Web Video for Business – Tips for Filming Web Video

In an ideal world wed all be using professional web video producers to create film for our websites, blogs or YouTube channels. Thats not an option for many of us (simply because of budget), but we do have mobile phones and digital cameras at our disposal. Its easy to pull out a camera or smartphone, make a video and upload it, but here are a few tips for filming web video that will save you time and improve your videos.

The first thing toremember is your video is likely to be viewed at a small scale. Most videos are not filmed at a high enough resolution to make them watchable full screen and many of us view films on our mobile devices on small screens anyway. With this in mind,try to think larger than life when you plan your video. Dont include tiny details that are going to be difficult to see. The best videos are those that are simple, straightforward and get their message across without faddy gimmicks. If you need to write or draw, do it on a large white board rather than a small piece of paper, so that it will be decipherable even when viewed on a phone screen.

Ever watched a video and seen it pixellate? Of course you have. The more complex your video, the more bandwidth the viewers device needs to have available to stream it properly. So if you wear that highly patterned shirt you love and stand in front of a stripy background theres an awful lot of detail to be transmitted, even before you start talking. Keep it simple stand in front of a white background if at all possible, and wear plain, preferably dark colours.

For the same reason,keep movement to a minimum in your video. Movement creates more engagement, but be careful how much you put into the video. Movement requires extra bandwidth and if youre pacing around, viewers with slower internet connections are likely to experience issues with bandwidth and pixellation. Keep the camera as still as you can use a tripod!If you need to move around then make your movements fluid and smooth. Jerky movements will look even more jerky on a slow connection!

It is possible to mount your camera on a tripod and film yourself,try and find someone to help you. Many hours have been lost because someone moved outside the frame, or had the top of their head cut off, or the lighting was wrong, and they didnt notice till after theyd completed the filming! Having someone else there to monitor the screen and give you feedback is a very wise decision!

Finally, you also need togive some thought to the lightingin the area where youre filming. Spotlights can cause huge issues as the camera will struggle to set the contrast properly, and youll end up with very bright areas, very dark areas and streaks of light. Film your video outdoors or in a well-lit room natural light is best but if you do need artificial light, try to evenly light a large area.

If you need help and assitance for both filiming and pulling together content that will really sell online, check out my Web Video for Business page.