1. Create a Storyboard and/or Shooting Script The b est marketing video don’t just happen – they’re a result of meticulous planning ...
1. Create a Storyboard and/or Shooting Script
The
best marketing video don’t just happen – they’re a result of meticulous planning and preparation.
Before you even
think about getting your camera equipment ready, consider putting a storyboard and shooting script together. Storyboarding helps you figure out exactly what shots you need before you start filming, and a
shooting script is like a screenplay for your video.
2. Prep Your Presenters or Interview Subjects
Make sure all your presenters or subjects know what’s expected of them beforehand to minimize mistakes or wasted time on the day of the shoot. You should have a good idea of what the finished product is going to look like long before you arrive at your location, and your presenters should know exactly what they’re doing.
3. Know What B-Roll Footage You Need
Planning to intersperse shots of your team hard at work into your video, or cut away from your presenter to other footage? Then you need what videography professionals call B-roll footage.
B-roll is essentially any footage that isn’t of your primary subject. If you’re filming an explainer video showcasing your software product, B-roll footage might include shots of satisfied customers using your product, or an external shot of your offices,
4. Avoid ‘Spotlighting’ Your Subject
Unless you’re filming a Broadway musical, you should probably avoid placing your subject in bright pools of direct light. Intense primary light sources can blow out the brightness and contrast of your shot and cause unflattering reflections on your subject. There are many different lighting techniques, each of which can be used to achieve a certain effect.
5. Shoot Multiple Takes
Even experienced presenters make mistakes, and the last thing you want is a situation in which you only have a single take of a crucial part of your marketing video.
6. Tidy Up Your Clips Before You Start Assembling the Rough Cut
When importing your footage into your editing program, clean up your clips as you import them. Most editing packages allow you to set “in” and “out” points for each clip, reducing their length by trimming out pauses, giggles, and false starts.
Editing the final sequence together using trimmed clips is a lot easier than adjusting each individual clip on the fly.
7. Always Cut ‘On the Action’
When editing a shot of someone doing something, make sure to cut to the next shot during the action that your subject is performing.
For example, if you’re editing together a sequence of someone opening a door before walking through it, cut to the shot of the subject opening the door at the precise moment the person turns the door handle. Cutting away before or after the action can look jarring and distract the viewer. You may not even have to worry about this, but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re working on a more ambitious video.
8. Assemble the Rough Cut Before Working Out Any Timing Issues
Once you’ve got all the clips you need imported into your editing program, it’s time to start actually putting the rough cut of your marketing video together.
9. Don’t Overdo It with Transitions and Effects
Unless you’re making a Star Wars parody video (which would be kind of awesome in a marketing context), don’t use radial wipe transitions – or star wipes, or any of the other “zany” effect presets that come with your editing software. The more attention to draw to your transitions and editing, the cheaper and more amateurish your video will look (and yet we still forgive George Lucas for this).
If you have to, use simple cross-fades to transition from one shot to another. Let your content do the talking, not your editing software.
10. Don’t Assume You Can Fix Everything in Post-Production
Editing packages such as Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro are extraordinarily powerful and enable you to accomplish a great deal with your videos, but they’re not magic.
Don’t assume that any and all problems with your video can be fixed in post-production. Sometimes, you simply won’t be able to correct the brightness or contrast of a shot as much as you need to, or manage to isolate a single person’s voice in a room crowded with hundreds of people. Yes, it might be possible given enough time and skill, but post-production should be seen as a process to add polish and finesse to your video, not an opportunity to go back and fix mistakes that could have been easily avoided during a properly planned shoot.
And … Cut!
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