Let’s face it, video is wherever you go. It’s no longer confined to YouTube and other video sites, nowadays it’s also on Facebook and other social media platforms. The internet and its users love video because it is an easier medium to understand. Also, great videos have more potential to quickly become viral compared to text-based content. This is perhaps one of the best reasons why creating great video is important.
Luckily, not all videos require the expense of a full-production team. Video can be DIY-ed so that you can create web projects by yourself. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
1. Invest in good quality mic
Nobody wants to watch video with poor sound quality. Audio is a very key factor in video, so if you want to create compelling content, invest in a good microphone.
There are many styles to choose from and there are also a lot of options below $200. It is best to find a type of mic that is suited for the type of video you want to create as well as device compatibility since not all mics are compatible with ports of different devices.
2. Simple is best
Resist the temptation to make your video complicated. There are many people who create videos that have lots of distracting elements like graphics, visual effects or animated features. Always remember that simple is best.
Focus instead on strong visual presentation and content. Choose smooth moments for cut-ins and outs so that viewers will hardly notice. Use titles or transitions and if necessary use black or white text to identify subjects on the video if needed. Avoid multiple transitions, animation and highly animated effects. These are distracting and can detract viewer’s attention from the message.
3. Tell A Story
According to the Telegraph, average human attention span is around 12 seconds which is only slightly longer than a goldfish. In this connection, your video needs to tell a story to capture you’re audiences’ attention span quickly.
In order to tell a good story, your video needs:
• A good plot to tell the story quickly.
• Character(s), who is the story about?
• Setting where the story takes place.
• Conflict is what makes the plot interesting and
• Resolution to tell audiences what happened.
The catch is to make the storyline interesting to hook your viewer quickly to make them stick through it till the end. Always remember the goldfish and keep the story interesting.
4. Quality Royalty-Free Music
Aside from good audio and interesting story, a good video also needs background music. A good soundtrack can help elevate your viewer’s impression of the video.
Story, content and background music need to complement each other to make the video compelling. You can edit and layer music to keep viewers engaged.
Luckily there’s no need to spend a lot of money on quality background music. Motion Array for instance is a great place to find royalty-free music. They have more than 23,000 tracks that you can use on your video projects.
5. Use Closed Caption
Always transcribe and use closed caption for your videos. Keep in mind that not all viewers can hear the audio. Using transcription or closed captioning will make your video available to a wider range of audience. Aside from this, many people watch videos at work without sound.
Aside from making videos available to the hearing impaired, transcription also boosts your SEO. It’s easy to add transcriptions and closed captioning since it can be done right in YouTube through manual or automatic captioning.
As you can see, making a video takes more than just turning on your cellphone and talking. You need to make a plan, edit and fine tune your video so that you can have a final product that you’re proud of.
Don’t just rely on the visuals because videos need great sound and audio too. A good mic can help capture sounds and speech clearly while a good story and background music will keep audience engaged. Don’t forget to transcribe and use close captioning to broaden audience and provide a better viewing experience.
