How to Make Videos Without Hiring a Professional

Video is the latest buzzword that is making online users go crazy with quirky, funny, entertaining, and informative content. Videos appeal to the short attention span of viewers effortlessly, engage them, and optimally drive them to do your bidding.

Business strategies can benefit immensely from deploying relevant, personalized, and brand-oriented videos.

However, shooting and subsequent editing of good-quality videos require the technical expertise of a professional. What if you want to make videos without seeking professional intervention?

Makes Professional Looking Videos With Amazing Ease 

You can proficiently create videos that may make professionals go green with envy by following some proven tips discussed below. This way, you can save a lot of money which can be subsequently invested in growing your brand.

Let’s get started with how you can make videos on your own.

Get Together Necessary Equipment Needed For Shooting The Video

The first step in making attention-grabbing videos is to have all needful equipment read under one roof. You will need:

• Video camera with High-definition, Ultra-HD, or 4K support (preferably DSLR)
• Lenses that allow zooming, wide-angle capturing, etc.
• Tripod
• Light Reflectors
• Microphone
• Good video editor tool

If you are not comfortable handling a camera or running short of funds, you can also use a high-end smartphone with a high-megapixel camera.

Plan The Context and Theme of Video’s Content

Content matters more than video quality. Hence, you need to brainstorm over the video’s subject, flow, and thematic representation adequately.

Ill-conceived and poorly executed video content can distract viewers so much that they may become averse to your brand’s name. Content needs to reflect the aspirations of viewers and must proactively address their needs or expectations.

Set Up Your Video Shooting Equipment

You must place the camera or smartphone on stable support like a tripod to avoid unwanted movements or trembling.

The focus of the lens can get disturbed due to slight movements. This may make the video appear blurred, distorted, or grainy, which can compromise the quality of the outcome.

You can also prop up the smartphone against books or other solid support. 

Select An Appropriate Backdrop

Choose a suitable background that resonates well with your shoot’s objective, targeted audiences, and brand image. A proper background helps narrate your brand story credibly and convey the intended message strongly.

Your color palette should:

• complement the subject’s overall appearance and
• be consistent with your brand’s identity
• not contain glaring colors that can dazzle the audiences
• not be drab as this can bore viewers

Remove all distractive elements from the backdrop before shooting.

Use An Abundance Of Light

You may use artificial or natural light sources, but the ambient light should be aplenty. Some pointers to optimize the brilliance of light include:

• Never position your subject in front of the prime light source
• Shoot in cinematic and soft sunlight available during the evening or early morning
• Use clip or work lights in a strategic way to enhance the atmospherics
• Supplement brightness with additional sources of lighting, if needed

Focus on Audio Quality

The audio effect can be optimized by:

• Positioning the camera close to the subject
• Using a dedicated mike
• Shooting in a location where background noise is minimum
• Selecting a quiet and small place to avoid echo
• Turning off all noise-making appliances nearby
• Not covering the microphone while shooting with a smartphone

Present Yourself In Best Light

Your overall appearance will matter if you are directly addressing the audience. For this, make the smartphone or camera’s screen face you during recording.

You will be able to spot things that are out of place or which are ruining the video’s charm. This can be a crease on your shirt, ruffled hair, light reflection on eyeglasses, etc. Your cloth should have light patterns. Remove designer labels, texts, or marks from the cloth before shooting. You can use a good online video editor later to fix minor issues.

Use A Good Video Editor

Once your footages are ready, you will need a good video editor to refine the video and enhance its visual appeal with effects. Some of the features you can look for in good editing software are:

• Presence of customizable templates
• Ability to seamlessly blend audio, video, and images in a few clicks
• Provision of writing textual content on the video
• The capability of adding new colors, animation, and characters
• Large collection of stock images and audio
• Ability to design and add show-stopper video outros
• Packing the edited video in different presentable formats

Choose a video editor which is compatible with your needs and has features designed in a way that amateurs too can use them with ease. Get an overview of the editor’s functions by browsing through the help files that may come bundled up with the software or is available online.

Shoot In Smaller Parts

You can save energy and time during editing by filming in smaller segments. If something goes wrong, you can re-film the same multiple times till it is perfect.

When you intend to speak on a topic or explain something, you have to remember only a portion of the script.

You can convey the message in a clearer, concise and emphatic manner. The choppiness can be easily eliminated, and sound bites can be seamlessly inserted at desired locations.

Take Help From Online Resources

If you get stuck somewhere during the shooting of the video, you need not panic. There are plenty of quality resources available online that you can resort to for seeking guidance.

On YouTube, useful tips and tricks are shared by avid video makers regarding ways to shoot and edit videos proficiently.

You must:

• Be clear about the theme of your video
• Try to add maximum value to the viewers’ lives
• Steer clear of aggressive and deliberate marketing, although your aim is to trigger growth in sales
• Start with a test video, check its propriety, eliminate distractions, remove distorting elements, and then proceed with the shooting of the final video
• Have a script for ready reference
• Not beat around the bush and stay contextual
• Keep important points ready at hand so that your focus is not lost and the message retains its essence
• Keep adding variation to your tone with humor elements
• Not allow the video to become monotonous at any point in time

Being a pro is not child’s play. But, you can develop your competence in making spellbinding videos by striving hard.

Conclusion

You can now confidently shoot videos for engaging targeted audiences efficiently. Even if the initial results are not as compelling as you had expected, don’t lose heart. Keep practicing till you excel in this forte.

Video editing skills develop with time and experience. Soon, you will develop a hang for it and can figure out what will strike the right chord with viewers.

Remember, the attention span of potential viewers is less. Hence, focus on keeping the video short and dealing with the important points early in the video. Pack a punch in the video, so audiences sit back and consume the content.

Before concluding, request your viewers to comment, like, and share your video. Follow a strategy to make your video funny, immersive, addictive, and informative.