Every organization gets maxed out when it comes to communications and marketing teams pushing out video content. There is so much to do, so many events to cover, so many social media platforms to serve. But there are ways to multi-task your visual and audio assets so that you can whip up videos with less time and overhead, as well as fewer real dollars spent. Here’s how.
- Take advantage of having key people sit down for interviews. Consider writing BRIEF teleprompter copy that covers your main theme. These brief remarks can be intercut to form a short promo in addition to your more nuanced interview-driven piece.
- Shoot UHD 4K at a minimum, even if delivering in 1080, in order to have the lattitude to “punch in” on shots without resetting, and to give you space for captions.
- Allow time in your schedule–for example when setting up a new shot–to have your sound person go record “wild” sound or “foley” sound. This will offer you lattitude for more nuanced storytelling, and better assets for audio podcasts. You also always want to have time to record “room tone” for every interview set-up. This will save massive amounts of time in your edit, when you are trying to “patch” between soundbites.
- Add a slider to your travel kit. A second camera on a slider makes editing interviews much simpler, and more interesting for the viewer to watch. It’s also a cost saver. Less b-roll coverage is required if you have a second angle to
go to, for example, and most 2-camera edits go more quickly than trying to make just the one angle work.
- Plan how you will tag your sound and media card metadata. Don’t just label your stuff “Day 1, Day 2” etc. Think about who will have hands on this footage and what information they might need to know. Always include the date, the initials of the camera operator, and the location.
- Shoot time of day timecode and include your updated schedule along with any camera notes. This will simplify identifying the shots on ingest and make your edit go more quickly and efficiently.
- Always have a team member shoot “BTS” –behind-the-scenes–footage and photos, which are the most shared content on social platforms. This can be done with a video-capable DSLR, or even a smart phone (but use the highest quality image settings). Take advantage of on-the-go sharing tools like Pic Monkey and Adobe RUSH. Your BTS shares can sometimes outrank the video itself!
Amy DeLouise is a producer, director, author and speaker. Find more of her tips in her live workshops and in video production courses on LinkedIn Learning