Getting Ready To Shoot Your YouTube Video
Planning
Planning your video is probably the most important step in the entire process. Your planning is what gives direction to your video shoot and to the final product that you produce. Therefore, this is where most of your energy should be spent.
To be good at each step of the process… camera work, and editing, you must have a clear picture of the entire process; and what the finished product should look like. This is where the difference between an amateur and a professional shows up most dramatically; an amateur “points and shoots”, whereas a professional “plans and shoots”.
We simply can’t stress enough, planning is everything when it comes to creating a good video.
Shoot plan
A good plan should have a clear purpose for every shoot. As a general rule, everything should be moving you towards a larger plan. Your focus should be on “what do I want this to look like on video?” You will then shoot the action to achieve your goal.
You will need to decide how many shots of a scene you want to shoot. Do you want to shoot at several different angles so that you can capture different perspectives when you edit your project and assemble all the pieces into the final video? Is the location important? Is the time of day you shoot your video important? All of these things have to be taken into consideration as you lay out your shoot plan.
Planning to edit
It is important to remember that everything you capture on camera must be shot with editing in mind. There are two ways to edit your video: one is post-production and one is in-camera. Most of your editing will be done in post production but on-camera editing will make your post production editing easier.
Post-production editing is the process taking the video that you have recorded and assembling your shots into your storyboard via editing software. Post-editing is what gives your final product a professional look.
In-camera editing means that what you shoot is what you get. The difference is that you are making editing decisions as your shoot. An example of in-camera editing is when you decide to zoom in on your subject or pan the scene. In-camera editing requires more planning, foresight and experience than post-production editing.
Once you have your overall plan in mind, you are ready to plan individual shots. As I mentioned earlier, you should have a reason for every shot. Is the shot necessary to tell the story? Is your audience going to care about what is being shot?
Once you decide on a shot, you then need to think about what is the best way to get it. This is the time you should be thinking about the composition of the shot, not at the time of shooting. What angles should the shot be taken at. Should it be a close up or a full body shot? What are you trying to convey to your audience?
It is usually good to get several variations of the shot so that you can choose the best one later in the post-production editing process. One important note: it is important that you leave 5 seconds of picture at the beginning and end of each shot as a buffer for post-production work.
Framing
Shots are all about composition and framing is the process of creating that composition. It should be noted that framing techniques are very subjective. What one person finds pleasing another doesn’t. Therefore, it’s a good idea to follow the basic rules of still photography.
- Make sure the shot is level with the horizon unless you are purposely going for a tilted effect. You do this by looking for horizontal and vertical lines in the frame.
- The rule of thirds… divides the frame into nine sections. Your points of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the way up or across the frame. It generally shouldn’t occur in the center of the frame.
- “Headroom”, “looking room”, and “leading room”… refer to the area of the frame that is purposely left empty. Without this empty space, the subject will look uncomfortably close. A common mistake of amateur’s is to leave too much headroom, which doesn’t look good.
- Everything in your frame is important… what does the background look like? You also need to pay attention to the edges of the frame. It looks ok to cut a person off at the waist, but not at their knees.
- To become good at understanding these rules and seeing good composition, watch some TV and movies. Notice which shots stand out. When shooting video, it’s all about camera positioning and frame composition.
Here are seven tips you should know before you shoot an Internet marketing video. Knowing these tips will make your video more professional. They will also save you from some costly mistakes.
1. Know your equipment
It is important to understand that every camcorder is different and every model has its own idiosyncrasies. It usually takes a while before you become comfortable using your camcorder.
Start with the basics. Know where the start and stop recording button is and learn just how far you can move your thumb before you hit a button that will accidently activate a feature you don’t want to activate. Learn when your camcorder is recording and when it’s not.
You should also practice using the zoom feature. Each camcorder seams to require a different touch to work the zoom.
Finally, you should learn to manually focus your camcorder. You may find shots that require you to manually focus instead of using the auto focus feature.
2. Learn to use your backlight button
The backlight is designed for those situations where you are shooting video with someone against a brigt background and the only thing you get is a silhouette. Normally you should move your subject to a position where they are properly lit, but sometimes that’s not possible. The backlight control opens the aperture a few stops, which makes your subject more properly exposed.
Fortunately, with the type of video you will normally shoot for you online products, you can avoid poorly lit situations with proper planning.
3. Setting up and using your tripod
You also need to practice using your tripod. Tripods very in many ways, some pan and tilt smoother than others, and some use different ways to make height and leveling adjustments. You want to know what loosens what and which lock does what.
4. Be prepared for the shoot
- Are your batteries fully charged?
- Do you have your AC power supply if your batteries run dead? Did you bring an extension cord? Do you have extra batteries?
- Do you have enough tape or digital memory? Do you have extras in case the tape or memory card is bad?
- Are you shooting with special lighting? Do you have extra bulbs in case one burns out?
5. Overshoot if possible
Due to the fact that your finished video will be created in post-production editing, we recommend that you overshoot when possible. You will want to get close-ups of faces and any products that you are demonstrating. Adding these shots to your final video can mean the difference between a boring video and one that is lively and exciting. Therefore, as long as you have power and tape, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.
6. Use a good microphone to capture your audio
Be aware, built in microphones on camcorders aren’t very good. They capture all the noise in a room so your videos will end up having a lot of background noise.
You should use an external microphone that is plugged into your camcorders audio jack if you want to have quality audio with your video.
7. Have a plan
Every video you shoot tells a story. What is your story?
Every story has a beginning, middle, and end, but you don’t need to shoot your video in chronological order. If you do shoot scenes out of order, you need to understand how they fit into your final product.
Finally, be flexible, because sometimes the unexpected happens, so be open to “found” shots. Sometimes, these shots can become the highlight of your video.
How do you apply this strategy to your internet marketing efforts?
If you are not using video with your online marketing efforts, you are leaving money on the table. Video increases sales, period. You need to learn to shoot video to use with your Internet marketing business.
If at all possible, shot your video indoors where you have more control over the elements such as sound and lighting.
We recommend that you create your videos using the storyboard method we describe in another video on this blog. This is the easiest form of video to create and one of the most powerful videos you can create for your online marketing business.
Authors Bio
For the past 11 years, Randy’s principle business enterprise has been in the top 5 listings on Google for his industry. His list of clients includes the Department of Defense, Department of State, Municipalities, Fortune 500 Companies, College and Universities, and several hundred small businesses.
Today, Randy is using his acquired knowledge to help businesses learn how to grow through the savvy use of internet marketing techniques. His central focus is to take complex online marketing strategies and tactics and break them down into easy to follow step-by-step processes.
Randy has written and published articles on internet marketing strategies to show businesses how to make money online. You can access these resources and learn how you can make more money online at www.InternetMonetizationUniversity.com .
What Everybody Should Know… About How To Increase Sales By Using This Four Letter Word
Last week we talked about “The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions” and the marketing principle of “Relativity.” This week we are going to discuss a “Power Word” that has made businesses a fortune. But, what is so remarkable about this power word is that once again we will see how people don’t behave in a rational way when it comes to their buying decisions, but rather in a predictable irrational manner.
There are a number of power words and phrases that you should incorporate into your sales copy because of the effect they have on your prospect. Here are just some of the most powerful selling words and phrases that you should use:
- Free
- Transforming
- New
- Secret
- How to
- Big Mistake
- Three easy steps
- Guaranteed
- Risk Free
- 7 Tips
- Limited Time or Limited Number
- Sale
In this article, we are going to examine the power word “Sale”, because it’s a word that causes people to act irrationally and take action.
Let me share with you a true story of a friend of mine and how this four-letter word helped get him promoted into a senior management position for a large regional retailer. When he started with this retailer, he was in the grocery department of one of the stores in the chain. It all started when there was a contest on who could sell the most candy bars of this one major brand. That particular candy bar sold for 15 cents at the time.
He wasn’t doing so well when he read an article about marking a item on sale, but don’t reduce the price. Instead, raise the price. So, he took the 15-cent candy bars that weren’t selling very well and created a display and put up a big sign that said “Sale – 5 for $1.” What happened surprised even him. He started selling boxes of the stuff even though you could purchase the same item for 15-cents or 5-bars for 75-cents.
That shows just how irrational people are when they see the word “Sale”. But, the story doesn’t stop there. On day, he decided to improve his sign and he drew a squiggly red cloud around the word “Sale”. You would not imagine what happened next. He sold five times the number of boxes than he did with just the word “Sale”. Nothing changed other than drawing a squiggly red line around the word “Sale.”
In the end, he won the national contest, which eventually led to a promotion in his company. Who would have guessed!
Is it rational that someone would buy five candy bars for more money than they would pay at the regular price just because of the word “Sale.” Not at all, but that illustrates the power of the word “Sale” on the human psyche.
So how do you apply this tactic to your Internet marketing business?
People want a bargain and they are motivated to act when they see the word “Sale.” The word “Sale” leaves them with the impression that a product is only available at this price for a limited time and if they don’t act now, they are likely to miss the opportunity.
In your marketing strategy, you should use the word “Sale” or “Discounted Offer To The First 50 People.” It invokes a sense of scarcity, which causes people to act. The word sale has a well-defined meaning in your prospects mind: it means a bargain for a limited time. Act now!
Here is how we have applied this strategy with our Document Imaging software.
Our document imaging software has a base price of 5-concurrent licenses for $26,000. This price is cost prohibitive for many small businesses. Generally, once a year, we send a special onetime offer to our prospects that haven’t purchased a system from us. In virtually every case, they haven’t purchased any document imaging system because of price.
We run a 30-day sale where they can purchase 2-concurrent licenses for $1,200. You would be amazed at how many businesses decide to purchase a system at the sales price. We have them calling on the last day of the sale telling us they are sending a check next day FedEx.
You can see a number of strategies used on our document imaging website at http://www.disusa.com/.
Authors Bio
For the past 11 years, Randy’s principle business enterprise has been in the top 5 listings on Google for his industry. His list of clients includes the Department of Defense, Department of State, Municipalities, Fortune 500 Companies, College and Universities, and several hundred small businesses.
Today, Randy is using his acquired knowledge to help businesses learn how to grow through the savvy use of internet marketing techniques. His central focus is to take complex online marketing strategies and tactics and break them down into easy to follow step-by-step processes.
Randy has written and published articles on internet marketing strategies to show businesses how to make money online. You can access these resources and learn how you can make more money online at www.InternetMonetizationUniversity.com .
Astounding New Book Reveals How To Increase Your Sales and Make Greater Profits By Knowing the Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Today’s article is about “The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions”. The information I am about to share with you was collected from the New York Times Bestseller, “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely. In his book, Ariely proves scientifically that people don’t behave in a rational way when it comes to their buying decisions, but rather in a highly predictable, irrational manner. Moreover, if you know what influences a prospects buying decision, it can have a significant impact on your internet marketing business.
Key Point: All of your customers base their buying decisions on a scientific principle called “Relativity.” As Ariely points out in his book; “We don’t have an internal value meter that tells us how much things are worth. Rather, we focus on the relative advantage of one thing over another, and estimate the value accordingly.”
In other words, we base our decisions to purchase by comparing the product to our other choices. He illustrates this point by showing how a restaurant can increase their sales of sizzler steak. He points out that given three choices, most people will choose the middle choice. So let’s say that you want to sell an 8oz sizzler over 8oz of ground sirloin, you wouldn’t give a customer just two choices: an 8oz ground sirloin for $5.99 and 8oz sizzler for $9.99. Given just two choices, a lot of people would select the 8oz ground sirloin because it appears to be a better value relative to the two choices.
He points out that you should put in a “decoy”, a third choice that will make the 8oz sizzler more attractive. Knowledgeable restaurant owners do this all the time. They add a 6oz filet mignon to the menu for $22 as the “decoy”. They know two things:
1. They are’t going to sell much filet mignon but they will sell more 8oz sizzlers because now the sizzler looks more attractive relative to the other steaks on the menu. After all, you are getting a deal, an 8oz steak for $9.99 compared to a 6oz steak for $22.
2. They also know that given three choices, most people will select the middle choice.
Ariely points out: “we not only tend to compare things with one another, but also tend to focus on comparing things that are easily comparable – and avoid comparing things that cannot be compared easily.”
How do you apply this principle to your internet marketing efforts?
First, you should never offer just one choice. You should always offer three choices when you design your offer. For example, you might offer a downloadable ebook for $27, an ebook plus audio for $97, and finally an ebook plus audio and video for $197.
Second, you should always show the value of your free bonuses as part of your offer. In other words, show that your bonuses alone are worth over $3,000 but that you get them included for free as part of your $197 offer.
Let’s illustrate this point by the offer we put together for Raw Food Chef Beth Wilke. Beth makes incredible raw food recipes that are not the usual free recipes that you can find throughout the Internet. She takes painstaking hours to blend just the right ingredients to bring out the subtle flavors of her raw dishes. She was marketing an incredible recipe book and a recipe club membership that just wasn’t selling the way she wanted. She is using three wonderful recipes as her name capture system.
We restructured her offer and once a raw foodist signed up for the three free recipes, they are presented with the following options on the “free recipe download page”.
If you were interested in raw diet recipes, which offer would you choose?
Note: There are times where the offer you want someone to choose shouldn’t be the middle choice. In this case, it was better to show it as the last choice.
If you are interested in getting three delicious raw food recipes, you can do so by going to www.sensationalrawrecipes.com . You can learn more about the raw food diet and sensational raw food chef, Beth Wilke at www.sensationalrawfooddiet.com .
Authors Bio
For the past 11 years, Randy’s principle business enterprise has been in the top 5 listings on Google for his industry. His list of clients includes the Department of Defense, Department of State, Municipalities, Fortune 500 Companies, College and Universities, and several hundred small businesses.
Today, Randy is using his acquired knowledge to help businesses learn how to grow through the savvy use of internet marketing techniques. His central focus is to take complex online marketing strategies and tactics and break them down into easy to follow step-by-step processes.
Randy has written and published articles on internet marketing strategies to show businesses how to make money online. You can access these resources and learn how you can make more money online at www.InternetMonetizationUniversity.com .
