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Plan Your Content

Outline your goal – What are you looking to achieve? Are you trying to get visitors to your site? Or teach them something new? Define your goal before moving on.

Identify your target audience – Your audience will determine the way you write your script, shoot your video, how you edit it and where you distribute your videos online.

Use the power of emotions – Emotions are what drive viewers to follow your call to action, whether that’s subscribing to a channel, sharing your video or buying your product.

Pick the Right Background

The background you choose will depend on the type of video you’re producing, your goals and your audience. The main two types are:

Real backgrounds These include a real-life environment such as an office, a living room or an outdoor location. Just make sure it contributes to your message.

Fake backgrounds – These include green screens, curtains or papers. These are great for consistency.

Composition Rules

Follow the rule of thirds – When you divide the frame into a 3 x 3 grid, it creates intersections that are ideal areas to place your subject.

Mind the head – Don’t have too much space above the subject’s head, but don’t cut the top off of their head either!

Use the Right Lighting

It’s best to shoot in any of these three conditions as the natural light is soft and cinematic:

  • Outdoors on a rainy day

  • An hour after sunrise

  • An hour before sunset

If you need to shoot indoors, natural light is still your best bet. Pick a room that gets a lot of natural light through big or multiple windows. You can also add additional sources of light like ceiling lighting or table lamps.

Film in Small Segments

Film short takes – This way, you’ll have fewer things to remember and more opportunities to reshoot something you didn’t like.

It will also give you more flexibility in post-production to eliminate takes and it won’t come out looking choppy.

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