So Where Do I Begin?
First things first... When you’re shooting video you need to keep two things in mind.
So how do I easily get great quality video captured? You start by being sure that you are recording in “landscape mode”. All this means is that your camera should NOT be capturing the video so the video is tall. Tall videos are considered “portrait mode” and they will play back that way too. We want to capture it wide 99% of the time.
Recording a tall/portrait video is great only for playback on another mobile device that people can turn sideways to watch it. Portrait videos uploaded to YouTube or websites will more than likely play back smaller and have a black area on both sides of your video. So, record in landscape mode. Next you want to make sure your subject is lit well. That can be as simple as making sure that the light falls on your subject on the front of them and not behind them. If the light is behind them, the camera will naturally adjust and make your subject darker than the background. This is called “backlight”.
How Much Light Is Enough?
Be sure that your subject is clearly defined. The less light you have, the more the camera will adjust artificially, thus making your video murky and grainy. The fastest way to improve your video quality is to be sure you have enough light. So, the after sunset videos or in dark indoor video will not turn out that well. If you’re indoors, and videoing yourself, be sure that you sit near a window with the window to your side or in front of you if possible – not to your back. If you can turn on lights, be sure to get as many on as you can.
When shooting outside, just make sure you’re not in direct sunlight; many times you’ll record harsh shadows on someone’s face or they will be squinting in the blinding sun. The best thing to do is record on an over- cast day or just step into a little shade. When in the shade just watch for back-light.
How do I hold my camera steady?
There are a couple ways to do it. First is with a tripod. Tripods can be purchased from your local camera shop in a variety of heights and prices. For mobility, I like the Gorilla Pod. They can easily hold your camera upright and steady and can be wrapped around a tree branch or set on a tabletop. Gorilla Pods now have a model with magnetic feet so you can easily attach it to anything metal.
If you don’t have access to a tripod, you can hold the cam- era steady for several minutes by simply doing the following.
So now you’re capturing video with better light and you’ve made it steady. Lastly, you’ll want to frame yourself to be more interesting.
The best way to do that is to break up the screen into a tic-tac-toe board of 9 equal rectangles. Put your eyes as close to the top line as possible. For more interesting look, capture yourself a little to the right or left of the middle of the screen and think about what you’re capturing in the background. Remember, the background tells a part of your story too. Refrain from putting your head in the center of the screen with a cluttered or uninteresting background.
How do I get better sound for my videos?
The short answer is, speak loudly and clearly and get closer when possible. If you’re shooting outdoors, watch for wind noise. A couple ways to stop wind noise is to use your body to block the wind or put your fingers next to the mic on the camera and shield the wind from blowing across or into it.
First things first... When you’re shooting video you need to keep two things in mind.
- Your video image
- Your sound
So how do I easily get great quality video captured? You start by being sure that you are recording in “landscape mode”. All this means is that your camera should NOT be capturing the video so the video is tall. Tall videos are considered “portrait mode” and they will play back that way too. We want to capture it wide 99% of the time.
Recording a tall/portrait video is great only for playback on another mobile device that people can turn sideways to watch it. Portrait videos uploaded to YouTube or websites will more than likely play back smaller and have a black area on both sides of your video. So, record in landscape mode. Next you want to make sure your subject is lit well. That can be as simple as making sure that the light falls on your subject on the front of them and not behind them. If the light is behind them, the camera will naturally adjust and make your subject darker than the background. This is called “backlight”.
How Much Light Is Enough?
Be sure that your subject is clearly defined. The less light you have, the more the camera will adjust artificially, thus making your video murky and grainy. The fastest way to improve your video quality is to be sure you have enough light. So, the after sunset videos or in dark indoor video will not turn out that well. If you’re indoors, and videoing yourself, be sure that you sit near a window with the window to your side or in front of you if possible – not to your back. If you can turn on lights, be sure to get as many on as you can.
When shooting outside, just make sure you’re not in direct sunlight; many times you’ll record harsh shadows on someone’s face or they will be squinting in the blinding sun. The best thing to do is record on an over- cast day or just step into a little shade. When in the shade just watch for back-light.
How do I hold my camera steady?
There are a couple ways to do it. First is with a tripod. Tripods can be purchased from your local camera shop in a variety of heights and prices. For mobility, I like the Gorilla Pod. They can easily hold your camera upright and steady and can be wrapped around a tree branch or set on a tabletop. Gorilla Pods now have a model with magnetic feet so you can easily attach it to anything metal.
If you don’t have access to a tripod, you can hold the cam- era steady for several minutes by simply doing the following.
- Hold the camera with both hands out in front of you grip- ping the camera with your hands each in a “C” shape.
- Relax your shoulders and arms and rest your elbows on your torso.
So now you’re capturing video with better light and you’ve made it steady. Lastly, you’ll want to frame yourself to be more interesting.
The best way to do that is to break up the screen into a tic-tac-toe board of 9 equal rectangles. Put your eyes as close to the top line as possible. For more interesting look, capture yourself a little to the right or left of the middle of the screen and think about what you’re capturing in the background. Remember, the background tells a part of your story too. Refrain from putting your head in the center of the screen with a cluttered or uninteresting background.
How do I get better sound for my videos?
The short answer is, speak loudly and clearly and get closer when possible. If you’re shooting outdoors, watch for wind noise. A couple ways to stop wind noise is to use your body to block the wind or put your fingers next to the mic on the camera and shield the wind from blowing across or into it.
The best scenario for recording audio on the road is choosing a time
when it is very quiet and low wind noise. Indoors is much better for
audio since you have a better chance controlling the noises.
With all of that said, when in doubt hit record. Don’t wait for conditions to be perfect. The best kept secret with world-famous photographers and filmmakers is that they shoot A LOT of video – 99% never is seen – and their best shots are carefully edited and improved before they let the public see them.
Now go out and start capturing more video! You’ll never regret taking a shot – even if it didn’t turn out perfect.
Great, I captured some video, how do I share it?
Once you capture your video, upload it to YouTube and share it with friends, family or put it on your blog for the world to see. It’s free and it’s easy to do. Instead of sending a video as an attachment, it is easier to share a link and let YouTube take care of the big file. Plus, a lot of large video attachments get rejected from email servers. Linking to videos is the best way – you can link to videos that are over an hour long and it doesn’t take any time to ‘send’ it in your email.
You’ll need to first go to YouTube.com and set up your free account. Once you have the account, you can begin to upload your videos to YouTube from your laptop or from your mobile device in a Wi-Fi area.
Once your video is uploaded online, you can choose to make it “public” for the world to see or “unlisted” for the few that you want to share the link with.
Below your video on your video’s page, you will see the sharing options. Easily share your video on Facebook, Twitter, Email it or even copy a few lines of code and paste it into your blog!
There you have it! Now you know how to capture better video, better audio and get your videos online and sharable with friends, family and even the entire world for free!
For much more on creating videos with a focus on entrepreneurial and marketing videos with simple tools, visit http://ExpertVideoEmpire.com/free and get 5 videos and a PDF guide that shows you how to get the best video out of your iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices.
With all of that said, when in doubt hit record. Don’t wait for conditions to be perfect. The best kept secret with world-famous photographers and filmmakers is that they shoot A LOT of video – 99% never is seen – and their best shots are carefully edited and improved before they let the public see them.
Now go out and start capturing more video! You’ll never regret taking a shot – even if it didn’t turn out perfect.
Great, I captured some video, how do I share it?
Once you capture your video, upload it to YouTube and share it with friends, family or put it on your blog for the world to see. It’s free and it’s easy to do. Instead of sending a video as an attachment, it is easier to share a link and let YouTube take care of the big file. Plus, a lot of large video attachments get rejected from email servers. Linking to videos is the best way – you can link to videos that are over an hour long and it doesn’t take any time to ‘send’ it in your email.
You’ll need to first go to YouTube.com and set up your free account. Once you have the account, you can begin to upload your videos to YouTube from your laptop or from your mobile device in a Wi-Fi area.
Once your video is uploaded online, you can choose to make it “public” for the world to see or “unlisted” for the few that you want to share the link with.
Below your video on your video’s page, you will see the sharing options. Easily share your video on Facebook, Twitter, Email it or even copy a few lines of code and paste it into your blog!
There you have it! Now you know how to capture better video, better audio and get your videos online and sharable with friends, family and even the entire world for free!
For much more on creating videos with a focus on entrepreneurial and marketing videos with simple tools, visit http://ExpertVideoEmpire.com/free and get 5 videos and a PDF guide that shows you how to get the best video out of your iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices.
