What should or need to be taken into account when starting to shoot a video? Below are tips that you can use to prepare for the situation and act during filming. You can’t remember everything at once, but it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the list. With repetition, this observation eventually begins to become routine.

Despite everything, sometimes something goes wrong, but don’t get discouraged, just try again one more time. If you make changes at the shooting location, always make a small test video before the actual filming to make sure that the final product is of high quality.

Plan

• Plan your video before you start shooting. Clear goals bring certainty to action.
• Remember who and why you are making the video.
• If you notice that the plan doesn’t quite work, adapt. It is easier to adapt the plan when you already know what you are aiming for in the video.
• If you use scripted spikes, try speaking the spikes out loud before filming. Do they feel natural when you speak them? Even high-quality text on paper does not always sound natural to the ear.

Dressing

• Do not wear clothes with narrow stripes. Narrow stripes cause a flickering moiré effect in the video.
• Avoid bright colors when dressing. If you can’t get help with the lighting, you can, for example, black and white against the face, you can make an unnecessarily strong contrast with the face and clothing with the lighting.
• Put on the clothes you feel comfortable in, and you’ll be comfortable and relaxed. Also identify the target audience: is there a reason to dress more formally, but just as comfortably?
• Powder can reduce the shine of the skin.
• Note the shoes. Footwear can cause unnecessary noise in the video. Hear whether your interest rates are changing – high or low.
• When filming, remove key lanyards and such. The keys jingle easily on video if you move behind the camera as well.

Selection of shooting location

Background noise/noise

• The sound quality of the video is even more important to the viewer than the image quality.
• Try to find a quiet space, if you don’t want background noise or other sound for the video. Take a moment to listen to the room: does the air conditioning, for example, produce a loud hum in the background, can the conversation in the next room be heard through the wall?
• The viewer of the video begins to listen to the background sound sensitively, and this takes away the power of the video itself. Loud noise is also difficult to remove afterwards. However, consider whether it is still worth changing rooms.
• Close the doors and windows of the premises. Make sure no one interrupts you.
• Wind: when filming outdoors, even a small wind can cause disturbing sound to the video. Processing the sound of the video afterwards will never produce as good a final result as producing a higher quality video material. In the video, tips to improve the situation (Youtube instruction video, duration 03:07)
• Take into account possible reflections of light and sound from surfaces, such as windows.
• If you’re using separate mics, check the camera’s decibel meter to make sure Mickey’s sounds are working.

Lighting

• Avoid the light source/sun behind your back.
  • Because of the backlight, nothing but a dark figure is likely to be recorded on the video. In the sharp contrast between shadow and light, details disappear.
• Lights directed directly from above and below also create sharp, awkward shadows on the face.
• Turn towards the light. Prefer soft, bright general light. If necessary, check how the lighting looks in the video.
• Make sure there are no flashing ceiling lights in the room (fluorescent tubes and some LED lights may appear flashing to the camera).

Background and angles

• Check that your background is free of fuzzy clutter. Neat if needed. In this way, the attention is drawn to the desired things in the video.
  • However, background elements can sometimes enrich a video, and sometimes white walls just feel boring.
  • Check the video to see how you look against the background. Do you stand out from the background, is the viewer’s gaze focused on you, or on the background?
  • Do not stick to the background to create the impression of depth.
• Test the viewing angles. It is not necessarily interesting to appear right in the middle of the picture. The viewer naturally pays attention to the points of the golden ratio. Test what works.
• The height of the camera affects the proportions a lot.
  • A camera pointing sharply from above or below distorts the proportions.
• Use a tripod or even put the camera on a flat surface.
  • When the camera is on its tripod, you should adjust the height so that it is at least at the same level as the subject to be photographed, if possible even slightly higher than the subject(s).
  • Make sure the camera’s battery is sufficient, if possible connect the camera to a charger.

Action in front of the camera

• Think about the necessary angles in advance. Test if necessary.
• Look at the camera if it fits the style of the video.
• Interview: Angles can be composed e.g. in interview situations so that e.g. the interviewees look at each other or the subject looks outside the camera towards the interviewee.
  • Do not talk over the interviewee. Pause between the question and the answer. This makes it easier to edit the video.
  • Sit fairly close to the interviewee. The long distance does not look natural in the video and makes the setting unnecessarily loose.
  • It’s perfectly natural to glance at the camera from time to time, but mainly keep your eyes on the interlocutor.
• Check in advance that the camera focuses on you.
• Stand and sit with good posture. There is no need to stiffen up for this, but the viewer’s attention is drawn to the performer’s entire being. Pay attention to body language and gestures. What impression do you give to the viewers?
• Use a teleprompter/large notepad.
  • If you use a prompter, read the prompts before the actual description. Test whether the reading speed is suitable (rule of thumb approx. 2 words per second.)
  • Position the note so that you are still looking at the camera even as you look at the keyword.
• When shooting a new shot, take a short break before you start working in front of the camera. If the senas go haywire, you can always take another shot. Take breaks if necessary, take a sip of water if necessary.

You can cut the video afterwards, you don’t have to do it all at once! Take it easy and be yourself!