Making a Professional Video for Your Business Is Now Easier Than Ever

A company video allows companies, big and small, to visually connect with their audiences and get customers excited about new offerings or business developments. The difference between a high-quality video on the landing page of your company website and a low-quality video can (and will!) cost you sales.

Setting the Scene

Shooting high-quality videos from your iPhone is possible, but it requires some planning and forethought to get it right. If done correctly, your customers won’t be able to tell that the video was shot on something that came out of your back pocket!

For many people, the idea of creating a video for your business may be intimidating. You don’t have professional video equipment, you have a small budget, or you don’t have the resources to edit a film, right? Wrong. Well sort of…

Here’s one tip right off the bat. Never shoot a video vertically for your business! The human eyes are designed to see the world in widescreen. Holding and shooting videos vertically may be easier and more convenient, but it’s harder to watch and less professional looking.

Let There Be Light

After planning out what to do and say in your video (and turning your phone to the side), the next most important thing to consider is lighting. Good lighting is key to creating a professional video and it’s one of the more difficult features to get right. If you’re using an iPhone, they do well in natural light, so if inside, position yourself so you’re facing the sun.

While natural lighting is ideal, if that’s not possible there’s a simple fix to this problem: a light that connects to your iPhone through the headphone jack (these accessories can be purchased on Amazon for around $11). These lights are much brighter that you would think. However, you may still need more lighting equipment if your existing location is darker than average. If your budget allows, consider using a flood light and a spotlight to help light your scene.

Steady As She Goes

Once you have the right lighting, you need to find something to steady the video (even the best interns don’t have the steadiest hands). A video with any movement lowers the quality and can negatively impact the way consumers see your brand. A tripod will do the job splendidly. They are agile, as they can be used on flat surfaces, or non-traditional surfaces, such as door handles. If the model on the left doesn’t work for you, a taller standing tripod such as the one pictured on the right may work better.

Most people don’t know this, but the iPhone allows you to lock both focus and exposure. This is so that if objects in the video move, you are still able to capture perfect video without it trying to constantly readjust. To utilize this feature, in video mode, tap the screen where you want to focus exposure and focus, and hold your finger there for a few seconds and the following sign will appear: “AE/AF Lock.”

The fixed lens on an iPhone limits the width of videos you can get, so if shooting video inside or in a situation where a wider lens would be better, purchase a clip-on lens adapter (about $15 on Amazon).. This will let you fit more into your shot. It’s not necessary when the camera is stationary, or if you are only videotaping one person.

Cut!

After you’re done filming, the work is still not over. Every video should go through an editing process before it goes live on your site. There are some cheap online apps available to edit videos, but your video should really be uploaded to a computer and edited with a high-quality video editing program. For example, iMovie can be used to edit and add themes, titles, transitions, and even a soundtrack. Of course, small (or large) mistakes can also be removed at this stage.

Finally there’s just a few things left to mention: “Lights” (from a headphone jack), “Camera” (preferably an iPhone), “Action!”