Start with the questions people ask
The best videos answer what your audience is already wondering. Write down the questions customers ask you most often: before they buy, while they decide and after. Each answer is a video.
Tap a question to see the video it becomes.
- The videoA simple explainer of your product or service, start to finish, with the key steps on screen.
- The videoWho it's for and who it isn't for, said honestly. It builds more trust than a sales pitch.
- The videoA walk-through of what working with you looks like once someone gets in touch.
- The videoA short introduction to you, in your own words.
Add a few videos that introduce you: who you are, how you work and the people you help. People buy from people, and seeing a friendly face makes the first conversation easier.
- YouWho you are and why you do it.
- Your workHow it's done, behind the scenes.
- Your customersReal people, in their own words.
Set up the phone properly
Use the light you already have
Face a window, with the window behind the phone. Soft daylight on the face looks better than any ceiling light. Avoid sitting with a window behind you, which turns you into a silhouette.
If you film in the evening, switch off mixed lights so your skin doesn't turn green or orange. One lamp in front of you, slightly to one side, is enough.
Get clear sound in an ordinary room
People forgive average video, but not bad sound. Choose the quietest room, close the windows and the door, switch off fans and air conditioning for a minute, and keep the phone within an arm's length. Rugs, curtains and a sofa soak up echo; an empty room with hard walls makes it worse.
Tick what you can do in your room.
Talk to the camera like a friend
- Look at the lens
- Picture one person you're helping
- Short sentences, plain words
- One idea at a time
- Watch yourself on the screen
- Read a script word for word
- Talk to "everyone out there"
- Rush to get it perfect
Look at the lens, not the screen. Imagine you are explaining this to one friend sitting across the table. Short sentences, plain words, one idea at a time.
Don't worry about mistakes. Pause, then start the sentence again. In the edit we keep the best take and remove the rest, so you never need to get it perfect in one go.
- Take 1Lost the sentence
- PauseStarted again
- Take 2Stumbled on a word
- Take 3Clear and calm
Check what's in the frame
Before you record, look at everything behind you. Tidy the background, hide anything private and ask permission before filming other people. If something slips into a shot, we can blur faces, names and screens in the edit.
Send the clips and let the edit do the heavy lifting
Upload the original files from your phone to Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer rather than sending them by messaging apps, which compress the video. In the edit we tighten the talking, balance color and sound, add captions and simple graphics, and deliver versions for your website, YouTube and social media.
- 01TightenPauses, slips and repeats removed.
- 02BalanceColor and sound evened out.
- 03CaptionClean captions for silent viewing.
- 04GraphicsSimple titles and key points.
- 05DeliverVersions for website, YouTube and social.
If you would like help planning your first videos, book a free consultation. We will plan the shots with you and show you how to film them, then handle the whole edit.