Lights. Camera. Act Like You Know What You’re Doing.

Today many phones, webcams and most digital cameras are capable of taking a decent video. Yep, you read that right, I said “decent.” While decent isn’t the same quality as a professional video, it might be what your business needs depending on your brand and the intent of your video. For the purposes of this Monday Marketing Minute blog, we’ll assume decent is what you need.

6 Tips for Recording a Decent Digital Video

1. Plan Ahead. Professionals “story board” their videos, write a script and scout locations. You may not need to go to those lengths, but you should pick out a setting for recording your video, think about the shots you’d like to include and write down the points you need to cover.

2. Clean Up & Quiet Down. Make arrangements to have the location spruced up before you start filming so there’s no trash or clutter in the background of your shot. Notify anyone who might be in that area when you will be filming and let them know you’ll need quiet for a specific length of time.

3. Check Your Batteries & Memory. You don’t want to get started and discover your batteries are almost dead or that you’ve run out of space on your hard drive or memory card. Check your batteries and memory ahead of time.

4. Light It Up. As is true with photography, if you’re filming outside during the day, it’s best to have your subject face the sun. When the primary light source is behind them, the backlighting can make the subject appear dark. If filming at night or inside, make sure you have enough light to be able to see your subject on the video.

5. Keep It Steady. One of the best ways to improve the quality of your video is to buy, rent or borrow a tripod. Making the viewer motion sick with a jumpy video isn’t likely to close any sales. Unless you’re filming a horror flick, the steadier your shot, the better the video. Try to keep your subject in the center of your screen.

6. Sound Off. Don’t rely on your camera’s microphone to capture the sound for your video. For one thing, it will likely pick up the sound of you zooming in and out and other distracting noises. Call your local rental store to see if they have an external microphone you can rent (while you’re at it, you could check on renting lights and a tripod, too). Or maybe your local college, high school or church would be willing to loan you something.

Following these six tips will set you up for success in filming your digital video. If you have other helpful suggestions, we’d love to hear them. Please share your ideas by leaving a comment.