Do’s and Don’ts of Video Production
Countless numbers of people are interested in creating their own videos to show off to the world, but they simply don’t know how to approach the process. What people forget is that video production is an art that takes practice and time to develop the right skills. To give you a little insight on what skills to focus on, here are American View’s DO’s and DON’Ts of approaching video production.
PLANNING:
DO have a clear and concise strategy ahead of time
Before actually shooting your video, plan your shoot to prevent a lack of direction. For example, know the message you are trying to convey to the audience. Also, hire a production company to plan out technical aspects prior to the production, such as the equipment and locations necessary for your production.
DON’T just pick up a camera and go for it.
Picking up a camera with no set plan or direction for where you want your video to go will lead to unwanted headaches and setbacks. Without a plan prior to the production, problems quickly will begin to pile up. For example, perhaps you start to film and then you find out you are missing a very important piece of equipment or part of the script. These dilemma’s can be avoided with proper preparation before the shoot.
TEAM BUILDING:
DO have people around you that can record sound, shoot film, and set up lights
Problems encountered when producing a video by yourself are easily avoided with the help of a professional. They can bring so much to a production that you may not have, such as creativity, knowledge, and expertise. They can also can give you fresh and better perspectives about the production that you may have never envisioned.
Having a team to help your video production will make a significant difference in what you want your final product to look like.
DON’T do everything yourself!
Video production at its best is a team oriented process. Producing a video by yourself is a tremendous amount of work and stress. You would have to control so many things that, over time, hinder the creativity and execution of the production. Also, if you were doing it all yourself then the production would be limited to the knowledge of just you, and although you might be able to operate a camera, you might not know how to do audio, or vice versa. Problems like these can be avoided with the combined knowledge of others.
SHARING:
DO allow others to see your work and let them give you feedback.
Allowing people to view your films is a great way to get constructive outside feedback on your work. This constructive criticism will open your eyes to aspects in your production that may need to be cleaned up or polished. Don’t take this criticism personally because it gives you other perspectives to work from and will make your production better.
DON’T share your work before allowing team members to first observe what you have.
Sharing your work with a public audience without first letting your coworkers see and review it would be detrimental to your finished product. What would happen is that your product would be bias to your own views, and aspects that you may have thought were good because might not resonate well with others. Even the greatest film makers need outside feedback on their work before they release their film to the public.
ARCHIVING:
DO copy and back your footage up when finished shooting.
When you are finished shooting make certain your production company is copying and backing up your work. Be sure that your work is saved in a minimum of two locations, for example on a hard drive and an external hard drive kept by you. This step is important in the production process because the actual shoot will guarantee that your work is safe and secure, in case any problems arise.