Video Crash Course
Content
tips for
Creating Videos for the Web
CRASHCOURSE
Robert Voigt Planner, Artist, Blogger. [email protected] www.twitter.com/robvoigt civicblogger.blogspot.com
Join the online video revolution! Videos can be a s t r o n g engagement and promotional tool for your organization, and community. You don’t need a fancy camera or v i d e o professional to be effective. Follow the simple points of this Crash Course for creating effective videos to showcase your projects and e n g a g e stakeholders and citizens alike.
ONE POINT Don’t be too ambitious, begin making video projects with a single point or message. You can always do more videos later. Think of it like a commercial, not a movie; less IS more. Too much content makes the videos longer, can overload viewers, and makes the project that much more difficult to complete. TWO MINUTES Keep first projects short and to the point, around two minutes long. Longer videos are less likely to be viewed, and less likely to be forwarded to others. Got more to say, make more videos; improving your skills and creating more product to support your work. This time more IS more. THREE SETS OF EYES Avoid the memory and personality black hole created when looking into a camera. Stage live action shots with a speaker; an interviewer; and, an observer - the camera. Have a conversation between the speaker and interviewer and capture personality, passion and excitement with the observer. ¯
Top10
Nam Liber Te Conscient To Factor
TELL THE STORY WITH NARRATION FIRST Avoid the difficulties with presenting to the camera, numerous takes, and lighting, and begin your journey into video production with narrated slide shows. This also allows greater control over video length, message clarity, and flexibility for the time and people involved in making the video. SOUND CHECK Although perhaps counter intuitive, sound quality trumps image quality for online videos due to the size and resolution of the screens that will be playing your videos. Invest in a good quality voice recorder, and/or microphone, and audio software to fix the basics such as volume levels and background noise. MIX IT UP As your skills improve, being interspersing your video slide shows with short takes of live action. This begins to make the presentation more personable and engaging; while still allowing you to use the slide show structure to keep the entire project focused and under control. ONE TAKE Do all live action in one take. If you mess up, pause, and move on. This avoids what I call camera fatigue; where you repeat the same script over again and again, only to drift off message and stumble at the same points. Edit the mistakes, add transitions between good takes and end up with a very viewable project. CUES For longer live action speeches use cue-cards or teleprompter. Don’t rely on your memory until you are really comfortable in front of the camera; you may be surprised about how much of a memory black hole is created when looking into the camera lens. Free online prompters are available. SET THE STAGE Create the environment that best fits your project and speaker. If your subject feels most natural at a podium or in a boardroom, then by all means shoot your video with laser pointer in hand or at the white board. A comfortable speaker will give you a far better project then one mesmerized by the camera lens. LAYERS As you get more advanced with the layout of your projects start overlapping sounds from one take, or image, to another. This slight detail adds a flow and pace that makes the project less choppy and more interesting to the viewer. With practice this technique can be used for surprise or as an introduction to elements.
ROBERT VOIGT
[email protected]
Creating Videos for the Web
CRASHCOURSE
Robert Voigt Planner, Artist, Blogger. [email protected] www.twitter.com/robvoigt civicblogger.blogspot.com
Join the online video revolution! Videos can be a s t r o n g engagement and promotional tool for your organization, and community. You don’t need a fancy camera or v i d e o professional to be effective. Follow the simple points of this Crash Course for creating effective videos to showcase your projects and e n g a g e stakeholders and citizens alike.
ONE POINT Don’t be too ambitious, begin making video projects with a single point or message. You can always do more videos later. Think of it like a commercial, not a movie; less IS more. Too much content makes the videos longer, can overload viewers, and makes the project that much more difficult to complete. TWO MINUTES Keep first projects short and to the point, around two minutes long. Longer videos are less likely to be viewed, and less likely to be forwarded to others. Got more to say, make more videos; improving your skills and creating more product to support your work. This time more IS more. THREE SETS OF EYES Avoid the memory and personality black hole created when looking into a camera. Stage live action shots with a speaker; an interviewer; and, an observer - the camera. Have a conversation between the speaker and interviewer and capture personality, passion and excitement with the observer. ¯
Top10
Nam Liber Te Conscient To Factor
TELL THE STORY WITH NARRATION FIRST Avoid the difficulties with presenting to the camera, numerous takes, and lighting, and begin your journey into video production with narrated slide shows. This also allows greater control over video length, message clarity, and flexibility for the time and people involved in making the video. SOUND CHECK Although perhaps counter intuitive, sound quality trumps image quality for online videos due to the size and resolution of the screens that will be playing your videos. Invest in a good quality voice recorder, and/or microphone, and audio software to fix the basics such as volume levels and background noise. MIX IT UP As your skills improve, being interspersing your video slide shows with short takes of live action. This begins to make the presentation more personable and engaging; while still allowing you to use the slide show structure to keep the entire project focused and under control. ONE TAKE Do all live action in one take. If you mess up, pause, and move on. This avoids what I call camera fatigue; where you repeat the same script over again and again, only to drift off message and stumble at the same points. Edit the mistakes, add transitions between good takes and end up with a very viewable project. CUES For longer live action speeches use cue-cards or teleprompter. Don’t rely on your memory until you are really comfortable in front of the camera; you may be surprised about how much of a memory black hole is created when looking into the camera lens. Free online prompters are available. SET THE STAGE Create the environment that best fits your project and speaker. If your subject feels most natural at a podium or in a boardroom, then by all means shoot your video with laser pointer in hand or at the white board. A comfortable speaker will give you a far better project then one mesmerized by the camera lens. LAYERS As you get more advanced with the layout of your projects start overlapping sounds from one take, or image, to another. This slight detail adds a flow and pace that makes the project less choppy and more interesting to the viewer. With practice this technique can be used for surprise or as an introduction to elements.
ROBERT VOIGT
[email protected]
