! Are you editing the videos? If so, you will need to learn to use an App. Dont’t try to be too creative at first. Just edit the video, add a nice title (eep the title style consistent across all videos) and if need be apply simple transitions (moving from one shot to another in edit).
How Long should my Professional Video on a Budget be?
This depends on your target. If you are shooting tutorials or guides. Then it comes down to how long you want it to be. My advice is to create a set of playlists.
- Introduction Videos: Keep them under a minute. If you keep videos under a minute they can go to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc with ease.
- Explainer Videos – Guides and Tutorials: These should be as long as is necessary. AN explainer Video may be a video that explains a type of service you offer, treatments etc.
- Q and A: Under a minute, again these are great for blog posts, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc with ease.
Workflow for Creating a Professional Videos on a Budget?
For most of us the workflow is simple. And you need to get this into a routine.
- Always Shoot in Airplane Mode: You will avoid incoming calls and notifications coming up on your phone if you shoot in Airplane Mode.
- Always Shoot in Landscape Mode: There is nothing that says “amatuer” more than shooting in portrait mode! Set your camera up in landscape – always!
- Test your Environment: Setup everything and shoot 5-10 second videos until you think you have it right. Then mark all areas with some tape or something that will remind you where to set up camera, angles, and lighting. So each video looks and sounds great.
- Get your Setup right and Consistent: Once you get the lighting, angles and sound right you need to make sure you remember all of these settings. I use simple tape and markers (direction) camera is pointing.
- Learn the Rule of Thirds: Learning the rule of thirds will dramatically improve your photos and videos. It is a simple no nonsense approach to shooting subjects in any environment.
- Shoot the Video: When shooting your video, just act naturally, if more than you face and neck is showing, don’t be afraid to use your hands and be animated. If you are going to do heavy edits and multiple angles, make sure you always leave a pause after paragraphs. My advice is to shoot one angle to begin with and step it up after gaining more experience. So, go ahead and start shooting! If you screw up just start again, you can edit out the screw ups in post.
- Create a Video Photo: You can fly by wire and use a still from YouTube of Vimeo or you can simply take a photo or get someone else to take a photo of you of your video. Try it on your phone with some animation, mouth, hands etc before or after your shoot! This can be use as the still screen for your video!
- Edit the Video: Start with simple editing, don’t do too much in post you only need to add a lower thirds title (all aps have ready to go titles) and stay away from colors and anything fancy. Keep it simple!
- Post The Video: Post the video to YouTube and then share it from there on Facebook, Twitter etc.
- Respond Immediately: if you get comments on your videos, respond immediately. Good or bad. Take any criticism on the chin and respond like a pro.
Additional Advice – Hire a Text Translation Company for your Professional Videos
Get a translation company to translate your professional videos audio to text. Why? Because with each video you can then add it as a post on your website. Add captions to your Videos on YouTube and get great SEO as well. Traditionally you are looking at between 100 – 150 words per minute of video. You may need to create an some intro text to your professional videos, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.
Some Sample Videos for your Inspiration
I am using Corcoran Group as an example. I don’t know much about them, but they do make great videos! You will notice, they rarely look into the camera. It is all about looking more important by making the videos feel like an interview.
Here are some iconic YouTubers I follow that do it right!