How To Make a Video of Higher Quality

Nowadays, video content allows you to showcase your brand and sell your product or service. All videos should look professional and deliver high-quality content, especially when you want them to represent who you are and what you’re all about.

Our video production Adelaide services provide an effective way to capture more attention, reach a wider audience, or grow your social media following. Hiring a professional video company will increase audience engagement and impress your viewers. Let’s look at some tips on how to make a video of higher quality.

1. Create a Storyboard for Your Video

The pre-production phase is a prime opportunity for refining your video idea. Films, television productions, and YouTube videos undergo behind-the-scenes planning before the cameras start rolling. Novice video creators often jump into recording without much thought, resulting in disappointing videos.

Storyboard your entire video before you begin. A storyboard shows the creative direction of the video shot by shot, forcing video creators to look realistically at their productions by testing the effectiveness of their content and ideas.

The storyboard provides a comprehensive guideline to follow, streamlining the process while giving everyone involved a visual of the final product. Remember to focus on your technique and tools to make a professional video.

Before recording, test all the necessary equipment, including cameras, speakers, lights, and anything specific to your project. Proper planning and pre-production can reduce recording issues and create dynamic, quality video content.

2. Use Proper Lighting Techniques

Video creators often assume that a room’s natural light or fixtures will suffice. However, lighting has a significant effect on the quality of your video. Bad lighting will force you to spend more time editing the final product.

A well-lit scene establishes the mood. Lighting can give viewers details about actors and settings using different contrasts and shadows. As a rule of thumb, videos with good lighting appear sharper and more professional.

When people talk about the quality of light, they refer to the softness or hardness. Both types of lighting create different visual effects to suit the scene. Understanding how to use different lighting techniques can greatly impact video quality.

Soft lighting creates a gentle or positive atmosphere. In contrast, hard lighting casts dark shadows and works well in scenes with intense feelings. Keep reading to learn how clear sound can further improve your video content.

3. Make Great-sounding Videos

Most video cameras can record audio, but you should consider using a separate audio recorder. An audio recorder provides high-quality sound and greater editing control. Invest in microphones for better sound and mobility.

Take a moment to listen to what your microphones pick up before you start filming. Consider turning off appliances or machines that produce unwanted sound. When filming outdoors, ensure you have a foam windscreen and a rain cover for your microphone.

If you have trouble with your audio component, consider voice-over. Sometimes, it makes more sense to dub audio later than to capture it during the shoot. Purchase quality over-ear headphones to hear your voice while recording.

Lastly, audio software can provide additional assistance if you encounter background noise during post-production. Use powerful audio editing tools such as Adobe Audition, Audacity, ocenaudio, or AVS Audio Editor. These programs can isolate, re-record, and enhance sounds.

4. Learn How To Use Video Editing Software

A good video editing program allows you to produce professional-grade videos. Well-produced videos can improve a product’s engagement and drive sales. Video editors such as Apple iMovie, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere Pro can help you stand out from the competition.

A video editing tool should have high-resolution or 4K video editing capabilities. Editors with video quality enhancers, motion tracking, and colour selection tools produce better content. Shaky footage causes viewers to lose interest.

Moving with a handheld camera can make the video choppy and unsteady. A tripod holds your camera in place, resulting in smoother recordings. If you don’t have a tripod, use auto-stabilisation software to fix shaky cameras and bad video footage.

Look for easy-to-use features like 3D video editing and sound effects to experiment with video compositions. In addition to special effects, overlays, and transitions, you can take advantage of colour adjustments to edit your videos. After editing, you can export your video in different formats and resolutions.

5. Understand Grid Lines and the Rule of Thirds

When making videos, you should follow the rule of thirds. Modern cameras and smartphones have grid lines to streamline the video composition process. These lines indicate the ideal placement for framing your image by dividing it into thirds (horizontally and vertically).

The rule of thirds creates a beautiful visual effect by giving more structure while creating a spectacular composition. Adding a shot that emphasises something outside the centre of the frame will increase audience engagement. Video creators often leverage the rule of thirds to make their videos more dynamic and interesting.

6. Video Codecs Impact Video Quality

Video codecs convert raw footage into compact and enhanced videos. H.264 (MPEG-4) remains the most popular file-sharing codec, while H.265 offers an upgraded codec for 4K video files. If you plan on working with Apple’s .mov files, then you might want to choose a ProRes codec.

Video compression impacts video quality by converting footage into something more accessible. Most video editors allow you to export files using various codecs and file formats. Understanding what codecs do and which ones work best can go a long way in improving the quality of your video.

Work With a Professional Video Production Company

Otto Studios has years of experience in the video production industry, and we value building relationships with our clients. We create video marketing campaigns from the ground up and know how to make videos of superior quality. Our team has helped individuals and businesses, from small start-ups to huge, multi-departmental organisations.

Contact Otto Studios today to turn your video idea into a reality. Call us at 0408 234 155 or +61 408 234 155 for international.

Who’s Involved in the Video Making Process

If you want to make a video or film that looks professional and conveys a sound message, you need to assemble the right team for the job.

At Otto Studios, our video production Adelaide teams have extensive experience with projects of all sizes, and we can assemble a team to fit your objectives.

In this article, we look at the broad range of roles involved in larger video productions, but rest assured that there’s no one-size-fits-all team when it comes to video production. The team needs to match the objectives and constraints of the project.

Writers and Storyboard Artists

The writing team is responsible for crafting a story or video concept from beginning to end, while the storyboard team’s job is to plot that progression visually.

Whether you’re making a short film or a small information clip, a successful video has to have a script, and the writers are the ones who make it. That script informs the actors of what to say and when to say it and keeps them from misspeaking and fumbling the message.

Storyboard artists serve a similar purpose but help guide the rest of the production team. They illustrate how scenes play out, including where the actors stand, what angle the cameras film them at, and occasionally the backdrop.

Producers

The producer’s job is to listen to the big-picture goals and ideas from the writers and storyboard artists and assemble the team that brings them to life. That team typically includes all of the roles listed below and often more depending on the project’s size.

Producers also stay on through the entire process to ensure their team creates a successful video.  If the video production process hits too many roadblocks, the producer can bring in additional team members or replace ill-fitting ones.

Director

The director oversees the production phase of the video-making process and guides the cast and crew on how to complete their roles. If any aspect of the filming is off, whether it’s a line delivery from an actor or misplaced lighting from the technicians, the director will catch it and suggest changes.

The director also helps establish the production schedule and keep everything on time.

Assistant Director

Directors watch over every phase of production, which is no easy task. Because of that high demand, many work with assistant directors who make the central director’s life easier.

The assistant director also helps with the production schedule and ensures everyone arrives to set on time. They monitor the script and storyboard to ensure the cast and crew film every scene and hit every line when they’re supposed to.

Director of Photography

The director of photography serves a similar role to the principal director but oversees the camera crew and their work rather than the entire production team. They scan every element of the set and scene and determine the best locations for each camera and their ideal settings.

Additionally, the director of photography works closely with the lighting team during the video-making process to ensure each shot receives proper illumination.

Camera Crew

The camera crew monitors the action during the scene through the camera and makes the director of photography’s visions come to life. Each camera has at least one camera operator, and whoever stands behind the lens is responsible for shifting, zooming, and refocusing the video as necessary.

Audio Engineers

Audio engineers record sound during the video-making process and monitor audio levels to ensure everything sounds clear during filming. They record most of their sound on-set for the majority of productions, but many oversee narration and voiceover work as well.

On restricted budgets or small projects, the director of photography will often step into the audio engineer’s role. However, having a dedicated audio team that monitors volume and sound quality can ensure a smooth video-making process. Not only will they make your video sound its best, but they can also interrupt takes with poor audio and save the team’s time.

 

Lighting Team

First-time video producers often overlook the lighting team, but they are a vital part of the video-making process. In fact, lighting is so important and intricate that lighting teams often have a hierarchy of roles to ensure every scene looks its best.

Director

Like the director of photography, the lighting director oversees all staff members on the lighting crew. They work directly with the director of photography and the other partners of the lighting team to place the equipment properly.

Gaffer

The gaffer is the lead electrician on a lighting team. While the lighting director plans where the lighting will go, the gaffer adjusts the settings and angles to ensure the scene is ready to shoot.

Key Grip

The key grip assembles the lights and puts them in their appropriate spots. Typically, key grips work with the gaffer to bring the lighting director’s vision to life.

Editor

Despite not coming on until the end, the person editing the video is a massive part of the process. While the team members listed above create the clips, it’s the editor’s job to ensure those clips look good and come together to build a cohesive video.

Conclusion

We hope that gives you a good overview of the diverse set of roles involved in creating a video or film. If you’d like to start assembling a team for your own video production, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Professional vs Amateur Video Making

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth a million. A high-quality video gives your business exposure that engages with your target audience’s senses while conveying an on-target message about your brand. While most smartphones can shoot video in high definition nowadays, that doesn’t mean just anyone can create professional, business-worthy footage.

Distinguishing between professional vs amateur video making can be pretty obvious in terms of quality. High-quality video production leverages state-of-the-art equipment, professional editing skills, and a keen understanding of storytelling. Working with a professional video production team ensures you get the highest quality content possible.

At Otto Studios, our meticulous video production Adelaide team is ready to handle television commercials, event coverage, live video event hosting, professional film crews, and so much more. With over 20 years of production experience, we can provide your business with simple, effective, and compelling videography to help your business grow.

Work with the professionals at Otto Studios to perfect your newest project by calling 0408 234 155 (international: +61 408 234 155). Let our creative expertise work for you.

Why Hire a Professional Video Production Company?

Video production plays a significant role in marketing as it quickly conveys a message that customers can easily interpret. Working with a professional video production company guarantees you will receive a polished and attractive end product that contains clear audio and appealing visuals. Because we’ve been in this business for decades, we can anticipate your needs and supply you with the perfect video to suit the needs of your business model.

A professional video production company has the appropriate infrastructure that includes high-end equipment, quality editing skills, and years of experience to create the ideal video content for your brand. In addition, a professional videographer understands how to direct you to ensure your message comes across as intended.

Persuasive Imagery

The composition of a camera shot creates dynamic images that tell a story. An amateur video shot on an iPhone with no real direction will never provide the same quality to capture the moment’s finer nuances. Creating an emotional connection in business remains the goal of utilising a professionally produced video as a marketing tool – without this, potential customers are likely to move on.

Top-tier Editing Skills

Editing a video or photo gallery involves more than just sorting through raw footage and stitching it together into a coherent video. High-level editing requires manipulating stills, video, audio, graphics, animation, and text to create a result you can be proud of. Professional vs amateur video making comes down to the editor’s skill level.

High-end Equipment

A professional production company doesn’t come together overnight. It takes years of trial and error, restless all-nighters, and tens of thousands of dollars in high-end equipment. These spendy investments include the best cameras, audio components, lighting gear, and editing software tools.

Professional Lighting

Professional lighting equipment creates a soft ambience that remains consistent throughout a video production, regardless of the time of day. Knowing where to place lighting equipment in relation to the subject requires a professional set of eyes with an acute sense of detail.

Premier Audio Quality

A video invites the interpretation of multiple senses, including sight and hearing. The audio aspects of your video can be just as important as the visuals. Otto Studios creates an entire story with clear, concise audio.

Clear Direction

A professional video production company will not only film and edit your story beautifully but will also provide you with direction for your story. Explaining a specific concept can be challenging for an amateur videographer to translate into a short video or commercial. More likely than not, you’re not side-gigging as an actor and may require clear guidance regarding body language and diction to get your point across.

Typical Pitfalls Associated With Amateur Video Production

Subpar Editing Skills

Creating a slideshow with a soundtrack does not make an amateur video maker a skilful editor. Professional editing software with the added knowledge that only years of experience can provide makes a masterful editor.

While dozens of free editing software programs give hobby video producers the tools to cut footage and add royalty-free music, they will never produce the same quality as professional editing software with a seasoned editor behind the keyboard.

Lack of Equipment

Most amateur video productions do not utilise professional lighting, audio equipment, or top-notch cameras because they haven’t made the investment. Acquiring expensive equipment and quality employees costs a business time and money to find the best options.

No Clear Direction

We all have hundreds of videos of family weddings and other special events on our phones. When we re-watch these videos, we can usually only hear the voice of the person filming, not the marriage vows we were trying to capture. The bride and groom hire a professional videographer to faithfully commemorate the fun, emotion, and bliss of their special day.

Otto Studios Professional Video Production

The differences between professional vs amateur video are like day and night. A beautiful and compelling video requires more than just pointing a camera and pressing “Record.” It takes extensive knowledge and experience with high-quality equipment, the ability to tell a compelling story, and a clear vision of the final product.

A professional video production relates to its audience, sells a product, and creates beautiful imagery through expert equipment and skills. Soft lighting, crystal-clear audio, and perfect colour correction suggest the work of a skilled video production company. These features add value to your proposition by giving your business credibility in the form of quality.

Otto Studios provides professional videography, editing, and live video services for South Australia and Victoria businesses. We provide the highest-quality video production possible, whether you require an entire production team or just a freelance videographer for a small task. Our goal remains to capture the feeling of the moment while delivering a clear message about your business.

To elevate your next project, contact Otto Studios today at 0408 234 155 (international: +61 408 234 155).

What’s Involved in the Video Making Process?

The video-making process for professional productions requires much more than grabbing a camera, filming the first thing you see, and uploading the footage. Rather, there are weeks worth of planning, scouting, editing, and countless other steps behind the curtain that bring high quality videos to life.

Here, we’ll look at several of those steps and show you what to expect when creating a video. This article is written with education in mind but at Otto Studios we believe strongly that there’s no ‘one size fits all’ process for every video and we tailor the process for each project. Read more about our video production Adelaide services to learn more and contact us for a consultation.

Pre-Production

Pre-production is the planning process before you film your video. Here, you’ll fine-tune your ideas, hire some video-making all-stars, and determine how long you’ll need to make your creativity a reality.

Build a Script and Storyboard

You need to know what you’re creating before you start creating it, which happens in the script and storyboard building process. Here, you’ll craft an original story or dialogue, build characters as necessary for a script, and use your storyboard to visualise camera angles, backdrops, actor placement, plot progression, and more.

Assemble a Team and Meet as a Collective

The bigger your video project is, the more talent you’ll need to bring it to life. Large-scale productions need actors, lighting experts, microphone operators, and dozens more people on set, and it’s your job to build that team.

After hiring your talent, gather everyone for a pre-production meeting where you can discuss your goals with the project. There, you will also explain everyone’s roles and answer their questions.

Scout Your Filming Locations

After storyboarding your video, you’ll need to find real-life locations where you can film those scenes. During the scouting process, you can bring the rest of your crew so they can assess what challenges they’ll face filming in that area.

Set a Production Timeline

Once you know what you need to actualise your video, you can schedule how long the remaining steps will take and move to the next phase.

Production

The production phase is where you turn your ideas into reality. Production is arguably the most labour-intensive part of videography and requires high skill and attention to detail, but it’s also typically the shortest part of the video-making process.

Set Up Your Equipment

Once you’re on location with your team, set up the necessary equipment, station everyone in their appropriate spot, and ensure your tools are on the correct settings.

You won’t need every crew member or piece of equipment depending on what or where you’re filming, so be sure to consult with everyone beforehand and only bring the essentials.

Acquire B-Roll Footage

B-roll is footage videographers use for transitions. Most B-rolls don’t have dialogue or anything vital to the plot but naturally carry the story from one point to another without a dramatic cut.

Before you film your actual scenes, think back to your script and what content would fit for a transition. Then, gather whatever B-roll makes sense and move on to the most crucial part of the video-making process.

Film Your Scenes

Bring your team together and use your equipment to film the scenes in your script and storyboard. Shots might require multiple takes and hands-on directing to get right, but it’s vital to have a perfect copy of everything so that you don’t have to reassemble the team and refilm after thinking you finished the project.

Record Voice-Over/Additional Audio

Some projects require voice-over or replacement audio if the original comes out poorly. You’ll want to record those lines after filming so that you know what you need, using either a professional recording booth or your filming equipment.

Post-Production

Post-production is the phase where you trim the fat off your video project and give it the finishing touches. In some instances, it’s also the phase where you market and promote your finished product.

Edit Your Footage and Audio

The first and most time-consuming stage of post-production is the editing process. Here, you’ll splice the best takes from your filming together, clean up the audio and merge it into the video, and assemble the first draft of your finished product.

Once your clips are together, you can focus on colour correcting and re-lighting frames to get closer to your final video.

Add Special Effects and Music

If your video needs graphics or animations, you’ll add them after you’ve tied your clips together and edited them as much as possible. You might need to hire another team member for professional grade effects, but there are free tools online you can use to make simple charts yourself if that’s all you need.

This is also the phase where you will add music to your video. In most instances, music is easy to weave into video content wherever you want it, as there are thousands of royalty-free melodies online where you won’t have to pay for licensing.

However, if you’re a large production eyeing a popular, licensed song, you will need to spend the money and acquire the rights to use it.

Publish the Content

Now that you’re ready to show your video to the world, you can convert it to the proper format and upload it on your platform of choice. Some of the most popular options for first-time videographers are YouTube and Vimeo, but a large-budget production might consider publishing on a physical medium.

Promote Your Video

Just like that, you’ve finished the video-making process. Now, it’s time to put your hard work in front of your target audience and build effective advertisements.

Depending on the type of video, you can make those advertisements anything from social media posts to full-blown commercials.

Conclusion

We hope that this article has given you a solid overview of the steps involved in making a video or film. But remember that this is only an overview and there’s really no ‘one size fits all’ process for proper film making. Contact us for a consultation tailored to your project.