Today, I want to share some tips for making professional videos from the comfort of your home. Since we are all homebound right now, this is a great time to learn and improve your technical skills. We are all capable of creating stunning content with our smart devices. Stay connected with your clients, friends, and family through video!
1. Use Your Phone Camera Instead of a Laptop to Record
An iPhone or Android will produce a much better quality video than the webcam on your laptop. Make sure to record in landscape mode instead of portrait. Professional videos have a standard size of 16:9.
2. Stabilize Your Phone
Many phones have built-in image stabilization. However, to produce the best quality video, consider stabilizing your phone. Use a tripod if you have one – otherwise stack books on top of each other and use that to prop up your phone.
3. Clean Up Clutter
There is nothing worse than a distracting background! Pick a well-lit space to film, then clean up that area.
4. If Possible, Face Towards a Window.
If you are not using a DSLR or other HD camera, I recommend turning your body to face towards a natural light source. iPhones and Androids do not perform well backlit.
Both photos below were taken with an iPhone 11. In the photo on the left, I am facing towards a window. The photo of the right is 100% backlit. Notice the difference?
5. Speak Clearly and Turn off all Background Noise
It’s ok to not use a microphone, but make sure to turn off all distracting background noise. I even recommend turning off your heat/air-conditioning while filming if you do not know how to edit out that sound.
6. Learn Basic Video Editing
A little basic editing can help make your videos look more professional. Trimming the start and end of a clip will improve it massively, as will cutting a longer clip into several shorter ones and then trimming the excess from those. There are many free platforms out there for you to try out. I recommend Davinci Resolve or iMovie if you own a Mac.
I hope you found these tips helpful! If you need help during the creation process, reach out and I will answer any questions. 🙂
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