From YouTube and Facebook to smartphones and smartwatches, videos are everywhere. In fact, research from Zenith estimates that people will spend 84 minutes each day watching online video, up 25 percent from 2018.
When potential clients find your social media channels, they’ll expect to find a quality “About Me” video that explains who you are, what you do, and why someone should do business with you. Here are nine steps to producing an “About Me” video that grabs and keeps their attention.
1. Create a Strategic Plan
Begin with a timeline, and plan from there. Whether your video is due in two weeks or two years, make a plan. Who is responsible for what, where, when and why? This keep everyone on track, hold everyone accountable, and guide you towards your desired outcome.
2. Identify Your Desired Outcome
Many budding iPhone movie producers have the mindset of headless chickens. They know they need a video, but they don’t see it as a means to an end. Without a goal in mind, the video will probably offer little value from a business perspective.
Do you want to educate people on a specific topic and prove your expertise? Do you want to motivate people to take a certain action? Will your video be used as an ad? If so, what’s the goal of the ad?
Identify what you want to accomplish and create your video with that goal in mind.
3. Create a Script
You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint. By the same token, you wouldn’t make a video without a script. Yes, the script is that important.
A script will act as your guide throughout the shooting process. Having a well-written script greatly reduces the time and stress of shooting and minimizes the confusion that can cause you to blow up your budget. The script replaces questions with clarity, leaving you free to focus on creating the highest quality video.
Consider using a two-column script for your first iPhone video. This simple format lets you write the audio in one column and the corresponding video in the other column.
4. Choose a Staging Location
Location is key to telling any story. If you’re shooting a fun piece about your boutique online clothespin agency, you wouldn’t want to stage the video in a grimy prison cell. However, a prison cell might be the perfect environment for a new death metal record label to shoot their first iPhone music video.
Choose a place that your clients will identify with. Where do they hang out? Where are they most likely to go to find your product?
For interviews, be sure to choose a location with good acoustics. Avoid outdoor locations where noise is unpredictable, as well as loud equipment like air conditioning units.
Remember, location is a character in and of itself. Bring your location to life by adding relevant props to the shot. If you are a law firm; have law books, if you’re a teacher; textbooks, and so on.
5. Use the Proper Tools
An iPhone has some excellent video production features, but it can’t replicate professional equipment. You can improve the quality of your video by purchasing:
· Wireless microphones: These mics do a better job picking up audio than your phone’s built-in mic and they can be clipped to your shirt. Here’s a quality microphonefor just $10.
· Lighting: Proper lighting can greatly increase the production value of your video. Two clamp lights with full-spectrum bulbs can do the trick. These lightsand bulbscan improve the quality and clarity of your footage.
· Tripod: A shaky video shot by hand is unprofessional and distracting. For less than $20, this flexible Gorilla podallows you to place your iPhone anywhere and provides much-needed stability.
· Remote control: If you’re a one-person crew, use this remotefor under $10 to control the camera while sitting down to make life easier.
6. Prepare for Shooting Day
This is much easier when you have a script to work with. Get familiar with your lines and practice so the delivery looks and sounds natural.
If you can’t remember the lines, make cue cards out of poster board for someone to hold behind camera. This alternative to a teleprompter is an inexpensive approach that worked for decades on broadcast TV and can help you cut shooting time.
7. Shoot with a Compelling Story in Mind
Since you’ve done all the prep work, this should be much easier! Just gather all the materials you need for the shoot and notify your crew.
Once you nail the interview, you’ll need to shoot some B-roll. Although B-roll may sound less important than your interview, don’t be fooled! These are the images that actually tell your story. If you’re selling bananas, show someone attractive eating a banana! Remember the golden rule of film-making: show, don’t tell.
8. Edit Your Footage
Once you’re done shooting, use iMovie on your iPhone to put all the clips together. Sites such as incompetech are free, but you have to credit them in the description of the video. Audio Jungle might cost you some money, but you won’t need to credit them at all.
9. Distribute Your Video
If a video is played in a forest and nobody sees it play, does it really have an impact? Well, you get the idea.
Distribution is just as important as the video itself. In addition to placing your video on your social media channels and company website, you need to get your video in front of the right people at the right time. Make sure you understand who your audience is and where their eyeballs are.
If you follow these steps and crafted a video with a message that’s hyper-tailored to your specific audience, you’ll have a much better chance at converting viewers into clients.
Need inspiration? Check out the Custom Video Productions portfolio to see the videos, motion graphics, animations, aerial photography, and other content that we’ve developed for our clients.