The global Coronavirus pandemic has many people working from home and others stuck in the house. Whatever your feelings about working from home, there are simple ways to make the experience better and to continue producing great content for people to consume.
Videos are normally filmed in a staged location with a production crew, whether that’s two people or ten. Because of social distancing measures in place, it may be time to learn how you can make simple, high-quality videos from home without a full production crew at your disposal.
As long as you have one mobile device that can connect to the internet, you can make good quality videos for your audience. Moreover, it allows you to manage a remote team effectively. The simplest ways are with your computer webcam, using a screen capture app, utilizing live video features, or recording with your mobile device camera. It doesn’t matter if you are producing the videos for social media, to put on your website or even to create your own online course.
Webcam Videos
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Most laptops have built-in cameras at the top of the screen. On a desktop or laptop without access to a built-in camera, you can either plug in an external webcam or a basic digital camera to get the same effect. If you’re using an external camera, make sure the video is being recorded and saved directly to your computer’s hard drive.
Once you’ve established that you have a camera to use, check for audio capabilities. Again, most laptops come with built-in microphones. If you don’t have a built-in microphone, check if your external video device has audio capabilities. In case it doesn’t, you may need to purchase an external microphone with a USB connection.
For webcam videos, you want the camera as stable as possible so it won’t become shaky at any point. Before you start recording, do a short test to see what’s visible in the background and how the lighting is. Make sure your background isn’t distracting, dirty, or cluttered. Lighting issues can be corrected with a simple home lamp pointed at the front of your face, preferably from above. IF you have more than one lamp available, you are creating a can get better lighting set up for your video’s.
Next, check the audio for any strange noises in the background. Try to block out or minimize any background noises. In case these noises are unavoidable, record multiple takes of the same video and choose the best one or edit the best clips together.
Don’t expect a webcam video to be HD, but if you pay attention when you’re setting it up you can still get a good quality video. If it looks and sounds good enough, people will often forgive a little bit of rough editing or a few awkward pauses.
Webcam videos can be recorded using the default camera or video program on your computer.
Screen Capture Videos
Even simpler than webcam videos are screen captured videos. Using a screen capture app, also known as a screen recorder, you can create simple tutorials, walkthroughs, example videos, or other informational content using just a mobile device or computer and a microphone.
A screen capture video is the next step up from just sharing screenshots with your team or your audience. It’s a better option for many because you get to fully explain what people are seeing rather than having to just trust that they understand everything.
Screen recording is exactly what it sounds like. The app will capture everything that’s happening on your screen from the time you click to record to the time you stop. It also captures audio from your microphone so you can lead viewers through the video by explaining what you’re doing and how they can follow along.
If you’re going to do screen capture videos, make sure you choose topics that make sense for this format. Discussion videos don’t usually work well as screen recorded videos while how-to tutorials about your company, product, or services could be a good fit.
Live Videos
Photo by Sticker Mule on Unsplash
Most social media platforms today offer live video options. These are low-budget, live feeds that you can activate as you please and use to make short, simple videos to broadcast to your platform followers. Some platforms leave the video up afterward to be viewed later by others.
Most live videos are interactive, which makes them a great way to interact with your audience directly. You can record a live video with any internet-connected device featuring a camera and microphone. Unfortunately, unless you have the right cables and connections, you can’t use external video equipment for these videos. But, built-in webcams on laptops, external USB webcams, and mobile device cameras are all useful for live video feeds.
The most popular platforms for live videos are Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Instagram and Twitter have options to keep live videos up for replay for 24 hours or indefinitely, while Facebook and YouTube automatically keep them up indefinitely.
Live videos are meant to be low-budget and unrefined, so don’t worry too much about how well you’ve set up your space for the video. Take basic steps such as cleaning up the background environment and keeping bright lighting around you.
Announce your live video times before you start. If possible, create a schedule for all the times you’re going to be live, or announce live videos at least an hour ahead of time. Doing this helps your audience prepare to tune in. If you’re always surprising people with live broadcasts, you won’t have as consistent of an audience as you might want.
Phone or Tablet Videos
Just like webcam videos, simple videos can easily be recorded with any mobile device that has a camera and microphone. With a mobile device, you have limited options if either the built-in camera or microphone isn’t working. But, as long as they’re both capturing as they should, you can make a good quality video. Some mobile phones today have better cameras and audio than basic digital cameras or computer cameras.
If you have a newer smartphone, especially a flagship phone such as an iPhone or a top-notch Samsung or Google phone, you can record videos in HD. These videos can look just as good as professional videos, but it’s up to you to set up the background, get the lighting right, and to prepare ahead of time for the recording.
Making a Script
What’s involved in preparing to make a video at home? One of the biggest problems people encounter, once they press record, is going blank and not knowing what to say. It’s common to forget what you wanted to say or not to know what to say, especially if you’re not used to being in front of a camera. Solve this problem by making a simple script.
Just like you would do for an important public speaking event, you should prepare notes ahead of time that guide the direction of the video and keep you on track. You can also write out a full script and read it off during the video, as long as you’re able to put a little human emotion into it to give the video some energy.
Scripts sound like over-preparation, but the majority of high-quality online videos produced today use full or partial scripts. Once you’re more comfortable on camera, you can go off-book and stray from the script a little bit, but in the beginning, you can use your script as a protective measure to keep you from trailing off.
If you’re not a good writer, hire a freelancer to write the script for you or get someone else from your company to help you out with thesis statements and core ideas of what you’ll be talking about in your video
At-Home Editing
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
Editing is what separates bad videos from good videos. Even experienced presenters rely on editing to make the raw footage more watchable. You don’t have to be a pro at video editing to cut out certain sections of blank space, string clips together, and generally clean up a video.
To edit a video, you need the right software. Basic pre-installed software like Windows Movie Maker or Apple iMovie can be used for simple edits. Take a few test videos and learn how to use this software at home.
If you want a more professional look to your videos, you’ll have to edit with a better software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Pinnacle Studio Pro, or Final Cut Pro.
As a last resort, outsource your editing to someone who knows what they’re doing. That way, you’ll be sure you end up with a video you’re not embarrassed to publish. Just make sure you make a clear timeline so everybody’s on the same page when it comes to due dates and deliverables.
Do I Need Extra Equipment?
As long as you have the equipment mentioned in each section, you have the basics needed to record and publish videos. However, a few pieces of better equipment can improve the quality of your home videos. If this is something you think you might continue with, a small investment into your home recording studio goes a long way.
The best equipment you can invest in is an external microphone. Camera and mobile device microphones are notoriously poor quality. Get a simple microphone with adaptors to fit USB, micro-USB, a headphone jack (if you still have those), lighting ports, or other connection points. You can get a good microphone and all the cables you need to make it work for less than $100.
Lighting is the other area where a bit of extra equipment makes a big difference. Ring lights or other dedicated video lighting setups improve the look and quality of your home videos. These are also inexpensive pieces of equipment that make a huge difference in the final product.
Depending on the quality of your camera, the only other equipment you may want to consider for simple home videos is an external camera. This is not a necessity for most people, as the built-in cameras on most laptops or mobile devices are good enough to record videos at acceptable quality levels. Camera equipment is often pricey, so you need to justify the expense with a long-term commitment to recording your own videos.
Video content is the most in-demand type of content online. Creating your own videos feels intimidating if you don’t have any experience in this area, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult process. Anyone working from home can start making good quality videos without leaving the house and without a full production crew on site.
About the author: Hayden Birch is a marketing and outreach specialist at SociallyInfused Media. A digital marketing agency that works its employees to near death and underpays them to the point where they need to serve at bowling alleys in the evenings.
Discover more from Life and Tech Shots Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
