Master The Art Of Videography

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a video worth?” It has been said that next to hunger and thirst, our next basic human need is for storytelling. Courtesy the exponential technological advancement in the digital sphere, film making, and videography has evolved as an independent art form that needs years and years of practice for one to master them.

Even though there are a million types of cameras and film making software, video graphing newbies are prone to making mistakes in their initial film-making ventures.

Here are a few tips that shall help you create effective videos and films

1. Don’t hoard unnecessary pieces of equipment

Film making has turned into a successful professional because of the easy accessibility of high-tech cameras and film making instruments. Although, in the initial stage you do not need to purchase too much equipment. One can easily create striking videos and films with nothing but a smartphone camera, provided you use the back camera for recording. You can use the YouTube movie maker to create stunning short films and videos. Ensure that you record content in the landscape mode, i.e horizontally.

For professional videography, the other two essential equipment you need is a gimbal stabilizer for steadier hand held shots and an external microphone for clear voice quality.

2. Establish a storyboard

“A video without a storyboard is like a house without a foundation.” Everything you show through videos needs to be strategized and systematically thought through. The digital space today gives you a platform to tell your story and a video is nothing but a story in motion. You must understand the composition of your audience and only then produce content. Before you call for a shooting session, you must first establish a storyboard. It must consist of all scenes and detailed descriptions about the scenes like scheduled time and location. Your plot must be decided before the shooting begins for a systematic film making experience. You can then schedule shoots accordingly and create small segments at a time so that it’s easy to edit.

3. Subject placement and frames

You must always place your subject in the center of the frame so that it is not undermined by the other props and elements of the background. You must ensure that the individual or object in the frame is in focus. If you zoom in and are forced to cut the object or person in focus, always crop from the top and not the bottom. The video maker allows you to create movie-style videos and customize the duration and look of your video from start to end.

4. Experiment with angles

You can create striking videos and films without putting in too much hard work by simply recording footage from various angles and perspectives. It is also pivotal that you portray the density in your scenes through effective cinematography skills. One thing that videographers must keep in mind is that you must not rely on editors but try to create more surreal videos by recording aesthetically appealing videos. A graphic designer or editor shall be able to rectify your video, not recreate it. Thus, always leave minimal work for your video editor. If your footage is high-resolution and doesn’t need to be furnishing, you can simply use various online video-makers to create a movie out of raw footage by stitching them together and applying basic transitions and effects.

5. Lights and sound

Lights and sound are two pillars of your movie that justify its quality and decide how well it’ll do on media platforms. These two factors add life to your video and shape the story in an impactful way. It is always advisable to use natural light for your shoots even if you aren’t economically restricted. If your scenes are to be shot with artificial light, make sure to control the exposure on the focus of the frame. Over-exposed or under-exposed light settings can drastically ruin the overview of your video.

Adding sound to your video is the next big step. A video without sound is incomplete and lifeless. You can browse through a diverse range of background music before making a pick. Every scene in your video can have a different piece of background music that resonates with the mood of your scene. Ensure that the sound quality used in your video is up to the mark and easy to comprehend. Your voice-overs must always fall in sync with your videos for a professional-looking outcome.

6. Share your video

After your video is ready to be shared, you must first carry out a quick hygiene check for possible errors and video overlapping. You can then use various social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other OTT platforms to showcase your video. To increase the visibility of your video, you must strategize a social media outreach that shall garner a higher audience engagement rate.