How to Make a Professional Looking Video
If you’ve been thinking about adding video to your website or entering a video contest read or listen to this.
Lisa B. Marshall
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How to Make a Professional Looking Video
Last week I talked about how to create good video content, today I’d like to focus on the nitty-gritty details of actually making the video. That is, how can you can quickly and easily make a professional-looking video without hiring a video professional.
How to Make A Professional Looking Video
The technology for creating reasonably good videos has finally turned the corner. It’s now easy, even for the technology impaired, to create something that will impress your friends, prospects, and perhaps even contest judges.
What Tools Do You Need For Making a Professional Looking Video?
To make a quick video (this is the one time I don’t really want to say “quick and dirty” video!) of course you’ll need a camcorder. Today many companies offer high-quality camera that are small, somewhat inexpensive, and very easy to use. The top three cameras in this category are the very popular Cisco Flip MinoHD, the Kodak Zi8 HD, and the Creative Vado HD (Third Generation).
My advice is that if you want something very simple, use the Flip Mino. If you want to be able to use an external microphone (and you do want that) then go for either the Kodak Zi8 or the Creative Vado HD. If you want removable storage, then go for the Kodak Zi8. (Oh, and don’t forget to get yourself a tripod so that you can be sure the camera doesn’t shake when you shoot.)
How to Make a Video with Good Sound Quality
As I just hinted, one of the most important parts of a good video is excellent sound. In fact, viewers will tolerate poor video quality but if the sound is bad, they’ll just stop watching. Good sound quality is essential, so in addition to your camera and tripod, you’ll need an external microphone (for tips on using it, see my episode about proper microphone use).
Borrow or buy a lavalier lapel microphone. You can get one from Radio Shack for about $25 or you can spend a little more to get a better one from Darren over at Giant Squid Audio lab. If you are planning on making several videos, especially ones that include voice-overs (or recording podcasts like this one), you’ll likely want to spend a bit more money to get a better USB microphone–or perhaps even splurge on a really good condenser microphone and a mixer.
I recently purchased a USB Blue Yeti to use as my daily microphone and I really like it. It’s got good sound quality and it’s very versatile. I also have a Shure SM58 Microphone and small mixer that I use for recording this show. The money you invest in a good microphone is directly returned to you in terms of overall quality of the sound. So if you’re going to spend extra money on only one thing, spend it on a quality microphone.
How to Make a Video with Good Lighting
After sound, the next most important technical aspect of your video is good lighting. Outdoor lighting is best. Shoot during the early morning hours or the late day when the sun is low–that always provides good lighting.
During the day, if you need to shoot indoors, you can get a good wash of light over your face by sitting directly in front of a window. I record video interviews in front of a double window. Of course, at night, you’ll need plenty of light. I have extra lights in my home office that I use just for shooting video. You can also buy professional lighting if you want. I just bought a few different types of inexpensive lamps from Ikea; they seem to work fine, but then again, I shoot most of my interview videos during the day.
Use an Uncluttered Background
The next thing to consider is your framing. Be sure your subject is the main item of interest in the frame. Look in the background to be sure you don’t have any clutter or distracting items that will draw attention away from the subject. A plain background is best; forget sitting in front of a painting or next to a fancy car.
If you want to get a bit tricky and experiment with special effects, you can shoot in front of an inexpensive green screen, which will then allow you to later insert different backgrounds into your video. I know one person who painted a wall in his office using special green screen paint and he just shoots video in front of that wall. I thought that was a great idea, but that’s a bit advanced and doesn’t really fall into the quick and dirty category!
Which Websites Can Help You Make Videos?
So once you’ve got your tools and have shot your pictures and your short video clips, it’s time to put the video together into a final product. This is where things have really changed over the past few years. The great news is that there are now very easy to use web-based services that allow you to upload your short video clips and photos, and then add music, and text. Right now, the most popular, established (and artistic by the way) website for making videos is Animoto.com. For business Stupeflix is search engine friendly (videos are indexed in search engines based on content as opposed to just the title and keywords). A new contender, Flixtime just released some new features (including voice over) that makes it very competitive, if not better than Animoto. I just tried this service out for the first time this past week.
The best part of all of these services is that they very skillfully blend and synchronize everything into a very professional looking final product. You don’t have to be a professional editor because the services automatically mix and remix for you! The results are quite impressive. (If you’ve never seen a video made this way, check out the video my family made recently for a video contest.)
How to Choose Music for a Video
When choosing music, think about the theme of your video. The music should match the theme. For example, if you want something high-energy, choose fast music with lots of variation. If you want something romantic, then choose slower-moving music. Some of the websites mentioned above include a music library to choose songs from and all of them allow you to upload your own music. (Just be careful you’re not using copyrighted music.)
How to Add Text to Videos
When adding text, the key is to be brief and conversational. Don’t think of the text as formal titles in a slide presentation. Instead, think of it as a way to talk directly to the viewer, as if you are having a one-on-one conversation. The font choices are still limited and the layout is still limited, so if you want more flexibility (and you have the time) you can develop more creative text by using presentation software.
So there you have it: some quick and dirty tips for easily and quickly creating a professional looking video. I recently read on a Dan Perez’s website that more than 90% of Internet users prefer watching a video to reading an article. If that’s true, then it seems clear that all of us are going to need these tips to create professional looking videos—whether for our websites, for corporate use, or even just for entering contests.
This is, Lisa B. Marshall, The Public Speaker. Passionate about communication, your success is my business.
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If you have a question, send email to publicspeaker@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email. For information about keynote speeches or workshops, visit lisabmarshall.com.
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About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.