Today irrigation videos are central to your ag and landscape irrigation products outreach and campaign efforts, especially when it comes to social media. Video is dominating social channels, and if you are not creating video, you are falling behind your competition.
Over 50% of your customers are asking for video content now, and the video you provide makes a difference in how they view your business. Personalized video is shaping the future of marketing, sales, and customer service, so you need to learn how to do it well.
When Shooting Outdoors Use The Sun To Your Advantage
Jain photographer and irrigation videos expert Michael Derewenko suggests using bounce light from a portable reflector when shooting in the sun. Here is an excellent article on ways to use bounce light. He also recommends placing the sun behind the camera when shooting. If you are by yourself using a tripod or placing your camera on a flat surface, you can place a reflector at your feet and bounce the light up at your face.
Use A Gimbal To Stabilize Your Shot
Gimbals work well to give your irrigation videos and photos better clarity and color. They help slow vibration, often occurring when shooting motion or stills. Some gimbals also provide editing software in their apps. The DJI Osmo Mobile 3 is one of our favorites.
You can learn about it here. It works great for the iPhone, including the large iPhone 11 pro. Using a gimbal plus setting a timer for still shots yields excellent results. The DJI gimbal comes with a setting allowing it to follow a subject without touching or moving the camera or gimbal. This is perfect for shooting video by yourself.
Audio Tips
We know audio often makes the difference between a great video and something someone clicks away from immediately. If the audio is not right, there is not high enough content to keep an audience. The microphone on your iPhone works well if you are close enough to it. If you are recording audio on your iPhone with video, you can also use a lavalier microphone that clips to your clothing. Here is a link to a small, well-priced option. I also really like this set up from Rode, It is an $80 option that increases the value of your audio dramatically.
Interview Tips
The first thing to consider with interviews is that the person you interview most likely will be nervous. When the record light goes on, people tighten up. One technique that works well is to get them to relax is to get a conversation going before you start recording. On our lunch and learns, we start talking with an audience five minutes before the webinar starts.
When we officially start, my guest is more relaxed and natural. This helps the quality of the interview. Before the interview, you don’t need to scrip their message, but you can remind them why they are being interviewed. Keeping the end in mind helps them tell an exciting story. For example, reminding them before you start the main reason for the interview. “We want to know and hear about some examples of how this product saved you time and money.”
Editing Tips
The best editing tip is to get the shot right the first time. Since this rarely happens, editing software might be needed. For most of us, the editing software on our phones or gimbals will be adequate.
For those of you needing more, Michael likes Final Cut Pro. This is an Apple product that cost about $300. It takes your editing to the next level. With improved proxy workflows, Final Cut Pro allows you to transcode your full-resolution media, take your 4K or 8K projects with you, and seamlessly share libraries with editors anywhere in the world. Plus, it features modern machine learning tools that automatically transform your widescreen project into custom sizes for social media.
If you do not have an apple device, Adobe Premiere is a better option and is hollywood’s most widely used Video Editor, most indie-films are shot with Adobe Premiere. While premiere does work on a Mac you can also build powerful Windows machines to run premiere on. The better GPU and CPU you have on your desktop the better performance you will get from using these softwares.
Video continues to be more popular every day because it engages audiences, prompts shares, enhances communication, and presents quick and rich content. These tips should help you stay on top of your video game. I’m sure you might have a few tips you could share with us. If you do, please include them in the comment section of this blog. Here is a video of the discussion of these tips from our lunch and learn.