Video production is a delicate form of visual art. Apart from filmmaking skills, it also takes into account the intricacies and techniques of producing shots and sewing them together to create an impactful story.
A well thought out video production results in a high-quality video output, which is what every budding filmmaker has to work on—whether creating a video for your university project, making a video marketing campaign for your business, or simply brushing up you skills as an amateur cinematographer.
Taking these reminders to heart helps you create high-quality video output that’s sure to impress your audience. With constant practice, it may even help an amateur videographer to become the next filmmaker to watch out for.
Check out the following tips to create top-notch quality videos for your next project:
Have All the Equipment You Need
You can only do so much with sub-par video-making tools. So, make sure you have the right tools to create a high-quality video. Apart from a video camera being an obvious need, your starter kit should also include the following:
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- Camera lights
- Tripod
- Three-point lighting kit
- Boom pole
- Shotgun microphone
- Audio cables
- Shock mount
- Portable digital audio recorder
- Headphones
- Light Reflector
- Extra Batteries
When tasked to come up a one-time high-quality video production, it may not be practical to invest in these pieces of equipment. Instead, consider hiring reputable video production companies such as Monster & Bear video production Australia to address your need.
If you’re not quite ready for a mid-budget video production project, you can make use of your smartphones and other gadgets on hand. Choose a mobile phone camera that’s capable of getting high-resolution video footage, turn on the overlay grid on your phone screen, get some external lighting tools, and an external microphone before shooting your video.
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Focus on Getting the Perfect Lighting
Lightning can make or break your goal of creating cinematic-quality videos. With the right illumination techniques, you can change the mood of your shots, which can greatly help your storytelling goals. Invest in a three-point lighting setup if you can, as this can effectively focus on your subjects in various angles.
You’ll need to set up lights efficiently to prevent unwanted shadows from appearing in your video footages. In the same vein, professional-looking videos can be achieved by planning your shots and lighting well. Specific shots can be achieved with appropriate lighting. Hence, depending on the effect you wish to have, let the proper lighting setup do the trick.
If you don’t have an ideal lighting arrangement and plan to use natural or ambient light, adjust your shots to convey the appropriate emotions and mood.
Avoid placing strong and direct light sources toward your subject, as this can negatively impact your shot’s brightness and contrast, resulting in too much reflection and an overall weird-looking shot. Your production design can also make your video production more cinematic.
Proper Framing and Composition
Videography involves arranging all the visual components of a shot and using them appropriately to convey a story or send a powerful message. The Rule of Thirds helps you achieve this goal, all the time.
The Rule of Thirds technique involves the cameraman dividing the shot in three equal portions both horizontally and vertically, then placing the subject off-center. In more concrete terms, try placing your subject’s head on the higher portion of the center frame. And, always have a foreground and a background to conjure depth within a shot.
By doing this, the filmmaker draws the audience towards the top-left anchor point, which can be made the main point of interest in your shot. The Rule of Thirds almost always results in an overall aesthetically attractive shot, something that a centered shot could not replicate.
Choose Appropriate Camera Angles
Camera placements can affect your shots, too. As a videographer, you must always be aware of the focal length of your camera lenses and your camera’s distance from the subject, as these can make or break the type of shot you intend to take. For instance, if you’re aiming for a close-up shot, don’t place your camera close to your subject to prevent facial distortions and editing challenges post-video production. What you can do is place the camera about two feet away from the subject and zoom in.
If you’re making a horror film, mixing your camera angles and choosing the right musical score for your movie go hand in hand.
Play with the Camera’s White Balance
This camera setting is responsible for adjusting the camera’s color sensitivity to adapt to the prevailing light color. For instance, outdoor light can give off a bluish tone, while indoor light tends to be reddish. Fluorescent light is typically green. Adjusting your camera’s white balance allows camera operators to play well with the exact lighting used.
Manually setting your camera’s white balance is more important if you’re using more than one camera in shooting your scenes, as it creates a more uniformed look. Applying the same color correction and temperature settings all throughout the video production stages can save you time and costs in the editing and post-production processes.
However, take note that, as a videographer, you can play with your white balance settings to create dramatic, thrilling or periodic and vintage scenes as well. Hence, while adjusting all your cameras’ white balance is essential, you may also play with them to create the vibe you wish to portray in your shots.
Use A Tripod
There are a host of shooting methods you can use for your film: panning, zooming in and out, or taking a crane shot, among other techniques. However, shooting for several hours can take a toll on the videographer’s physical capacities to keep the camera steady.
Whatever the kind of shot a particular scene calls for, it’s necessary to prevent your camera from shaking, and this is where a reliable and sturdy tripod comes into action. If you don’t want to use a tripod regularly, look for a flat surface to mount your camera on. Avoid moving the camera frequently to avoid a shaky shot from ruining your scenes.
Get Familiar with Various Cinematic Techniques
Adjusting your camera placements and settings, as well as proper lighting, can enhance your shots. Complement these with your knowledge and application of cinematic techniques, and you’re in for a great video production. There’s a wide range of cinematic methods to choose from: bird’s-eye shot, long, extremely long shots, medium and close-up shots, over the shoulder shots, point-of-view or first-person shots, among a few others. These camera shots are aimed at conveying different messages to your audience.
Your imagination and creativity are the only limits in making use of these techniques, so you have a free hand in choosing what works best for your scenes. You’re not obliged to use all of these strategies in your video production, though. For best results, choose a few methods that works best with your storytelling goals.
The Final Cut
Being good at filmmaking requires you to be good at storytelling. With the mix of the right tools, skills, and creativity, an amateur will be able to create cinematic-quality videos capable of conveying powerful messages to the audience. While it will take time to perfect the craft, always remember to shoot your scenes in different angles so that you can choose the best shot. Make the best out of your shots, as there are specific elements in your videos that cannot simply be rectified even by a highly-powerful video editing software.