Recording short videos for ecommerce

WHY VIDEO?

 

• Communicates some things better
• Preferred by some people over reading
• Liked by google
• Can be viewed on many devices including TV
• Can be published on your site and many other platforms
• Video is a persuasive medium

 

VIDEO FOR…?

 

• Location
• Process – timelapse
• Brand story
• Show the person/people
• Show/demo the product
• Event
• Customer/product support
• Testimonials
  • Social proof, reviews
  • Easy to buy fake reviews
  • How do we know its not fake? Video reviews
• Promotional / advert

 

TIPS

 

• Keep your hands close to your body for less shaking
• Don’t jump into the video without thinking about it
• You need to slow down
• Tripod slows you down, frees your hands

 

SOUND

 

• Half of the video is sound: microphone

 

VIDEO TYPES

 

• Cut away
  • You can paste different videos on a main video (eg an interview)
  • You can also use photos as well. You can zoom in photos to give it a motion
  • You can cut away to photos

 

LENGTH

 

• Brand story can be few minutes (someone interested would be viewing it)
• Most other stuff 30-60 seconds
  • Most people won’t commit more than this duration

 

WHAT CAN BE IN VIDEO?

 

• Camera video
• Archive video (by you or someone else)
• Stills
  • Photos, graphics, slides, diagrams, screenshots
  • You can do image search and filter it by image rights
  • License for reuse
• Animation
  • Placeit
  • Keynote magic move
• Screen recordings
  • Still capture
  • Or video capture Loom
• Sound, voiceover, music

 

HOW TO BE BETTER THAN 99%

 

• Have a bit of a plan: scripting, composition and storyboarding
• Composition: where things are in a frame
• Choosing location and controlling light
  • You don’t want hard shadows
• Worry less about light in video rather than photography
• Keep it steady – tripods and mounts
• Get the sound right – half the battle
  • https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rode-Smartlav-Lavalier-Microphone-Smartphone/dp/B00EO4A7L0/ref=asc_df_B00EO4A7L0/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309952060520&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1539379931395725850&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046183&hvtargid=pla-352077295439&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

EQUIPMENT

 

• Spaces and windows
• Reflectors including mountboard
• Tripods, including for phones and tablets
• Microphone – Lavalier or “Lav” mike

 

STORYBOARDING

 

• Even slight thinking before shooting, makes you better than 99% of videos

 

EDITING

 

• Use a clap to sync multiple sound tracks and sync them
  • Like a Clapperboard

 

VIDEO FORMAT

 

• Size 1920 x 1080 or 1080 square
• File format: MP4 has become the modern standard
• Compression format (or codec) H.264
• Above combination suitable for all of FB, TW and IG
• IG, TW – file size limits are 15 mb
• IG 60 seconds, Google my business 30 sec
• Use Youtube embed on website
  • Use rel=0 tag not to show related videos at the end

 

SERVING VIDEO

 

• Video is large file size
• Needs a host or content delivery network (CDN)
• Some other website your video lives on
• Eg Youtube, Vimeo, Wistia

 

MOVING THE CAMERA

 

• By hand – with image stabilization
• Optical image stabilisation is much superior – in 6S Plus, 7 onwards
• Low cost dollies and gimbals for phones and tablets
• Steadicam

 

WRAP UP

 

• Everything takes too long
• Throw almost all of what you shoot away
• Less is more, cut before its gets slow
• Rhythm, try to make your cuts regular
  • See music videos

 

Instructor:

https://www.davidjamesross.co.uk/