Katie’s Down and Dirty Guide to Clean Video on a Smart Phone

Many of us know that doing video is an important aspect to our social media strategy, but it just seems so hard and daunting! We may be able to present in front of a big group, but the thought of speaking alone to a camera is… well, scary. We think so because it’s an unknown; we don’t know how to take good video, we worry about needing to edit it etc etc…

Not to fear! It’s easier than you think!

1. Check the lighting. By a window will most likely give you your best and easiest light.
2. Check the sound. Do you hear anything in the background? Is there a lot of wind? Is an air conditioner/ furnace blowing? Can you close a door? Audio doesn’t have to be perfect, but many would argue that it’s even more imperative than the video itself! If it makes sense, buy a cheap lav mic to plug into your phone.
3. Steady… Video devices do not smooth out motion like our eyes and brain combo do when we move our head side to side. If you start waving your phone around while filming, we, the audience, will get sick and probably stop watching. Whether using your hand, a selfie stick or a tripod, just hold still as best as you can.
4. Hold your arm/tripod/selfie stick slightly above your face, getting your whole face in the shot. You’ve seen it before, when tourists and teenage girls take their selfies, it’s always holding the phone slightly higher than eye level and taking the photo from a downward angle – this gives a more flattering view of yourself than does holding your phone  head on or worse, below your chin (can anyone say “double chin”? or in my case, “triple”… )
5. Now that you’re holding it above you, flip that phone! Unless of course you are doing something live, the conventional way is still to have a horizontal image. The winds ARE changing and it is not a deal breaker if you keep your phone vertical (there is something to be said about the shotgun feel of a vertical video) but on the whole, keep it landscape.

Decent light, decent sound, steady film, landscape and flattering view – can you handle that?

Good! Now go for it! These are 5 super simple techniques to get you STARTED with your video marketing (and you know, you may never even need to move past this!) but the key word here is “started”.

Keep inspiring!

Katie