Are you a Vlogger trying to make some professional-looking videos at home, without having any professional equipment? Then here’s a guide for you to learn absolute video-making tips for beginners with 4 'basic' accessories. Can you guess what they could be?
Vlogging or video making is one of the most popular mediums to get engaged with the public, and an excellent channel to showcase your talents or skills. Also, it's one of the most wanted and admired methods used for your brand's business marketing and publicity.
As per the survey, an average person spends more time watching videos online than reading text or looking at images. In fact, in 2016, videos or vlogs accounted for 72% of all online traffic, which proposes that there is a high probability for a person watching videos while being on the internet, isn’t it interesting?
Besides, it’s the most popular content to consume. The reason, 1 it's so much easy to learn from a video than text, 2nd it*’s the most powerful and versatile medium to communicate with the audience and convey your message while easily keeping them engaged.
This is why video-making apps are creating a lot of hype on social media. Youngsters, especially teenagers are highly influenced by such channels and want to shine as a Vlogger or influencer.
But the only thing that keeps them pushing back from exhibiting their skills and talents is their ability to create professional video
How to Make A Perfect Video?
The biggest dream of every Vlogger and influencer is to create a perfect and professional-looking video. For this reason, many Youtubers or TikTokers spend a fortune on buying professional and latest tools to make their video look Just Right. High tech cameras, stands, microphones, studio lights, and whatnot; they arrange everything to achieve their place in the vast world of Vlogging, and to be honest, it's important.
For example, the first thing we see (or get to see) in any video is its picture quality, lighting effects, and direction. Who would watch a poor quality, dull and shaky video? Certainly no one, right. So, it is very necessary to know how to make the best and flawless video.
Achieving a professional look in videos is more about your technique than your tools, which means you don’t need to spend a fortune on high-tech professional equipment. Even without them, your chances are good that you can make great videos with whatever you have in your hand right now. Thrilled? Want to know how you can create those smooth, high-quality videos at home without having those thousand dollars gadgets in your backpack?
Read the blog below to learn some amazing video tricks and tips to achieve that professional look with just 4 basic accessories.
Accessories To Create Pro-Videos:
For this tutorial, you are going to need 3 things and some artistic approach, which is compulsory. The items you need include:
- A Latest Mobile Phone (for better results iPhone or Oppo would be great)
- A Tripod
- Any lighting equipment
- Clear Background
- Latest Mobile Phone: Here, I’m going to start with the most important element; a mobile phone. Yes, you can make nice videos without a DSLR, or GoPro by only using a nice, high-quality mobile camera.
- A Tripod
This is my favorite stuff, to be honest. They hold your device at a place, let them operate you handsfree, and also help to maintain the required distance from your camera. Few types of tripods are hit amongst influencers.
Some of them are flexible UFO tripods, ring light tripods, and tabletop tripods, which have the huge consumer’s attention. These are the types that are portable, easy to carry, and not expensive as a professional setup.
You can choose tripods according to your requirements. For example, if you are a makeup vlogger, a tabletop tripod would be ideal.
- Clean, Pastel Background:
Nothing can make your videos look more annoying and less professional than a messy, distracting background.
One easy and quick way to get a professional look for your videos is to use solid, pastel colors. It can be anything in a solid color like a curtain, backdrop, or bedsheet. You can also make the video in front of any solid-colored wall of your house.
Whatever you use as a background make sure it is clean and does not have distracting colors. Also, make sure your subject stands several feet away from the background.
- Plenty of Light:
The most important factor which can make any video look exciting or boring straight away is lighting. It makes all the difference in the quality of any professional video so make sure you use plenty of light while filming your content. If you don’t use enough light, your video would look amateurish or even cheap, even if your content is high-quality. Yes, it's light that creates all the magic.
Now for this, I’m not asking you to get professional studio lights or something. Things like a vanity light, high-illuminance LED lights, or a ring light tripod would do just great.
Check how to set up a ring light tripod for best effects
You can also set up your equipment in the broad daylight to make use of sunlight as well. While filming in natural light, try to shoot your footage in the evening or early morning when the light is soft. The light in the mid-afternoon can be really hard and can cast harsh shadows on your subject.
Now, these are the things that you need to make a perfect vlog. So, make a start. Set up your mobile phone camera on a tripod, in front of an appealing background with lots of light. You are all ready, time to learn some techniques.
Tips to Make Your Videos Look More Professional
The most important thing after your video quality; your AUDIO quality. People would even agree to watch a poor quality, grainy video somehow, as long as everything about it is good. But fuzzy, indistinct audio is enough to make anybody hit the ‘back’ button and check out for better versions.
Indeed, clear crisp audio is what makes your video more appealing and worthy to watch.
For that, you can use your general headphones, placed properly near to your mouth. Or a lav mic would also do good. It would get attached to your shirt easily and would provide you with hands-free support. No matter what you use, make sure to keep the audio device near the subject.
Another important aspect! Shaky videos look highly amateurish and sloppy and make your audience feel sick and bored. To be honest, whenever I look at a shaky video it makes my head spin, and the first thing I do is to close it, no matter how interesting the caption is there. If you don’t want viewers to do the same with your video, please avoid shaky footage.
Now for this of course we made a setup with a tripod to avoid this shakiness, but some people do not keep tripods on a sturdy surface, which results in shaky footage and even in some cases falls off the camera tripod. Bad right, especially while shooting LIVE.
Once you’ve got your cam set up, try not to move it unless it's necessary. Swinging the camera around constantly not only annoys the audience but also detracts from the professional look of your video. Still, it is suggested to use high-quality editing software to edit any glitches or issues that might appear ugly or bad.
Lights, Camera, Sound – Everything looks great and good to go! But what about action? Yes, the basic thing on which everything is based. I saw many professional-looking videos getting very few likes or shares despite having good and informative content. Why? Because they worked on everything except their camera presence.
The way you carry yourself around the camera lends a big impression on your videos. Appearing nervous, shaky, or confused will distract your viewers. Here are a few things you can do to improve your on-camera presence.
Smile – Makes you look friendly and confident.
Keep a calm body posture – Stand or sit however you are comfortable with, keep your shoulders back and your muscles relaxed.
Friendly Tone – Try to speak slow and clear. (not too slow or loud). Make an effort to pronounce words clearly, to let your audience know exactly what you are trying to say. Use easy and casual words as not everyone has time to Google what you said.
Be confident – Last and the most important element. Be confident in what you are doing. Believe in your words. Remember, you know your job well and you are here to teach or tell others something they don’t know or haven’t seen before. Be confident and love yourself, it’s the key.
Final Notes:
Vlogging or video making is an absolute art. It’s not about expensive equipment or fancy tools, it's about skills and techniques. And if you have that flare in you, you can make a high-quality professional video with just a few common things easily.
If you are in search of some high-tech accessories on a budget, then Petals is just your place. Our high-quality tripods, ring lights, and other advanced gadgets are something that would help you make all types of videos absolutely hassle-free. We are indeed your best choice for high-tech accessories in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK.