Beginners Tips for Video Post Production

Posted on September 15, 2017

After spending a lot of time improving your photography and filming skills. To film something well is almost the same as taking a good photograph. The same values apply.

First of all learn how your camera works. Think about how to take a good photograph or video clip, If you can’t do that then no post production expert will be able to create a masterpiece for you. No matter how good they are.

Its best to try and film things right the first time round, rather than relying on computer technology.

Equivalently as important, Always give thought to the story you are trying to tell before filming anything. This is going to be tricky when you don’t know what adventures are going to unfurl. Try your best to imagine what shots you want to capture. There’s a couple more irritating things to worry about before editing your film, Like forgetting to film certain shots.

Remember to be careful not to shoot too much. People can make mistakes by filming different things and shoot too much. Which can result in the editing being unbelievably time consuming. The amount of footage you have to edit can lose your hope to the point where you don’t get around to editing your story. In one case, someone shot 24 hours of footage in a week. Even though they thought it would make a lovely short film, They realised they was too much footage to sit down and resolve it all.

This is an article about post production and it is very important. It isn’t the most important aspect of film making. Two most important things to remember are:

1. Always shoot good footage, good quality audio is important to so make sure you get that spot on!

2. Think about exactly what you want to shoot, and not too much of it.

Some people who aren’t that technical have never colour graded a video, to get the colour right, first time in the camera. Colour grading and advanced editing would improve the end result, You may not have the time to do all this. There is iMovie which is free, but there is also Final Cut Express Its possible to improve your films through careful post production.

 

Editing Tips:

• A story has a point and a message, Beginning, middle and end. So tell the story and bring it to your film.

• Time is short; Attention spans are shorter, especially with online content. Think to yourself. Do I really need to watch 15 minutes of a pointless clip for example driving up a hill? So cut away everything but the essentials. Show only what you want and need to see. Only include important tips and remember, Less is more.

• Looking at the camera and speaking are powerful. They can be boring if they are too long or repetitive. Teach yourself to extract the audio from the clip and put it on top of other video clips. No one wants you to stare into their eyes whilst you tell me about your recent escape from a shark. Show the shark instead and add the audio over the clip.

• Keep your clips to roughly 3 seconds long. Never do more than 7 unless you have a good reason to do so. Think about the effect you want to create, Changeable clip lengths will vary the mood of your film.

• Add details. If you’re making a meal show a close up of all cooking. Contextualize everything.

• Make your shots variable, a scene should include a wide shot, a medium shot and a detail shot. It may mean you have to go past the camera a few times to capture the clips you need.

• Having music can be effective but no music can also be effectual. Pick music that will resonate with other people (not something you just like) and think carefully before you make your decision. If you want to submit your film to festivals, make sure you have Creative Commons licensed music.

• Remember, keep it short. Maybe halve the length of your film, it will definitely create more of an impression on your audience.

I hope these tips will help on future post production!

Go for it and good luck!