Don’t we all wish we could afford the best equipment, talent and props to come up with epic videos? But not everyone can afford top-class gear and solid cinematographers. But that’s okay because you can still come up with great quality DIY video content with just the basics.
Equipment and talent are great to have when coming up with videos for your brand, and hopefully we all get to the day we can afford the right tools. But you don’t have to wait until you can afford the best to have the best possible videos. Here are five essentials to coming up with the best DIY video you can possibly have at the most doable budget.
Video Shooting Techniques
The right knowledge trumps the best equipment any day. It doesn’t matter how expensive your set is if you don’t know film principles and techniques. That’s why talent can be expensive, but the best news is you can learn it yourself if you have the time. In fact, you can check out this course on how to make videos yourself and learn how to create awesome videos in the shortest time possible.
Good Quality Audio
Much of film is visual, but audio matters too. Nothing beats hearing the voice of actual humans when creating DIY videos so you want to make sure you have a good microphone to record voice and establishing audio. To sound professional as possible, it’s best to record audio separately. The good news is that you can score great audio recording equipment for very little cost. The Zoom H2, for example, is a great recorder and costs no more than $200.
Lighting
The most important element to well composed shots is your light source. When there’s too much or too little light, chances are your DIY video won’t look as professional as you’d like it to be. Most of the time, we can depend on natural or incandescent lighting to provide the right amount and ambience of light to get good shots. If you have a little extra to shell out, you can invest in some great battery-run lights as well. The best kind of light for shooting is LED.
Script and Shot Plan
A script will make you sound 100 times more professional than your competitor that just rabbits on, off the top of their head. Shot plans, a list of shots both primary and fill in shots, are just as important too. Scripts and shot plans are also great ways to save time and energy shooting and reshooting scenes once editing starts.
Use The Camera That You Have
I often tell clients that they should just start with what they have. While DSLRs are the best cameras to shoot video with (I personally like the Canon 5D Mark II), you can still make great videos with a digital camera or iPhone. The most important thing is that your shots are clear, well lighted, and shot in no less than 720×480 pixels.