How to Up Your Video Content

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This past week we had the privilege of speaking at Keller Williams Capital Properties where we had the chance to connect with a group of their agents. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the live stream, or you just want to refresh your memory, you can find the video on our YouTube channel (it’s also embedded below!)

One of the big points we constantly make is that content is king, especially when you’re trying to rock your social media game. Not everything needs to be professional, polished content, though. In fact, having videos and photos you’ve taken yourself adds a level of authenticity to your feed.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t put some extra effort into your posts.

Nobody likes seeing blown-out windows, crooked photos, or terrible angles. And the number one killer of great videos? Terrible audio. People will forgive a lot on social media, but distorted audio is one of those that always sticks out. When’s the last time you watched a video all the way through when the audio kept spiking, or you couldn’t hear the person speaking? I imagine you didn’t!

So, what can you do to drastically improve the quality of your content? We’ve outlined our recommended gear and tips below.

Lighting

Lighting doesn’t have to be difficult. Natural daylight is your best friend when filming (and photographing!) content, so if you have a place where you can get great, consistent natural lighting...utilize it!

If you don’t have great natural lighting, that’s okay. Any extra light will help. A great option to consider would be a ring light. These are the lights you see in makeup and beauty tutorials and are most commonly used by vloggers. They’re a great option because they are designed to provide light on all sides of your face.

We recommend the ring light and carrying case below. The Neewer LED ring light is easy to set up and has an adjustable color balance, making it much easier to film (and edit) down the road. If you’re going to be filming in multiple locations, I highly recommend the carrying bag, as it makes the ring light much easier to take on the go.

Neewer Enlarged Carrying Bag for 18 inch Ring Light

If you get the ring light option, the included “cold shoe” swivel mount that holds your phone in place isn’t the best quality. I would recommend replacing it with this mount to hold your phone more securely.

Another great option is a clamp light. These are extremely affordable and can be combined with a dimmer to give you better control of your lighting. Just make sure to use a dimmable bulb, and try and match the color temperature (cool vs warm) of your lights with the rest of your room.

If you’re like me, you understand the importance of a quality selfie from time to time to re-connect with your followers. I personally use the LuMee DUO iPhone case to capture quick photos and videos on the go, when I won’t be able to have any equipment with me. The case features front and back lights that come in at 60 lumens. I use mine as a selfie light, photo light, video light, and even a flashlight (you wouldn’t believe how bright it is!). The case features two lights the length of the case on both sides of the phone, giving you the ring light effect without the heavy equipment.

Please note that I recommend the ring light over the LuMee case if you can only get one. The ring light will give you consistent, brighter light for filming in stationary locations, but the LuMee case is great for on-the-go quick filming.

Audio

Audio is arguably the most important aspect of creating good video content. If your viewer can’t hear you, they will not watch your videos. It’s as simple as that.

A simple fix is to use the headphones that came with your phone. These usually give a great improvement over using your phone’s built-in microphone.

AirPods are another great option if you are an Apple user. Be careful with other Bluetooth earpieces, however, as many are meant for phone calls where audio quality is not nearly as important.

If you want to step your audio game up even more, here are a few great options.

This lav mic is going to be best when you want to record only your own audio. This is one of the best options for high-quality audio on mobile. You may also consider getting the lav mic cable extender, if you think the cable may be too short for you.

Rode smartLav+ Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone

Rode SC1 TRRS Extension Cable For SmartLav+ Microphone

Don’t forget the Apple headphone adapter if you are on iPhone!

There is also this adapter that lets you connect 2 of the above lav mics. This is great for an ultra-portable interview or podcast solution.

If you want to be able to record audio from a group, this microphone is a great option. This is a directional microphone that will only pick up audio in the direction it is pointing.

Other Great Gear

If you opted against the ring light above or want to be more portable with your mobile phone setup, I would recommend a Gorilla Pod! This will allow you to securely place your phone just about anywhere! You’ll want to play around with it a bit, and you may have to remove your case if you have a particularly heavy or bulky case, but the Gorilla Pod is incredibly lightweight (just through it in a day bag and go) and easy to set up pretty much anywhere. You can even bend it to wrap around higher locations!

If you really want to step up your video game, you could consider a teleprompter. This uses your phone or tablet to project words on the screen for you to read. Do note that you will need a camera and tripod to use this.

If you are looking to upgrade your video quality, you have a ton of options. We personally love Sony, but any good quality DSLR camera would be a massive improvement. Below is one of the budget options we recommend.

Sony Alpha ILCE-6000L/B a6000 Digital Camera

Neewer Carbon Fiber 66 inches Camera Tripod

If you’re going the route of a DSLR, you’ll want a tripod as well. Below are two options that we recommend. We use Manfrotto, but while Manfrotto is a great option, they can be a little be a little pricey for the average user. We recommend the Neewer Carbon Fiber tripod above. It’s lightweight, portable, and won’t break the bank.

The Peak Designs tripod is a new tripod they are still doing pre-orders for. We got one on a KickStarter campaign, and so far I love it! It’s incredibly lightweight and folds up to the size of a large water bottle, making it perfect to take on the go and setup just about anywhere.

You can check it out here.

We hope you’ve found this information useful! Be on the lookout for more content creation and strategy posts as we build our educational library to help you build better content.

Have questions that we haven’t answered? Leave a comment below or reach out to us on social media!

guides, EducationalBrittani CarterMarch 6, 2020education, video, content creation, learnComment