A great way to connect with your audience is to incorporate holidays and events in your online video strategy. Not only does it offer relevant and entertaining material to your content marketing offerings, it does exactly what social media is designed to do: Connect your brand with your audience in a way that feels natural. It shows them that your brand is more than the products and services you offer – You are a team and your team holds many of the same interests, concerns, and values they do. When your customers can relate to you on an authentic level, they are more likely to turn to you when it comes time to buy.
Here are four summer holidays you may want to incorporate into your online video strategy:
1. Memorial Day (Monday, May 27th)
Memorial Day means many things to many people. For many families, it signifies the start of summer and school letting out. It brings to mind barbecues and picnics, beach vacations, and patriotic parades. Showcase how your team celebrates and perhaps give a financial incentive for your customers to buy during Memorial Day weekend with a special holiday code.
2. Father’s Day (Sunday, June 16th)
Father’s Day evokes feelings of love and oftentimes funny memories of Dad as people reflect on quality family time they’ve spent with the paternal head of the family. Depending on what your company sells, you can approach this holiday in many different ways including sweet and endearing or comedic and silly. Whatever approach you take, don’t be afraid to get personable.
3. Independence Day (Thursday, July 4th)
Independence Day is smack dab in the middle of summer so keep any videos you create for it light, fun, and energizing! Much like Memorial Day, this holiday is comprised of your typical “summer” activities such as picnics, barbecues, and patriotic parades in addition to firework shows, outdoor concerts, and baseball.
4. Labor Day (Monday, September 2nd)
Sadly, the summer must come to an end but that doesn’t mean your online video has to be sad! Use a Labor Day video to end the summer on a high note and to rev your audience up for the transition from summer to fall. Keep in mind that this is a time when the weather begins cooling down, students are heading back to school, and the NFL and college football seasons are beginning, so any commentary, tips, or deals you can offer surrounding these events will be appreciated.
In addition to the following four summer holidays, consider religious holidays, charity and cause-related holidays, and special occasions being celebrated in your city. While a video simply wishing them a happy holiday is effective, you can also use the opportunity to offer a special deal or to reveal / remind your audience about one of your features. Lastly, if you’re comfortable doing it, you can give your audience a “behind the scenes” look at how your team will be enjoying the holiday as a way to develop a sense of community.
Do you incorporate holidays into your online video strategy in a unique way? Share your ideas and tips with us here, on Facebook, and on Twitter (@sproutvideo)!
This week, many new sites and bloggers are discussing the Wall Street Journal email sent out by WSJ’s deputy managing editor Matt Murray and head of video operations Chris Cramer to its staff. The subject of this email? The appearance of WSJ’s reporters when they’re appearing on camera.
Though you are probably not reporting live on-air, it is equally important that you stay on your A-game when appearing on video for your brand. In no particular order, we’ve compiled a list of 23 tips and tricks for looking and sounding your best in front of the camera!
- Structure your video with a beginning, middle, and end to clearly articulate your point. Keep this in mind not only when editing but also when shooting and storyboarding.
- Shhhhh. Pausing for a couple seconds of silence after a particularly important point in your video gives your audience an opportunity to focus in on it and pay more attention to it than the surrounding sentences.This is especially important if you pose a question to your audience.
- Inflection. Make sure your sentences end on a downward inflection versus an upward inflection. How can you tell? If your statement sounds more like a question, you’re doing it wrong.
- Don’t forget your background! It can assist you greatly in asserting your credibility depending on your topic. For example, if you sell a luxury product or service, shooting in an exotic locale (or looking like you are) will lend credibility to your reputation as a luxury expert.
- If you wear glasses and appear on camera regularly, have them coated to prevent reflections. Also, don’t wear photosensitive glasses, because they might darken under the extra light.
- Maintain eye contact in order to come across as a credible source. Looking down, away from the camera, or closing your eyes will make you look shifty and unprofessional.
- Look like a professional, not someone who happened to walk in front of the video camera. Tuck in your shirt, make sure your bra strap is not showing and check that your shirt isn’t see-through or wrinkled.
- Remember, side lighting makes everyone’s features pop out better than front lighting.
- Be sure the camera is at the right angle. At eye level or only just above eye level allows for the most natural, flattering view. If the lens is lower, your video risks showing a double chin.
- Whenever possible, head outside to film with natural light.The best times for good light are early morning and evening and the warming glow Mother Nature provides is the best (and cheapest) lighting option!
- Stand up straight as good posture dramatically improves appearance
- Determine your best angle. While it might feel a little silly at first for people who haven’t done it, position yourself in the classic model’s pose. Stand with one foot in front of the other and one shoulder closer to the camera than the other; three-quarters of your body will be facing the camera. If sitting, slightly angle yourself in a similar fashion.
- Late night or allergy attack? Use eye drops to clear redness in your eyes.
- Use makeup to cover skin redness and blemishes that, unfortunately, can be a real distraction in an otherwise flawless video.
- Your T-zone (the top of your nose and your forehead) can be your worst enemy on camera. Keep the shine down by applying (and re-applying whenever necessary) powder and foundation. Avoid powders and foundations that contain SPF or light-reflective properties.
- Unless it’s the look you’re going for, wearing a single tone can cause you to blend together so avoid this.
- Horizontal stripes can make you appear too wide and wearing thin strips can create a weird effect on camera.
- Patterns can overwhelm you
- If you are a man, shave immediately before video taping.
- Steer away from shiny glosses and sheer anything (blushes, eye shadows, etc.)
- Project energy but don’t get too carried away- Big hand gestures, lots of movement, and fidgeting look unprofessional on camera (unless they’re an obvious part of your schtick).
- Focus on not saying words like “like”, “uh”, “um”, and “ah” on camera.
- Practice makes perfect! The more videos you shoot, the better and more natural you’ll become in front of the camera. Have fun!
Have any other tips or tricks to add? Add them to the comments here, share them with us on Facebook, or Tweet (@sproutvideo) us!
Online video may not be a part of all marketing plans but it is an integral part of the marketing plan for businesses decision-makers who not only understand this emerging field is here to stay but are ready to evolve and prosper with it. Just take a look at this graph which illustrates the percentage of marketers that use each type of marketing content or offer:
According to the graph, which was created by Eloqua, CMO.com, and Software Advice, the Goldilocks Principle applies here: respondents prefer online video over white paper (no contact) and live demos with reps (too much contact). In other words, they want to feel interaction with a brand but they also want to control that interaction. Take off your videographer’s hat and, as a consumer, you can probably relate. Fortunately for all of us, online video makes this easy.
So the question is no longer whether you should incorporate online video into your marketing plan- You should. The question before us now is how to create compelling and effective online video for our audience. Like many other aspects of life, the best of the best in this field have certain characteristics in common. Today, we share them with you.
1. Organization Optimizes the Opportunity to Grow.
Organization is key to being a successful videographer just as it is for most things in life. Besides the obvious benefit of having everything you need at your fingertips when it’s time to film, knowing you are prepared is half the battle. This applies not only to having your kit in order, batteries charged, and backup equipment at-hand, it also means plotting your storyboard, allotting time for and budgeting for each step of the video creation process before you get started. Just like your fifth grade teacher taught you, preparation is key to success. By planning for success ahead of time, executing it during the shooting process is a cinch and a lot less stressful!
2. Think Outside the Cube.
Nobody (including you!) wants to watch a boring video, right? Right. Keep that in mind when you are storyboarding and when you are shooting. Some commonly employed methods to avoid putting your audience to sleep include telling a story, tickling their funny bone, and using the feedback (via email, your social media engagement, and video analytics) you receive from your audience to ensure that you’re covering topics they are interested in and want to learn about. Don’t be afraid to entertain as you inform. Your audience will thank you for it by buying your services or products and sharing your videos with others.
3. The Devil is in the Details
Your brand is unique and every aspect of your videos conveys something about it to your viewers whether you intend to or not. This includes your video location/background, the look of the person speaking in the video, the language used, and your non-verbal cues. Though both effective, an online video shot on the beach with the speaker holding a surfboard while dressed in tropical attire using surfer slang connotes a much different message than a video shot in an office with the speaker’s arms crossed in front of her body dressed in a suit using language you might hear in the classroom.
Take time to consider what you want your audience to feel at the end of your video and control the message you’re sending by strategically thinking about these non-verbal expressions you are sharing with them.
4. Strategize for Success.
Use video to share news and offers with your clients but also make it very easy for them to take advantage of this news and these offers by including a call to action at the end of your video. In addition, before you even begin to create your video, know which keywords to pepper your video with to ensure best search rankings and click-through rates and use video analytics to know where on the internet and where throughout the world your videos are being played so that you can create videos that will be most appealing to those watching.
5. Learn. Then, learn some more.
President Abraham Lincoln is quoted for saying, “I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” We’ve must agree with Mr. Lincoln here. Video marketing has evolved quickly over the past couple years and it shows no sign of slowing down. The moment you believe you know all there is to know is the moment your business will begin to decline. Learn from your own experience (including mistakes!) in creating video, learn from the video marketing industry by reading blogs like this one and following stories in the news, and keep up with developments in your own industry via Twitter and discussion boards. Offer only the best to your customers and you will see your business thrive. It’s truly as simple as that.
If you haven’t already, develop these characteristics as a part of your professional presence. Also, please share other characteristics you think are pertinent to success with us here and on Twitter and Facebook.
Whether you are producing a “best practices” video for your employees or sharing instructional video for the general public, video tutorials are a key component of video offerings for most companies. All too often, though, videographers do not take full advantage of the opportunity video tutorial production offers and the result is boring content that fails to excite and, worse, goes unwatched..
With that in mind, here are six video tutorials from very different fields that get it right. Use these for inspiration and maybe a new perspective next time you’re producing a video tutorial of your own.
Fitness: Butt Workout by Equinox.
Equinox is known for its sexy marketing and your typical fitness “how-to” format would not jive with their brand. That doesn’t mean, however, that you won’t learn something. Set to energizing music, this video immediately grabs the viewer by jumping into action as the instructor moves fluidly through each of the moves. Not only does this video show you no less than eight moves in just over two minutes… it gives you something to aspire to.
Tech: Grovo’s Import Your Music to Spotify.
Grovo is a company focused in online training and video tutorials for all our favorite websites and apps. With all the offerings they have, it could be easy for their videos to get lost in the shuffle or become boring. To combat that, Grovo does two things well: In each video tutorial, they immediately state the problem they’re going to help you solve and, throughout the video, they tickle your funny bone. By stating the problem right up front, the viewer can be sure that the video they’re viewing is going to provide the answer they’re seeking and by keeping things light-hearted, Grovo sets you at ease even if you’re addressing a problem that might have been stressing you out before.
Beauty: How to Define Your Lips
Lancome Studio’s videos are short and sweet which is often exactly what their target audience needs. Identifying their product both in name and in picture to begin, Lancome then illustrates the steps in a simple and straightforward fashion. Note that they feature two very different models to showcase two very different looks that can be achieved using the same product (in different colors). Also note that they eliminate all distractions and keep the focus on the models with a clean, white backdrop.
Automotive: How to Replace Headlight Bulbs.
Car and Driver utilizes a student/teacher dynamic to teach their viewers. This works well because the “student” is relatable to most viewers and can ask the questions they would likely ask their own mechanic if they were trying to repair something on their car. The “teacher” not only shows how to perform a particular task but also has the opportunity to showcase his general expertise by offering helpful tips not directly related to the task at hand; Car and Driver then comes across as a reliable resource for all your car matters.
Food: Sons of Essex: How to Make our Peddler’s Lemonade.
Promotional Director Ronnie Flynn opens this timely video while standing outside and waxing nostalgic on warm weather days and everyone’s favorite summer beverage. Sons of Essex is a very trendy yet gritty, very New York City brand and they stay true to that (via music and imagery) all the way through. They make great use of subtitles to inform and assert their personality and, to close the video, remind you of all the ways to stay connected with them.
Honing Skills: Painting Mountains with Bob Ross.
The quintessential how-to teacher, Bob Ross mixed calm and serene with focus. Not only do his tutorials guide you each step of the way as you paint, they include information about the materials used and the techniques that are employed. This way the viewer learns about painting in general and not just how to paint a lovely landscape. While it’s probably safe to say most of us don’t end up with a painting as magnificent as Mr. Ross’, he makes it feel as if it’s possible that one day we will.
Have video tutorials you find inspiring? Share with us here, on Facebook, or on Twitter (@SproutVideo).
Not too long ago, we shared six inexpensive iOS apps for videographers who are on the go. Not to be left out, it’s time for the Android-users to get their own list! Again, while you probably wouldn’t want to solely rely on any of these picks, each can make your video production life a little easier and allow you to get creative when the time calls for it.
1. Movie Editor
“Easiest editing instrument ever…” - Nick Morris
- Price
- $2.58
- Why We Think It’s Cool
- Brought to you by Goseet, Movie Editor allows you to add videos from your gallery to the video timeline then arrange them as you’d like. You can also use music from your own collection to provide a soundtrack. We imagine this app is especially handy when you’re at a conference or an event and need to edit the multiple short interviews of people you film throughout the day to create a cohesive video to share with your audience. Additionally, if you are at a multi-day event, this app would be useful in creating one “wrap-up” video of the entire event.
- Compatible Devices
- Android 2.2 and up.
2. VidTrim Pro
“This works well and is very intuitive.” - Brian Davis
- Price
- $2.84
- Why It’s Cool
- With “sliders” on either side of your video, the real draw of this Goseet app is that you are easily able to trim your video from the beginning or the end of the footage you’ve captured. Additionally, you can covert your videos to other formats like mp4, grab frames to use as images, and add effects to further give your video a unique look and sound. It’s also worth repeating VidTrimPro customer Mr. Davis’ words above: It is a truly very intuitive app. Also worth noting is the fact that the free version of this app received equally high ratings from users. If you don’t mind their watermark on your finished videos and are less interested in the transcoding and special effects capabilities than the trimming features, give it a try.
- Compatible With
- Android 2.1 and up.
3. Magisto
“This app is so innovative, so easy… I love it!” - Jesse Martinez
- Price
- Free
- Why It’s Cool
- Can you shoot a video with your Android phone? Do you already have the perfect music for your videos? These aren’t trick questions, just our way of saying that using the automatic video maker Magisto really is as simple as that. It is exactly what you need for creating videos quickly to share with your Facebook and Twitter followers (and via email) and it takes almost no effort at all. Of course, if you don’t like giving up control of your videos, this app may cause you stress.
- Compatible With
- Android 2.3.3 and up.
4. Videocam illusion Pro
“Can go from black and white to color to black and white video in real time (just like the Wizard of Oz)… Super impressed, thanks!” - ev Pep
- Price
- $1.99
- Why It’s Cool
- Chances are, if you’re on the go and trying to film videos, you may not have much time to think about being creative. Enter: VideoCam illusion Pro! This app will allow you to combine up to 24 filters, 17 effects, and 13 masks to create artsy videos in real time without editing software. You also have the option of choosing from five recording speeds. Perhaps, like Videocam illusion Pro user ev Pep, you might want to give your video the “Wizard of Oz” treatment (B/W to color to B/W) using the multiple filtering options you have at your disposal or maybe you want to be edgy with the pencil video filter. While you wouldn’t always want to rely on special effects to ensure your videos are interesting to watch (interesting content is what does that!), it is a great tool for mixing things up occasionally.
- Compatible With
- Android 2.1 and up.
5. Clayframes
“Money well spent on this app. It’s got a good simple design that works well. Once I started animating things, I couldn’t stop. Great awesome app!” - Mark Pilla
- Price
- $2.49
- Why It’s Cool
- Gumby fans, unite! This is a great way to surprise your audience with a “different” kind of video. Rather than your typical monologue or dialogue-style video, Clayframes allows you to tell a story in a fun, somewhat abstract way by creating smooth stop-motion animation and time-lapse in just minutes on your smartphone. One app aspect we really love is the fact that you can add to your movie at any time meaning you can add more frames to older movies and/or edit to change existing videos. Do note that the app website encourages you to try the free Clayframes Lite version before buying to confirm compatibility with your device.
- Compatible With
- Android 2.1 and up.
6. AR Camera 3D
“Love it. This is a lot of fun. Tried the free one first and liked it so much decided to get the full version.” - A Google User
- Price
- $1.69
- Why It’s Cool
- Augmented reality capabilities? Check. 3D technology capabilities? Check. The AR Camera 3D allows you to move small, 3D images and add them to real-world video you have filmed. One way we think this could be used well is if your company’s logo happens to be an animal or person, you might want to show that logo going on an “adventure” through whatever event or remote location you have filmed. Another clever way to use this tool is to film various b-roll of well-known areas in your community and to have your logo “visit” these areas in the video; it will show your audience that your company is well-integrated in the places they all know and love. We would like to note that the manufacturer, Fenice Software, strongly suggests you test your device’s compatibility with the lite (free) version before investing in the app and that you report any bugs you notice as they are admittedly still working some out.
- Compatible With
- Android 2.2 and up.
We’re impressed with these inexpensive apps for your Android devices as well as the iOS apps we shared not too long ago and we would love to hear your favorites! Share with us here, on Facebook, or on Twitter (@SproutVideo).
Have you wanted a more customized interface for your SproutVideo player? Using our Javascript Player API, it’s very easy to create you own unique user interface for your videos. Here is a quick example using JQuery UI to help demonstrate the possibilities. Before we get started, here is what we’re going to build.
Step 1: Set up the embed code
The first thing you’ll need to do is set up your embed code so that it hides all of the SproutVideo UI around the player. To do that, use the embed code customization tool to select the “Show Controls” radio button in the Pre-Play tab.
Then check the “Do not show controls” in the “Controls” tab.
Click the “Update Embed Code” button and grab your new embed code from the “Get the code” box.
Step 2: Setup our dependencies.
To easily interact with the SproutVideo API and create our UI, we’ll use JQuery and JQuery UI. This will make building things like our progress bar far easier. Add the two libraries to the head of your HTML document along with the default JQuery UI theme stylesheet. We’re also going to add the excellent Font Awesome web font. This web font has tons of great icons and will make adding things like play, pause, fullscreen and volume buttons a breeze without having to create any images. Lastly, we need to add the SproutVideo Javascript API. Here is what our <head> section looks like now:
<head>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.9.1.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.10.2/jquery-ui.js"></script>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.10.2/themes/smoothness/jquery-ui.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/3.0.2/css/font-awesome.min.css">
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://c.sproutvideo.com/player_api.js"></script>
</head>
Step 3: Set up UI containers
We’re going to create a very basic player in this example and include the following controls:
- A play / pause button
- A progress bar that allows the viewer to seek within the video
- A Volume on / off button
- A full screen button
Let’s set up our HTML:
<body>
<div class="player">
<div class="video">
<iframe class='sproutvideo-player' type='text/html' src='http://videos.sproutvideo.com/embed/e898d2b5111be3c860/546cd1548010aaeb?type=sd&noBigPlay=true&showcontrols=false' width='100%' height='100%' frameborder='0'></iframe>
</div>
<div class="toolbar">
<div class="control play-pause"><a href="#"><i class="icon-play"></i></a></div>
<div class="progress-container">
<div class="progress"></div>
</div>
<div class="control fullscreen"><a href="#"><i class="icon-fullscreen"></i></a></div>
<div class="control volume"><a href="#"><i class="icon-volume-up"></i></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
OK, so now we’ve set up all of our necessary UI elements for our player and gave them reasonable class names so we can easily access them in javascript and style them. Here is what it looks like now.
Next, lets set up our progress bar:
$('.progress').slider({
value: 0,
orientation: "horizontal",
range: "min",
animate: true
});
Great. Now we have a progress bar but everything looks like a mess. Let’s make things a little more attractive.
.player {
width: 640px;
height: 403px;
position: relative;
margin: 50px auto;
}
.video {
position: absolute;
left: 0;
right: 0;
top: 0;
bottom: 43px;
}
.control {
float: left;
padding: 0 10px;
}
.toolbar {
position: absolute;
left: 0;
right: 0;
bottom: 0;
padding: 13px 0 13px;
}
.control a {
text-decoration: none;
color: #000000;
}
.progress-container {
position: absolute;
left: 43px;
right: 79px;
width: auto;
}
.volume, .fullscreen {
float: right;
}
Now this is starting to look like an actual video player. Now we just have to start hooking up the UI to the actual player.
Step 5: Hooking up the UI to the Javascript API
The next thing we need to do is create an instance of the SproutVideo player in our javascript and set it up to listen for the appropriate events and set up some state variable:
var _duration = 0, _playing = false, _volume = 1, _fullscreen = false;
var videoPlayer = new SV.Player({
videoId: 'e898d2b5111be3c860',
events: {
onStatus: function(event) {
switch(event.type) {
case 'ready':
_duration = event.data.duration;
$(".progress").slider("option", "max", _duration);
case 'progress':
$('.progress').slider("option", "value", (event.data.time));
break
case 'pause':
_playing = false;
$('.play-pause i').removeClass('icon-pause').addClass('icon-play');
break;
case 'play':
_playing = true;
$('.play-pause i').removeClass('icon-play').addClass('icon-pause');
break;
case 'volume':
_volume = event.data;
if (_volume == 1) {
$('.volume i').removeClass('icon-volume-off').addClass('icon-volume-up');
} else if (_volume == 0) {
$('.volume i').removeClass('icon-volume-up').addClass('icon-volume-off');
}
break;
}
}
}
});
Now our UI will properly respond to the events from the Javascript player API. Try clicking on the poster frame in the example and you’ll see that the progress bar updates! You’ll notice that we set the “max” value of our slider to the duration of the video that we get from the “ready” event. This helps us get nice, smooth, updates on our progress bar once every second and it’ll make seeking that much easier as well. Next, we set the “value” option for our slider to the current second value from the “progress” event from the API. This updates our progress bar position. We also toggle the class of our play / pause and volume on / off buttons based on the events from the API. Now it’s time to make our buttons and progress bar interact with the player:
$('.play-pause a').click(function(){
if (!_playing) {
videoPlayer.play();
} else {
videoPlayer.pause();
}
});
$('.volume a').click(function(){
if (_volume == 0) {
_volume = 1;
} else {
_volume = 0;
}
videoPlayer.setVolume(_volume);
});
$('.fullscreen a').click(function(){
var elem = $('.player')[0];
if (!_fullscreen) {
if (elem.requestFullscreen) {
elem.requestFullscreen();
} else if (elem.mozRequestFullScreen) {
elem.mozRequestFullScreen();
} else if (elem.webkitRequestFullscreen) {
elem.webkitRequestFullscreen();
}
_fullscreen = true;
} else {
if (document.exitFullscreen) {
document.exitFullscreen();
} else if (document.mozCancelFullScreen) {
document.mozCancelFullScreen();
} else if (document.webkitCancelFullScreen) {
document.webkitCancelFullScreen();
}
_fullscreen = false;
}
});
As you can see above, we’ve bound the click event on play/pause button to tell our player object to play or pause the video based on the currently playback state stored in our _playing variable. Next up, we toggle the volume on and off based on the _volume state variable. Finally we handle entering and exiting fullscreen mode. Since there isn’t a universal method for doing this yet, we use feature detection to use the browser specific methods and keep track of the state in our _fullscreen state variable. Lastly, we just need to allow dragging our progress bar to seek within the video:
$('.progress').slider({
value: 0,
orientation: "horizontal",
range: "min",
animate: true,
slide: function(event, ui) {
videoPlayer.seek(ui.value);
}
});
To do that, we’ve just added a new slide parameter when initializing our slider. This function is called every time the user changes the value of the slider either by dragging or clicking on it. Since we set the maximum value of the slider to be the total duration of our video, each step of the slider represents one second. The ui.value parameter represents the newly selected value of the slider and that will be equivalent to the second in the video to which we’d like to seek. Therefore we can directly pass that video to the seek function of our player object to seek to that second in the video.
With that final step, we’re all done building our quick and dirty custom video player. After adding a few minor css touches, here is the final result.
While this is just a quick example, it should give you an idea of what’s possible so get out there and start building your own custom players. If you’ve built one you’re proud of, or if you have any questions about using the API, let us know!
Ideally, you have your kit with you whenever you need to shoot video for your company. Realistically, this isn’t always possible. Whether you’re at a conference or special event, have the unexpected opportunity for an interview with an industry expert, or are simply in the right place at the right time for capturing excellent video content, expert and novice filmmakers alike should consider keeping these inexpensive apps in their tool kit. Each can make your on-the-fly video production life a little easier, allow you to be creative when the time calls for it, and quickly share an important moment from your company in an impactful way. If you’re an Android user, check out our Android Edition of 6 under 5.
1. 8mm
- What People Are Saying
- “Forget the iPhone camera app. This is the way to go. Think of Hipstamatic for video.” - Sarkmachine
- Price
- $1.99
- Why We Think It’s Cool
- This inexpensive and extremely easy-to-use app produces a unique, professional look to your videos that can compete with any videos out there. In fact, Swedish Director Malik Bendjelloul relied on 8mm when he ran out of money to finish shooting and processing his film, “Searching for Sugarman” which in and of itself is pretty impressive. Did we mention this film also just won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature?
- Compatible Devices
- iPhone (5/4S/4/3GS) and iPod Touch (with video camera), iOS 5.0 or later
- Languages
- English, Chinese, Japanese
2. iMovie (for Your iPhone or iPad)
- What People Are Saying
- “I love this app. It’s easy to edit my videos. I really wish that you could speed up or slow down the video, though.” - Woxallex
- Price
- $4.99
- Why It’s Cool
- Convenience and organization are the name of the game here. Much like the desktop version of the app, the mobile version of iMovie lets you edit your videos and add music and transitions to your videos. Doing this on the fly is key for those of you who regularly film your videos remotely. For those of you who usually film in the same location, consider mixing up your online video offerings (your audience will appreciate it) and know you’re in good hands with this app. It is worth noting that many reviewers, like the one we quoted above, have asked for more editing abilities. Still, we say this app makes a videographers’ life easier so it’s worth the price tag.
- Compatible Devices
- iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPod Touch (4th generation), iPod Touch (5th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3g, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Wifi + 4g, iPad (4th generation), iPad Wifi + Cellular (4th generation), iPad mini and iPad mini WiFi + Cellular, Optimized for iPhone 5. Requires iOS 6.0 or later.
- Languages
- English, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
3. Directr
- What People Are Saying
- “Directr is so easy and lots of fun. Can become addictive. You find yourself wanting to make new shorts every day.”- AnjaliSingh
- Price
- Free
- Why It’s Cool
- We think that even the most expert video maker can appreciate an app that makes her job easier. Touted as the video app for anyone, it takes the headache of editing out of the equation and is especially useful for new videographers. Not to be left out, expert filmmakers will find this app especially handy when time is simply not a resource at your disposal. Tack on the fact that it’s free and, well, it’s hard to argue that it shouldn’t be in your video on-the-go arsenal. For new and longtime videographers, we suggest using Directr to capture your team at conferences and special events then sharing, in real time, with your online audience.
- Compatible Devices
- iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
- Languages
- English, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish
4. FiLMicPro
- What People Are Saying
- “For the price and what it does, there is absolutely no reason not to give it less than 5 stars. Amazing applications. I’m using it with iPhone 5 and iPad 3, the Makayama Movie Mount, the Encinema SLR adapter and a vintage Pentax prime lens. I get some amazing footage. People can’t believe the footage I get with an iOS device.”- Leonabi76
- Price
- $4.99
- Why It’s Cool
- This app, with its nice, clean user interface and straightforward manual controls, does an excellent job of keeping the professional video maker in mind. It gives the shooter much more manual control than many of the apps out there by allowing you to choose the optimal settings for your video (depending on what it is you need to shoot) and to choose from four different resolutions and corresponding bitrates. By incorporating features such as a customizable slate and color bars, this app ensures you maintain professional quality control of your video once you’re ready to head to the editing room.
- Compatible With
- iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Wi-Fi + 4G, iPad (4th generation), iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (4th generation), iPad mini and iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular. Requires iOS 6.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
- Languages
- English
5. Givit
- What People Are Saying
- “Finally there is an app that makes it super easy to create cool videos on my iPhone from multiple clips. Love the slow mo for all my sports videos.”- Jasper 27
- Price
- Free
- Why It’s Cool
- Givit has been around for some time with a focus on video shareability but they made our cut because they have recently evolved and now include video-editing capabilities that make it easier for users to polish their videos before sharing them. There are also some fun features such as nuanced transitions, changes in speed, instant replays, and the ability to add music (your own or from the small Givit library) so that each video you produce on the fly still has your unique style.
- Compatible With
- iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 6.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
- Languages
- English, Bokmål, Norwegian, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish
6. Splice
- What People Are Saying
- “I absolutely love this app! It pretty much does everything. I’ve used iMovie, ReelDirector, and Splice and Splice seems to do the job. Plus, you can fast-forward and slow down your videos (unlike other video editors)”- xbrittney
- Price
- Free (ad supported) or $3.99 (no ads)
- Why It’s Cool
- According to their website, “your only limit is imagination” when it comes to using this video creation and editing app. Splice allows you to assemble video clips, music, photos, visual effects, text, audio mixing, and to provide creative expression, along with exacting synchronization of sound effects and voice-overs. Splurge for the $3.99 option to avoid annoying ads and never look back.
- Compatible With
- iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.
- Languages
- English
We know there are plenty more inexpensive apps for videographers out there and we’d love to hear your favorites! Share with us here or on Twitter (@SproutVideo).
Most of our blogs over the past month have been dedicated to helping you become a video DIY expert, or at least to get your feet wet. The beauty of online video is that you don’t need an expensive studio and production team to make it happen — you just need some know-how and determination, and you can make amazing videos in-house.
To continue on that theme, we’ve put together a quick list of our favorite video creation hacks: in other words, ways to avoid buying expensive kit by building your own solutions. These hacks focus on common problems of lighting, sound, and movement in creating your own online video. Let us know what works for you!
Problem: You can’t afford to shell out for expensive lighting.
Hack #1: Use nature.
In a jam, you can take advantage of natural light indoors by placing the subject facing a window, and covering the window with white paper or thin white cloth to diffuse the light. This keeps the subject lit, while keeping the light from being too harsh.
Hack #2: Reflect what you’ve got.
To make the most of a single light source—and that could even be a window—use a reflective surface such as a foam board ($3 at most photo supply stores) or a white wall to fill in the shadows. To find out more about where you need the light, check out our post on lighting for video.
Problem: You’re filming on your webcam or camera phone, and don’t have a suitable microphone to get rid of background noise.
Hack #1: Build your own Mic.
We loved this tutorial on Lifehacker, which shows you how to build your own bootleg microphone for around $9. This one is fairly easy to make if you have a spare hour, and it’s perfect for enhancing sound quality on smartphone or laptop video recordings.
Problem: You want to get movement in your film, but it comes across as bumpy and unprofessional.
Hack #1: Build your own Dolly.
Another gem from Lifehacker, this tutorial shows you how to build your own dolly from PVC pipes and rollerblade wheels (other wheels will work, too), which will allow you to add some movement into your storytelling without breaking the bank.
Hack #2: Instructables
Instructables has a host of DIY camera rigs for stabilization, for example this video we found for building a shoulder rig or this $15 DIY DSLR Steadyicam.
These are just a few of the many, many hacks out there on the grand old internet. If you’re facing a video production problem and you don’t want to throw a lot of cash at it, give us a shout via comments or on Twitter (@SproutVideo) and we’ll help you find a hack.
Now that the weather’s warming up, you might be considering shooting some of your next video outside. Indeed some of the best online videos are created right in your own backyard, on the streets of a city, in a park—anywhere the light is good and the ambience is interesting.
We’ve put together a list of useful tips for using these factors to your advantage, and getting the most for your outdoor filming efforts. Let us know how they work for you!
1. Use the sun as a backlight. By placing your subject between you and the sun, you can achieve a backlit or “halo” effect that emphasizes the outline of your subject. This works best when sun is at a 45 degree angle; if it’s too low, you risk getting lens flare, so try this after midday. (Find out more about how lighting works for video in our recent post.)
2. Use the “golden hours” of daylight. Another option, depending on the look and feel you’re going for, is to film when the sun is low in the sky (roughly an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset). Filming with the sun at your back will give your subject a rosy glow.
3. Use a wide aperture. By manually selecting a wide aperture and zooming in on your subject, you’ll be able to blur the background and sharpen the image of your subject. This is a nice way to visually create ambience without distracting from the subject.
4. Use a microphone. Perhaps this goes without saying, but outside environments tend to have ambient noise, which leads to lessened sound quality in your recording. To solve this problem, use a clip mic or a boom mic—both of which you can place close to the speaker—to make sure the focal sound is the speaker, not the background. (You can find out more about getting the best sound in your video in our recent blog post on the topic.)
5. Use filters. Most cameras these days come with a variety of filters that will eliminate the slight annoyances of outdoor filming that can be distracting, like reflections and glare. A UV filter, for example, will reduce glare, while a polarizing filter will reduce reflections from water and windows. Read your manual to find out what filters your camera has, and use them!
6. Avoid autofocus. Shooting outdoors often means that there will be several objects in your depth of field, such as buildings, trees, etc. This can confuse the autofocus, and if you’re not careful you’ll end up with footage that keeps focusing on the trees behind your subject, and blurring your subject. Always try to use the manual focus when you’re shooting outdoors to keep this from happening.
Do you have any tips to add to the list? We’d love to hear them. Feel free to leave them in comments below, or give us a shout via Twitter (@SproutVideo).
Many of you will be relatively new to shooting video, and we applaud your DIY pluck. To help you out, we’ve asked around and put together a list of things that our favorite videographers wish they knew before they got started. From planning to execution to uploading your next online video, we’ve got you covered.
Preparation: What to Do Before You Shoot
1. Prepare a script. Even a loose one—just something to help keep your actors/subjects focused and to help you cover all your bases. If scripting is counterproductive to your video plan (for example, if you’re shooting customer testimonials), have a bullet list of points you want to hit or questions you plan to ask.
2. Have a storyboard handy. This can be as casual or as detailed as you want. The purpose of a storyboard is to visually outline the most important shots you need to get. This helps keep you on track, and also reminds you to get a mix of shots, to keep the video visually interesting.
3. Bring an extra battery for the camera. This extends to all the extras you might need, depending on what equipment you’re using. Consider whether you may need extra lightbulbs, extra memory cards or tapes for camcorders, etc. It’s also a good idea to bring an extension cable, along with your power cords.
4. Bring a tripod. Unless you’re specifically going for a low-budget look, bring (and use) a tripod to make sure you get steady shots during filming. For more about what you might need, check out our post on the ten most useful pieces of video equipment.
5. Test your sound equipment. If you haven’t used it before, it’s a good idea to film something in a similar sound environment to where you plan to film on the day, using your sound equipment. Then play the test on your laptop or mobile device to make sure that the quality is suitable for the way most people will be watching. (For more on getting sound right, check out our recent post on it.)
Filming Tips
1. Get a variety of shots. Most inexperienced videographers stick to one kind of shot, usually wide or medium-distance. During filming, shoot a variety of wide, medium-distance, and close-up shots to get the most engaging visual story. Note: A good rule of thumb for matching shot to content is to use wide shots for establishing context, medium-distance shots to deliver important story points (for example, showing a subject from waist- or chest-high in front of a significant backdrop), and close-ups to create an emotional connection with the subject (for example, during a touching personal moment or during a climactic moment).
2. Think in thirds. Don’t view your subject in the center of the frame, but rather 2/3 of the way to the left or right. Leave space at the top of the frame as well, above the subject’s head, so the image doesn’t appear too crowded.
3. Minimize panning and zooming. These effects are rarely effective with online video, since the viewing space tends to be small.
4. Hold shots for ten seconds. This goes for non-dialogue shots where you’re capturing visuals or ambience. If you get at least ten seconds of footage, you’ll likely end up with at least a few seconds of clean, usable footage within that ten seconds.
5. Cut between takes. If you plan to edit the video yourself, cutting often will help keep video file size smaller and easier to manage during post-production.
Video Content
1. Don’t be too promotional. Instead of focusing your video on what you want from customers, focus on the needs and desires of the intended audience. For more on how to do this, check out our post on creating engaging video campaigns.
2. Keep it short. Statistics show that viewers of online video tend to watch for about two minutes on average, so unless your video needs to be significantly longer than this, your best bet is to keep it to two minutes.
3. Put the video where it’s easy to find. To make sure people visiting your site don’t miss your video, your best bet is to place it “above the fold”; web visitors shouldn’t have to scroll down to see it, it should be right there at the top. You also don’t want to bury the video within the website, so place it on your homepage for maximum exposure.
Have any tips of your own to add to the list? Let us know in comments below, or shout to us via Twitter (@SproutVideo).
