7 Video Production Tips To Achieve Professional-Looking Videos

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Video content is king on the internet right now. It’s pretty clear that reading a piece of text or looking at images have fallen behind in people’s preferences. All the focus is on video content at the moment and the numbers seem to support this claim. Statistics reveal that in 2019, in the United States, internet users spent on average seven hours per week watching videos on the internet. This year, more than 80% of all internet users in the US watched video content every month on various devices. Looking into the future, it is estimated that by 2022, video streaming and downloads will account for almost 80% of all internet traffic.

What does this tell us? That video content is growing in popularity by the minute. The conclusion is simple: if you’re thinking about trying your hand at video production, the timing is just perfect. However, making videos randomly and putting them out into the world hoping for the best won’t attract the audience you expect. It takes a bit more to catch the viewers’ attention and make them sit through all of your videos. But it’s not impossible either. The following tips will help you improve your craft and create professional-looking videos in no time.

Pick your equipment

Since you’re only starting out in the art of video making, you probably don’t have the best camera on the market or state-of the art equipment at your disposal. The good news is that today’s technology makes it possible to achieve great results using devices you probably already own (your smartphone for example). One thing you should pay extra attention to is sound quality. No one will watch your videos if all they can hear is some indistinguishable mumble in the background. That’s why using your camera’s built-in microphone is not the best option. If you have the budget for it, investing in an external microphone will guarantee you better audio quality.

Plan the content

Now that you have your gear ready, it’s time to plan your content. It’s the essence of any video, so if you fail at everything else regarding video production, high-quality content might still save you. Choose a subject that will speak to your target audience, and always strive to be original. The public doesn’t forgive or forget if you use other people’s ideas. It will just come off as fake, mediocre and forced, not to mention it’s not ethical, so don’t copy what others are doing. Write a script and plan the scenes you’re going to shoot in great detail if you want everything to run smoother and avoid losing time while filming.

Choose the set

The location you choose to film your video is just as important, whether you choose a natural or a fake background. Don’t leave it to the last minute to find the perfect filming spot. Improvising and putting together a set in a haste will look anything but professional. The set you choose will depend on the type of video you want to film. Natural backgrounds such as an outdoor location or a nice-looking room in your house are easier to work with since you don’t have to set anything up – maybe just do some tidying. For lack of inspiration or resources, it’s better to opt for a simple and clean background, as long as it’s not too boring.

Mind the lighting

It’s impressive how light can transform a video. It’s one of those elements that can elevate the way your videos look in an instant. It’s safe to assume that you don’t have professional lighting equipment for your projects, so you’ll have to adapt and learn how to work with what you do have, and that is natural lighting. It doesn’t cost you anything, but you have to plan your filming around certain moments of the day like the golden hours. If you don’t have this option, make sure you use different sources of light from various angles to balance the shot and eliminate unaesthetic shadows.

Use background music

Music has the power to complement the composition, support the message you want to convey, create the right ambience and tie everything together in a video. The right track will help draw in the viewer into the story and make your videos more alluring. As a budget video producer, you can use royalty free music from services such as Melodyloops to take your videos to the next level. You can browse a wide range of music genres and select the tracks that will suit your videos. You can also use tools that offer you the possibility to customize tracks and create your own music, if you feel a bit more creative.

Work on the flow of the video

All the elements in your video must come together to create the story that you want to present to the public. Everything from tone to pace, structure and music must be tied in a natural flow and work towards achieving the desired outcome. You can’t leave anything to chance. The audience shouldn’t be distracted by elements that don’t seem to belong there or that make no sense in a shot. They shouldn’t notice the production efforts or small glitches, but enjoy the final product as a whole.

Choose the right video editing software

Once you’re done with filming all the scenes, you must move on to the final step of video production: editing. It’s time to cut, clip, trim, correct and enhance what you shot as you see fit. Again, taking into account that you’re not a professional video maker, you shouldn’t choose tools that are beyond your skill level. Of course, you should try to get better at what you do and learn more as you go, but if you don’t have a strong grasp on a certain program, it’s better to use a video editing software that is less complicated. In time, you’ll be able to move on to more complicated techniques.

We are influencers and brand affiliates.  This post contains affiliate links, most which go to Amazon and are Geo-Affiliate links to nearest Amazon store.