Video creation: how to make a good video shooting

Once the script of your video is finished, you will have to prepare the shooting, and think about all the little technical details. Whether it’s for a collaborator interview, an institutional film, or a product presentation video, you’ll need to follow a few rules during the filming process to ensure a successful result.

But don’t worry, you don’t need to be a professional videographer for that! You just need to keep the basics in mind 😉

Choose the right location

The location is crucial: it reflects the atmosphere of your company, its day-to-day environment.

If you are interviewing someone for a job, the location should make you want to apply for the job. If all you see behind the interviewee are grey empty walls, it’s not very inspiring. On the other hand, if behind them you can see decorated offices, employees talking, a cosy place with armchairs and a foosball table… in short, a nice setting, it’s much more appealing.

Discover the interview of Benjamin, our co-founder, shot in our offices: 

Advice from Pitchy: for a staff interview, if you want to insert keywords in the editing, think of choosing a place where there would be a perspective. For example, a large room or a corridor. This choice avoids the static aspect of certain places or backgrounds (a small room, a picture, an office chair, etc.).

If you are making a corporate film to present your company, remember to choose the most attractive location within your company. This allows you to link the sequences together, thus creating dynamism.

As you can see in this video, the interventions of Benjamin (2:43) and Lionel, the other Pitchy’s co-founder (0:11) highlight the filming location, with the foosball table, and the plants, to create perspective.  The different sequences follow one another, presenting different places: offices, relaxation room, coffee room, etc…

Choose the right frame

Depending on your video format and your message, the frame can play a key role. Moreover, the frame must be anticipated beforehand, in your storyboard. It should be adapted to the location and background.

If you are making a product presentation video, you can “go wild” and vary the shots. Tight shots to highlight the product, or wider shots to put it in perspective, in action.

The choice of distribution channels is also very important. For example, for your Instagram stories or your LinkedIn news feed, you should favour the vertical format so that the video is displayed correctly. On the other hand, for Youtube, you will have to use the horizontal format.

For example, this interview with Matthieu, the SDR team leader at Pitchy, was made in vertical format, as it was broadcast on Instagram: 

For a video interview, remember not to frame the video too closely. It will prevent you from putting the person in perspective, and it’s even a little rough and oppressive to watch.

Good lighting

The question of lighting must be thought through before the shooting. Indeed, it will influence the overall atmosphere of the video: dim lights have a meaning, as well as bright lights. A poorly lit video will not be attractive, probably sad, and will lack dynamism.

Remember that there is a difference between the brightness of a camera and our own eyes: the camera needs much more light than we do. Of course, this is not an issue if you are shooting in broad daylight under the sun.

Advice from Pitchy: don’t wait until the day of the shoot, and do some tests beforehand. Ideally, it is important to have selected several potential locations to see which one has the best lighting conditions.

Getting the sound right

Important note: if you intend to film with your smartphone, the built-in microphone may not be optimal for capturing the sound, which will be problematic, especially if you are doing an interview.

To capture the sound properly, consider using: 

• a lapel microphone, which you can attach to the collar of the person speaking in the video,
• or if you don’t have one, there are microphones for professionals, like the Audio-Technica ATR2100x. A microphone cover (e.g. Heil type) will allow you to cover any noise that might disturb the shooting.

Do you want to shoot a video and edit it without being a professional videographer? Ask for a demo of the Pitchy solution