How to Produce a Video on a Budget

BY KYLE PETRULIO

Videos are a great way to share a visual of what makes you you as a company and what you have to offer that’s different from everyone else! To start, here is a question you must ask yourself:

WHAT IS MY STRATEGY?

Before getting to gear and how to actually shoot the video, you should make a clear strategy for your video. Pick 3-5 selling points of your company that you want to highlight.

- How might you depict these in a video? - Which of these may be easy to show? Which of these may be difficult to show?

It is always good to have extra options, so if you think of what you believe is your 2 best ideas first, keep going. Those first ones may be hard to film. With extra options at hand, you can always pivot your plan!

GEAR

For a simple video, there are really only two things that you are going to need: a camera and some way to put your shots together (editing software). Thankfully, you may already have these.

CAMERA

For a simple video, you can just use your smartphone. Phones nowadays have great cameras that can show your business clearly.

EDITING SOFTWARE

Just like the camera option, your phone is a great tool for simple video editing.

- iPhones: Newer iPhones have iMovie already installed on them where you can simply drag in clips and add a soundtrack.

- Android: One good simple video editing app is FilmoraGo. Similar to iMovie, you simply drag in clips and add a soundtrack. (FilmoraGo is also available on iPhone).

PUTTING THE VIDEO TOGETHER

LIGHT IT!

Now, take out your phone and go to the video setting on your camera. Before you press record, however, check your lighting.

When recording outside, don’t record directly into the sun. This will cause the image to be blown out (extremely bright). Have the sun behind you so that it illuminates what you are looking at but is not in the frame.

When shooting indoors, keep the same principle. Shoot your subject (whether a person, object, or room) with the light behind you. If shooting a person near a window, don’t have the window behind them, they will become a silhouette and we won’t be able to see their expressions or personality (the reason you’re making the video in the first place.)

If you have desk lamps around, these are great ways to light people with what you already have. If you want to shell out a grand $1-4, Paper Lantern lights are great for creating soft light on people for very cheap as well.

KEEP IT STABLE

Having stable footage boosts your video to the next level. This can be as easy as propping your phone up between a couple of books to take the shake of a human holding it away.

If you want to walk around for a shot, try to keep your hands as stable as possible.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

When it comes to sound, clear audio is important for a professional video. I recommend just having a clear video with a nice soundtrack to represent your company. Without high quality equipment, recording clear vocal audio is difficult.

However, if you do wish to have someone discussing what makes your company great, find a very quiet area to film such as an office without too many noise-making machines (refrigerators, air conditioning, etc.)

EDIT IT

When putting the clips together, try to create a small story. This should come from when you created your strategy.

If you have a good clip that has a shaky beginning or end, just cut it down to the good part and use only that (no one has to know you made a mistake).

THAT’S A WRAP

There are many more complicated aspects to refining your videos, but this should be a good start to creating something to post on your website or social media. The key to making good videos is practice, so if one aspect doesn’t look great, try to change it, play with it, add some flare that represents you and your company.

Kyle Petrulio is a budding new talent in the film and entertainment industry in Southern California. Earlier this year, when the entertainment industry was on hold because of the pandemic, CACM tapped him to help train and onboard members into CMworld.