Hot summer days are lurking, and our buyers are getting ready for their summer holiday campaigns. Grab a glass of your favorite summer cocktail and check out the following top topics in demand: Women in Football, 4th of July, and Road Trips!
Women in Football
USE THIS KEYWORD: BRWOMENFOOTBALL2022 With the upcoming UEFA Women’s Euro football tournament in England in July 2022, the demand for media assets with a women’s football theme is increasing. Buyers want footage, photos, illustrations, sound effects, and music tracks. This fun theme is suitable for all artists!
Shot List Thought Starters
Women’s referees, Women’s football officials, coaches, medics, etc.
Girls playing football in the backyard with their friends, siblings, or parents.
Close-up shots of a woman in sports getting ready to play. Slow-motion shots of putting on the protectors, tying the shoelaces, etc.
Women at practice running at different angles and speeds taken at various shot sizes. Film slow motion, normal pace, close-ups, full shots, over-the-shoulder shots, etc.
POV shots from the player’s perspective as a goalkeeper, defense, offense, or other positions.
Sound effects associated with football like whistles, crowds, or cheering.
Motivational and high energy music tracks to fit the topic.
Suggested Keywords
Football, women in football, UEFA, UEFA EURO, UEFA Women’s EURO, UEFA Women’s Euro 2022
Target Group
All groups, but specifically ad agencies, corporate clients, non-profit organizations, TV production companies, etc.
PRO TIP
Buyers prefer clips cleared for commercial use. To qualify, these shots should never show logos or 3rd party intellectual property. Jerseys with names on them require a signed property release from the owner and a signed model release from the person or people wearing them. Uniquely designed buildings, such as stadiums in England, require a signed property release from the owner. Please avoid logos on stadiums and banners. Any recognizable person in the clip should sign a model release.
We highly recommend considering diverse actors or models of all ages, ethnicities, races, religions, genders, or sexual orientations.
Choosing proper metadata is crucial for our search algorithm. Never stuff your metadata with irrelevant keywords.
Please stay safe! Do not enter any owned land or property without permission.
4th of July
USE THIS KEYWORD: BR4THJULY2022 Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. Celebrations include spectacular fireworks, parades, public events, family gatherings, and BBQs in the backyards. Many agencies and non-profit organizations are already planning their July 4th campaigns, creating a tremendous opportunity for you!
Shot List Thought Starters
Commercially cleared footage of friends and families gathering on July 4, spending time outdoors, eating, drinking, barbecuing, etc.
Friends, couples, and families enjoying watching the fireworks together.
Editorial footage of parades, people in the streets, waving American flags, celebrating the holiday.
American flags hung from houses or buildings, and people dressed in patriotic (red, white, and blue) clothing.
Local public events and workshops associated with the Independence Day.
Editorial footage of your local politicians giving public speeches, shaking hands with the crowds, etc. (use the special code USElections2022 as well!)
Independence Day, 4th of July, July 4, Patriotic, National holiday, Federal holiday, etc.
Target Group
All groups, but specifically ad agencies, corporate clients, and non-profit organizations.
Road Trips
USE THIS KEYWORD: BRROADTRIPS2022 Summer encourages us to spend time outdoors and take our adventures on the road! If you plan to go on a trip, take a camera with you and share your journey with our buyers! The demand for summer footage is rising.
Shot List Thought Starters
Commercially cleared shots of friends packing for their holiday trips on the road.
Take shots of vans, large cars, and even buses remodeled for sleeping. Capture the car’s interior, the sleeping area, the dining area, etc.
POV shots of the driver on a highway – stay safe, please!
People gathered around a bonfire playing the guitar, singing, sleeping, etc., with a car in the background.
Shots of people looking at the map and planning their road trip.
Shots of a person changing a tire or repairing the car.
Families on a road trip.
Suggested Keywords
Roadtrip, caravan, rebuilt van, on the road, summer trip, summer vacation, etc.
Target Group
All groups, especially ad agencies and TV productions.
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Spring is knock knock knocking at the door—and so are our buyers! Hop on a treasure hunt and help them fill their baskets with fresh takes on Easter, POV drone shots, and a variety of establishing shots. Don’t forget to add the relevant special keywords to your upload, so we can track and promote your content!
Easter
USE THIS KEYWORD: EASTER2022 Our buyers are already hunting for fresh takes of this much-loved celebration. Do you have a local Easter tradition, like a special meal or game? Does someone other than the Easter Bunny hide the eggs? Whether they’re chocolate or the multi-color, minimum-cal kind, we want to see it and so do our buyers!
Shot List Thought Starters
Families decorating Easter eggs
Unique local Easter traditions
People preparing Easter dishes, like hot cross buns, desserts, lamb etc.
The Christian aspect of Easter, depicting traditions, symbols and church services
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday
Pagan celebrations of the Spring Equinox
Suggested Keywords
Easter, Easter Egg, Spring, Easter Bunny, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, Christianity, Happy Easter, Easter Cross (if applicable)
Target Group
All groups, but specifically ad agencies, corporate clients, non-profit organizations, TV production companies, etc.
POV Drone Shots
USE THIS KEYWORD: POVDRONE2022 Point Of View (POV) or First Person View (FPV) brings something dizzyingly special to typical drone footage. It’s not just our point of view, though—our buyers agree! Requests for these swiftly moving shots are taking flight.
Shot List Thought Starters
Go drone racing and capture POV in nature. Think forest, beach, mountains views etc.
Follow an athlete using a skateboard, longboard, ski & snowboard, etc. It will look like you’re shooting right behind them!
Top view POV drone shots while taking off and landing
Timelapse of people walking on the street
Suggested Keywords
fpv drone, pov drone, following shot, timelapse, drone racing, etc.
Target Group
All groups, but specifically ad agencies and corporate clients.
Establishing Shots
USE THIS KEYWORD: ESTABLISHINGSHOTS2022 We’ve noticed an increased demand for establishing shots. But let’s establish something: our buyers want them captured using various camera techniques at different times of the day. Plan to shoot from the same angle in the light and at night!
All groups, especially ad agencies and TV productions.
PRO TIP
Buyers prefer clips that are cleared for commercial use. These should never show any logos or 3rd party intellectual property, recognizable cars, signs, license plates etc. If buildings are uniquely designed or a door number is shown, we will require a signed property release from the owner. Any recognizable person in the clip should sign a model release.
We highly recommend considering diverse actors or models of all ages, ethnicities, races, religions, genders, or sexual orientations.
Choosing the right metadata is crucial for the search algorithm. Never stuff your metadata with irrelevant keywords. Please stay safe! Do not enter any owned land or property without permission.
Be the first one who gets tons of inspiration and guidance from us! Subscribe to our Artist Insights e-mail.
If you’re creating media for sale or licensing, regardless of how beautiful your work is, it only matters if people actually see it. Unique keywords added to your content can translate to more traffic and make the difference between 25 searches and 1,000 searches of your collection.
More often than not, customers will dial in a keyword well before narrowing their search to a specific theme or category — so even before you take your first shot, you should be thinking of conceptual ideas you can weave in to what may appear to be a simple shoot.
Give your work a unique voice
Individual shots with the most targeted concepts will undoubtedly be the bestsellers in your collection, as long as your aim is true. Conceptual keywords have the power to reveal a more complex meaning to the viewer, so take the time to analyze the image beyond the general idea and think about the mood that best represents the theme.
The more targeted ideas you can pepper into a shot, the better your odds are for increasing your revenue when people are searching for related visuals. Your best shots will be those that convey a simple message while capturing layers of complexity developing beneath the scenes’s overall theme.
When you’re in the initial phase of pre-production, you should always create a shoot brief including conceptual keywords for each scene. This will help you minimize your shot list by only focusing on the scenes with the strongest concepts — which will save you endless amounts of time editing through dailies and potentially save you money in the long run. Plus, the more strong concepts that you can seamlessly roll into a single scene, the higher the chances for visibility will be.
If you’re focused primarily on the positive side of identifying concepts, it’s possible you may miss out on projects with narratives that represent the other side of things. For instance, a clip featuring a dense rainforest could be used to represent nature or adventure, but it could also represent a diminishing resource caused by deforestation, climate change, or other natural or man-made threats.
For a close-up of bacon strips sizzling on the grill, the filmmaker has beautifully captured the meat’s texture and savoriness, making this perfect for a piece on cooking or eating. On the other hand, keywords like “unhealthy,” “heart attack,” “processed,” and “cancer” can also resonate with a client building a healthcare spot. As long as the keyword is within reason and the theme is executed well, covering all angles increases your chances of the image living within an editor’s final cut.
Often, clients will become familiar with your work after using it once or twice, which will drive their search directly to your collection when starting a new project. Be aware, however, that if you lead a customer down a path littered with false or exaggerated keywords, you may never get another chance to showcase your work and thread it into their next story. So, while using varied keywords that cover different angles and concepts is always good, make sure to keep things accurate. Misleading keywords may get you more views, but chances are they won’t lead to sales and will ultimately backfire.
Be aware of the ever-changing demographics, trends, and terms that define a technology, an event, an occupation, a community, a culture, or an individual. You can bet that terms such as “Millennial”, “LGBTQ+” or “Diversity” are weaved into the themes and stories that are developed by today’s editors and producers. As media makers, it’s our job to clearly represent these themes and to provide those looking for ways to illustrate them with the quickest route to the freshest and most relative media.
That‘s why we keep bringing you the freshest ideas for your next production in our Buyer Requests straight from the real clients, Shoot Briefs to cover current visual trends, as well as Music Briefs, a hand-picked collection of monthly requests, created by our Director of Audio Collections, Mike Pace.
Pre-production is essential in the filmmaking process because without proper planning, your production could run over time, the film could go over budget, or you could find yourself in the editing room with missing content. Some even say, “Production is pre-production.” Whether it’s storyboarding, location scouting, or budgeting, each of the steps below plays a crucial role in the success of your project.
Concept
This is where you develop your story, its structure, and plot points. Ideas often are drawn from personal experiences or ripped from the headlines. Maybe it’s a story you were told as a child or a product of your own wild imagination. At its most basic level, a concept should be able to be communicated in three sentences — the beginning, the middle, and the end, translating to acts I, II, and III. Your second act should always be the meat of the film, with the first and third generally bookends, setting up and resolving the main plot.
Treatment
Your treatment is an extended summary of your film, typically 1-3 pages in length, depending on the scope of the project. It covers the whole story from beginning to end.
Outline
Most writers will outline the story using index cards so that they can easily arrange and rearrange scenes. Once completed, give the scenes in your outline letters and numbers to stay organized. These will remain with the scenes all the way through production and post-production, so be consistent and logical about your system. You’ll likely end up adding scenes later on, so set aside unique alpha-numeric combinations for those pickups.
Screenplay
When writing the screenplay, keep referencing your outline so that you never lose track of your story structure. Take advantage of great screenwriting software and tools, like Final Draft or Celtx, which will speed up the writing process. Once you’re finished, go back and rewrite it. Similar to the saying about pre-production, “writing is rewriting.” The average script goes through ten drafts before even being shopped, and many more if it’s optioned or bought. Once you think your script is as good as you can make it, share it with someone whose opinion you trust, and start getting notes. It’ll never be perfect, but you have to decide when the time is right to lock it and move on to the next phase.
The script breakdown is the process in which every single item needed for the movie’s shoot is identified. This includes locations, props, effects — absolutely everything. It’s incredibly important to pore over every detail in this process in order to estimate a budget and schedule.
Shot List
This is your shot-by-shot breakdown of each scene, with a description of the framing and other details, such as focal length, camera movement, and location.
Storyboard
A visual representation of each scene in your film, your storyboards can illustrate character placement, blocking, lighting positions, focal length, and other notes. If you don’t have the budget to hire a storyboard artist, you’ll need to rely on your own skills, or maybe have your production designer pull double duty.
Filmmaking is an expensive business. The producer needs to secure funding to pay for the entire pre-production, production, and post-production process, in addition to marketing and distribution once the film is complete. Getting your film funded can sometimes take years. Therefore, some filmmakers move forward without funding and pay for their film out-of-pocket; then they sell or license the rights to it after it’s complete. The funding can come at any stage in the game.
Location Scout
When location scouting for each scene, physically go to the location if possible. Observe things like the ambient light and sound. Bring the shot list to visualize each shot in the scene. If the location is outdoors, think about visiting it at different times of the day to see how the light and sound change. Check the weather. If you have a large crew or a lot of gear, think about access both for your crew members and production vehicles. Bring a camera to snap some photos of your locations — this will be helpful for the production designer when choosing a location. Think about what permits or property releases you might need at each location.
Having locked all locations and produced the shot list, the director, cinematographer, production designer, line producer, and 1st AD go on the tech scout. The purpose of the tech scout is for the director to visit each and every location with the heads of each department and explain precisely what each shot will entail: where the camera will be, details of camera movement, what the actors will be doing, and what the look of the scene will be. Again, bring a camera to snap some photos. The cinematographer can use this opportunity to replicate each shot with a still camera.
Scheduling
After the tech scout, the 1st AD uses the director’s shot list to draw up a schedule for each day of the shoot.
Casting
Casting is taken care of by Casting Directors, who are very good at finding actors that match the director’s specifications. Obviously, the director makes the final choices, but the preliminary selection – which is the most time-consuming and tedious part – is done by the casting directors, who are, frankly, worth every penny they charge.
After the scout, the production designer designs and oversees the production of set pieces, and arranges the procurement of anything that needs to be purchased, such as plants, furniture, and props. The costume designer does the same.
So there you have it. Now that you’ve gotten educated on the pre-production process, it’s time to move on to the actual production — which will go much more smoothly with all this proper work done up front!
Before you can start creating amazing photos and videos, you need to have the right equipment. Building the right kit is essential for ensuring the quality of the content you’re going to produce, as well as the efficiency with which you produce it. These tips will help you maximize your budget while also making sure you have everything you need to capture your vision.
1. Cameras
DSLR cameras remain cheap alternatives to cinema cameras, while still providing fabulous resolution and great ergonomics. Before buying your camera, you should know that almost all of them function in a similar fashion, even when it comes to the menu navigation. The best DSLR cameras are manufactured by commonly known brands like Canon, Panasonic, Sony, and Pentax, and almost all of them are in a similar price range.
When choosing a camera, think of it as both your work buddy and your tool of trade. Ask yourself questions like: Do I need 4k resolution? Do I need slow motion/high frame rate? Do I need a high ISO for filming in low light conditions? Do I plan on taking high resolution photos? After you answer these questions, you should be able to narrow your search down to a few different cameras according to their specifications.
These cameras are currently the leaders in the DSLR world, outperforming many of their competitors in almost every category.
Canon EOS R5
Sony A7S III
Sony Alpha 1
Panasonic Lumix S1H
Panasonic Lumix GH5 II
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K
They all have great image quality, extreme low-light capabilities and high dynamic range, allowing more control for color grading. Here are some visual references from each one:
Also called “glass” among professionals, lenses are what the camera uses to see the world. Their characteristics and light-transmitting speed are what makes them unique pieces of gear that affect the look of your video. We highly advise that you don’t spend your entire budget on your camera, so that you have enough funds left over to purchase a high-quality lens. Remember, your lens is just as important as the camera; top-notch cameras will often deliver a bad image if paired with a low-quality lens, so don’t skimp on the glass!
If you plan on shooting in low-light conditions, you’ll need a lens with a low aperture, like f/2.8 or lower. The faster the lens, the more range you have with your exposure and depth-of-field.
Note: f-stop measures how fast light transfers through the glass onto your sensor. The lower the f-stop, the faster the lens is, thus allowing you to film in darker environments.
These are the four main types of lenses:
Prime Wide Angle: Wide-angle lenses have a focal length of 25mm or less. They’re good for establishing shots, editorial filming, and landscapes.
Prime Standard: A standard lens has a focal length between 25mm and 75mm. These are good for run-and-gun style shooting, portraits, interviews, and editorial filming.
Prime Telephoto/Super Telephoto: A telephoto lens has a focal length between 75mm and 800+. These are good for shooting sports and wildlife.
Zoom Lenses: Different from the prime lenses listed above, a zoom lens offers variable focal lengths that can go from wide to standard, or from standard to telephoto. A 24-70mm f/2.8 is a great lens to have in your kit. It’s good for editorial filming, portraits, landscapes, and travel videography.
Note: Just because you have a zoom doesn’t mean you don’t have to move! Zoom lenses can often make beginner videographers lazy. Why would you want to get closer to a subject, when you can just zoom in? Bad idea! It’s important to always move around with the camera, “working” your subject and experimenting with different angles. Getting closer to your subject improves composition, giving you a better-looking image. Only utilize the zoom when you can’t get close enough.
Tripods are an absolutely essential part of your video kit. They help you film steady shots, as well as achieve smooth camera movements, like tilts, pans, and zooms.
Tripod benefits include:
Sharper and clearer images when filming in low-light conditions
Fluid camera movements (tilts, pans, and zooms)
Holding extra gear, such as sound recorders and light panels
Being essential when filming extreme closeups and macro shots
Removing unwanted camera shake, making your images look more professional
When choosing your tripod, make sure to consider the weight factor. The tripod’s weight should always be more than the weight of your camera and lens combined, guaranteeing a solid base for your camera.
Additionally, you should consider investing in a tripod with a “quick release” plate, which allows you to quickly remove the camera from the tripod to go handheld. This is helpful when shooting editorial events.
Lastly, invest in a “fluid head” tripod. The head is what attaches the camera to the tripod; a fluid head is designed to smooth out any sudden movements when panning or tilting.
Choosing the right memory card for your digital camera, camcorder, or drone isn‘t as complicated as it may seem to many at first.
Memory cards can be divided according to several criteria:
Card type
Card capacity
Data write speed
Producer
Card types and their capacity
By far the most widespread platform is Secure Digital cards, i.e. abbreviated as SD cards. Usually you will find the names SDHC, SDXC and also microSDHC or microSDXC. Let’s explain the individual differences.
SD – The format originally came from MMC cards. All cards with a capacity of up to 2 GB were marked with SD.
SDHC – This type of cards has allowed manufacturers to use higher capacities, up to 32 GB. Older SD card readers can’t handle these cards, but all devices that now read SDHC cards are able to read back and write to SD cards.
SDXC – this label boasts cards with the highest capacity from 64 GB up to 1 TB. However, this standard theoretically allows the production of cards up to 2 TB, but such a card would now cost a fortune. Devices that can read this type of card also support SD and SDHC formats.
microSD – mainly used by manufacturers of mobile phones, action cameras, drones, various cameras, etc. As with “large” SD cards, this designation was used for cards with a capacity of up to 2 GB
microSDHC – same size as the previous type, only increasing the capacity to a maximum of 32 GB
microSDXC – same size as the previous type, only increasing the capacity to 64 GB to 512 GB
Data write speed (card speed class)
Cards are usually marked with a number in a circle that indicates the data transfer speed / write speed, up to number 10. Higher speeds are already marked with the UHS-I symbol. Unfortunately, the same class mark doesn’t mean the same speed. For example, you might encounter a class 10 card with a maximum speed of 10 MB/s, and also a class 10 card with a maximum speed of 90 MB/s.
UHS-I – Ultra High Speed, which brings a customer a higher speed guaranteed by the manufacturer. Card speeds range from 10 MB/s to 170 MB/s.
UHS-II – even faster class of the UHS cards, this class of card is equipped with extended contacts for communication with the camera. The maximum read and write speed is 300 MB/s.
For example, for video on the Panasonic DMC-GH5, the card is important for maximum output, as the camera supports 4K video streaming up to 400 Mbps, so either an external recording device or a very fast card is required.
When it comes to storage capacity, it’s important to choose a card that has enough space for your whole shoot, plus more. Keep in mind that the higher the resolution/frame rate you record at, the larger the video file sizes will be. A 64GB card can record about an hour of 1080HD video or about 35 minutes of 4k video. It’s wise to purchase a backup card, as well.
Due to high bitrate, memory cards with a capacity of at least 128 or 256 GB are often used for video recording today.
SD cards and CF cards are what the camera uses to store your captured data. Their speed class and capacity are the main factors to look at while building your video kit. Speed class is how fast the card manages to record data. For example, a speed class 2 card won’t be able to continuously record HD video for more than 30 seconds. For 4k recording, we recommend class 10 or ultra-high-speed class 1 and 3.
Here are speed logos representing speed classes from slowest to fastest:
Lens filters are essential for enhancing your desired look or for overcoming extra light/shine obstacles. There are 3 main types of filters that should be part of a basic video kit:
UV Filters: For protecting the front part of the lens from dust, dirt, moisture, and potential scratches. They have almost no effect on the look of the image, but keep your glass safe and sound.
Polarizing Filters: These help to dramatically reduce reflections, while enhancing colors and increasing contrast. This kind of filter can be used for any type of videography to cut down on the shine of objects.
ND Filters: These help to reduce extreme light entering the lens. They’re ideal for capturing the sunny sky without losing the texture and color of it. Also handy when shooting timelapses.
Besides the key essentials above, here are some additional accessories to include your basic gear kit:
An extra battery or two for your camera. They run out pretty quick.
Camera and lens cleaning kit. A must-have to keep your gear clean and increase the life cycle of the lens and camera sensor.
A case or backpack to carry all your equipment around.
If you plan on recording audio, a small shotgun mic will provide much better sound than your on-camera mic.
If shooting in darker environments, a small LED light with a shoe mount will come in handy.
There you have it. Now it’s your turn to build and customize your kit for your own projects. Happy filming!
Using videos on your social media channels to promote your brand is vital to getting them to grow and be seen. And although it may seem simple to just fire off a tweet or post an Instagram story without much thought, the most successful social media users are doing a lot more than improvising or uploading raw files to the web. They’re actually working hard behind the scenes to create and edit quality video content that enhances their brand, using any and all tools at their disposal.
Basically what we’re trying to say is that there’s a lot more that goes into a successful social media video than it seems, and it’s important to be aware of things from how often you post, to the video’s message, to the aspect ratio that makes a big difference. Here are the 7 elements of a great social media video.
1. Interesting and Stunning Visuals
Since you’re making content for a visual medium, the visuals need to entice people! Use your most captivating shot, text, or graphic to hook people upfront, and keep them around by using the best content you have throughout the rest of the video. Remember that the thumbnail is just as, if not more important for your audience. Either select the best frame from your video when uploading or do some basic editing in photoshop or by using a photo editing app on your thumbnail file that you can then upload. Also, don‘t forget to check out our download section for additional material, such as badges or overlays for your thumbnails – let everyone know that you‘re a Pond5 artist!
2. A Great Story
Users are going to connect with your content more if there’s an intriguing story. A collection of interesting and stunning shots is great but can be limiting if that’s all the video is. They should have some sort of relationship with each other or to you as a creator. Be clear, simple, and concise with your messaging, because people have limited time and are easily swayed to move on to other content.
A good test to see if you have a good story is to watch the video without sound or text, (or without footage or sound if your video is text-heavy). You should actually plan for people to watch without sound, in fact. If you can convey exactly what you want to without them, then your story is good to go. The last way to make your story more engaging is to give it authenticity. People can spot a fake pretty easily, so use genuine imagery and audio to convey your message.
3. Efficient Use Of Text
It’s hard to understand and engage with a video if the text is way too long, has spelling or grammar errors, or isn’t on screen long enough. The general rule of thumb is to let the words on the screen be long enough to be read through twice, so build your presentation around that duration. Don’t hesitate to add funny, unexpected, or provocative copy that makes the viewer want to see more. The other thing you can do is subtitle the video yourself. A lot of platforms will do it for you, but they’re not perfect, and therefore typos may occur. You can instead create the subtitles yourself and get full control over what the viewer needs to read.
4. Technical Proficiency
Most great social posts follow the basic rules for making a great video, including legible, coherent audio, stable footage, and interesting/unique angles. They have the proper aspect ratio, compression settings, duration, and fit within the specs of the social media outlet that’s being used. Familiarize yourself with each platform’s upload requirements and create shortcut workflows either in your editing software or in the app that allow you to replicate the best settings for each one, saving you time and headaches later.
Only you can determine your posting schedule and what works best with your workflow. You should post as frequently as you feel comfortable posting, as long as your video quality doesn’t suffer. Create deadlines for work, but be careful not to burn yourself out by trying to constantly “feed the beast.” Always keep in mind that consistency is key. Less is more in many cases, so if you’ve got a project that’s taking a long time, think about breaking it up into a few shorter sections. You can then devote more time to the project as a whole, and spread out the videos over more time.
6. Cool Visual Effects
One of the easiest ways to set your video apart from others is to add some basic visual effects. Whether it’s adding a simple lower third, logo reveal, or using motion tracking for a text layer, putting in a little something extra makes a big difference.
Slide shows, credit sequences, infographics, animations, and 2D flash elements are all dynamic and increase the production quality of your videos, and are relatively easy to work with.
7. A Call To Action/Branding
Branding is a huge part of the process, and it should be. Rarely do you see a great social media video without some way to follow up with the company or artist who posted it. Let the viewers know exactly where to go to see more of your work, or where they can go to view the subject of the video.
Include your other social media handles and a custom referral linkto your Pond5 storefront – anyone accessing Pond5 with your custom link will get 20% off and you’ll get 20% of their purchase plus you’ll keep earning anytime they buy something for a full year.
Also, this is a good opportunity for you to add a watermark to your footage and photos posted on social networks as well. It serves two functions: to protect your work from piracy and to use it as an opportunity to have your logo visible throughout the video.
When adding watermarks, branding, and tagging your content, make sure that you don’t make it an overwhelming viewing experience. Having a giant watermark can be distracting; a full 15-second credit intro stinger can drive people away, and having multiple calls-to-action pop up on the screen can just be too much. Keep it simple, and make sure people know how to get in touch with you.
Chances are you’re already posting video content to social media, but having a more focused and professional approach to it can really make a world of difference. Be sure to always keep an eye on your statistics and see what’s working and what’s not. Use visual and storytelling trends to your advantage by either creating with them in mind or by finding your own niche outside of them and doing something differently intentionally. Remember to also have fun, because when you’re having fun as a creator, it shows in your work!
When you hit a rut in your content creation, as you most likely will do, there’s only one thing you can do: quit. You’re done. Tapped out. Creatively bankrupt. Give it up, because you’re throwing in the towel.
We‘re kidding, of course! The best thing to do is to try something new and get out of your routine. Switching up your editing style, your gear, or even your workspace can be great for hitting the reset button and getting you moving in a new, exciting direction. Here are some tips for getting out of your filmmaking comfort zone.
Create/Implement Restrictions
Right out of the gate, one of the best things you can do is to force yourself to work within parameters that you’re not used to having. This means if you’re used to open-ended videos, give yourself a 3 or 5-minute time limit. Bring along just a single memory/storage card on your shoot. Allow yourself to only shoot with natural lighting. Set an earlier publishing deadline than you’re used to. Only use b-roll shots that are 5 seconds or longer.
And you don’t actually have to see them as restrictions. You can just see them as another puzzle in which you need to fit all of your pieces. Whatever the restriction/limitation is, use it to your advantage during your project. You may end up feeling inspired and empowered as opposed to inconvenienced and embattled.
Improvise More
“I love you…I know,” “I’m walking here,” and “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” were all famously improvised. Even the iconic match cut from Lawrence of Arabia was called an accident by the editor, Anne V. Coates. Now, you may not be making “The Empire Strikes Back,” but the lesson is just that for all the planning you can do, some things can just happen that you can’t plan for.
This means that you can allow your actors time to improvise takes. You can write bullet points for your voiceover instead of reading a script to make it feel more loose. The camera can be attached to a gimbal to give a more fluid look to the footage; the same goes for going completely handheld.
In post-production, improvisation can be as simple as experimenting with jump cuts, match cuts, or other atypical transitions instead of standard cuts. Music can also be added or removed to see which makes a better impact. You may never know what will work until you try it, so be open-minded to going with the flow.
Improvise Less
If you’re already making videos without much planning, then it could work to really hash out as many details as you can before you start. Writing a script, storyboarding, scheduling, creating a shot list, using motion graphics templates, and picking out the music and sound effects tracks can all be done before a single frame of footage gets shot.
Much in the way that adding restrictions can spark some new creative fire, planning for certain compositions, shooting locations, and VFX can help you to set up some really creative shots. Techniques like deep focus, match/invisible cuts, and forced perspective can all turn out better if they’re thought out ahead of time. The same goes for location scouting–with a basic walkthrough of your shooting location you can pick out unique places to mount your camera, see which angles look best, and even look for objects or openings through which you can shoot.
Experiment With Different Gear
We are not advocating for buying a new camera, because the best camera is usually the one you have with you. Also, you may end up spending way too much time trying to learn a new interface or menu that could instead be spent shooting or editing. That said, renting is always a cheaper option than buying, and there are sites like kitsplit, sharegrid, and lensprotogo that make it pretty painless to get everything from cameras and lenses to stabilizers and accessories.
What we mean really is to try something you haven’t used before. If you’re always on a gimbal, try staying locked down on a tripod. If you typically shoot with telephoto lenses, try a prime lens and move closer and/or further away from your subject. You may actually prefer the sound of a lavalier microphone over a shotgun or on-camera mic. Instead of shooting and editing in high speed (50/60 FPS or above, typically) for every shot, try mixing up the frame rates to get different clips that complement each other.
Switching up your gear can help you produce shots or videos you never could before, and it can even literally change the look of your footage, which is a great way to break your habits and routines.
Change Your Scene
Altering the location of your shoot is a sure-fire way to make something new. Taking your camera outside and going on a hike or to a park can add some color and scenery to your videos. If you’re always outside, try setting up a very basic studio setup with an on-camera light or 3-point lighting kit inside a garage or empty room.
When it comes to post-production, you’re pretty much limited to where your editing machine is, but you can always try doing some aspects of the edit at a new location. If you’re a shreditor, coffee shops are the obvious choice here, but public libraries can be surprisingly great, not to mention quiet spaces to get some work done. And who knows, a new editing space could free up your brain from all the distractions you may have at your usual editing space.
Change What You Can Control
Some of the earlier points may work for you, but if you’re creating videos where it makes sense to have the same tone, look, and style throughout, (like, say, a tutorial series) then you may not be able to change much.
In these cases, you can try your best to experiment with your subjects. If you make nature videos primarily, try exploring an urban setting. If you make cooking tutorials, try another subject that utilizes relatively small spaces and hands, like sewing, weaving, blacksmithing, or building. Nothing about your workflow or video style has to change, yet you can open up whole new topics to cover and keep your videos fresh.
Get a Fresh Set Of Eyes On Your Video
If all else fails, you can get some outside perspective from a friend or coworker, or just take a 30-minute break and come back to your project. The outsider could catch a plot hole or they could pick up on any habits that seem repetitive. Taking a short break from your edit can actually work wonders to reset your thought process and see your footage in a new way.
Change can be scary, and doing something new or different can be intimidating. However, shaking things up can not only get you out of a creative rut, it can challenge you to find new ways to tell stories and even establish your storytelling and brand as versatile as you are as a filmmaker.
Understanding your camera and being able to adjust it to get the look you want is the first step in capturing great visuals. The number of presets, automatic settings, and extra features vary from camera to camera, but these fundamentals hold the key to having supreme executive power over your recording device. (All of these principles also apply to still photography, but this post is more video-focused in some sections.)
1. Understanding the ISO
ISO is your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. The more your ISO increases, the more your camera’s sensor will boost the brightness of the image. At a certain point, visible “noise” or “grain” will be added to compensate for the lack of light, so try to keep your ISO as low as possible to reduce the amount of distortion, while going high enough to actually see your subject.
2. Shutter Speed
This is the amount of time that your camera’s shutter is open (or “on,” depending on your camera model), exposing light on each frame. For instance, a shutter set to 1/60 is letting in light at 1/60th of a second during each frame. The higher the shutter speed, the more crisp and “jittery” your footage will look, and the sharper your photos will be. In video, your shutter speed is typically set to double your frame rate (30 fps = 1/60 shutter), but you can experiment with slower and faster shutter speeds to produce different looks. One common mistake is confusing shutter speed with frame rate — they have vastly different effects on the image.
3. Aperture
The aperture is the size of your lens’ opening, and is usually a set of blades or a diaphragm that allows light to pass through to your sensor. This is similar to the iris of a human eye, constricting and opening to control the amount of light that goes through the lens. The smaller the number, called “f-stop” or “t-stop,” the larger the opening of the aperture, and vice versa.
With a larger aperture (but smaller f number — yes, it’s confusing), your depth of field is more shallow, which means less of your frame will be in focus when shooting. Keep more of your image in focus by closing your aperture, especially if you’re shooting landscapes.
4. White Balance
The white balance is how your camera registers light and gives your image/video a color temperature. It’s measured in Kelvin, with each light source’s hue having its own corresponding temperature. Mid-day light is usually around 5600 Kelvin (K), with a candle down on the “warm” end at 2000K, and dark shade on the “cool” end at 9000K. Most cameras are pretty good at automatically setting your white balance, so don’t be afraid to use the auto setting — but if you want more control, you can use the in-camera presets or manually set the white balance yourself.
5. Frame Rate
Your frame rate is how many frames are recorded during each second of video, commonly abbreviated FPS. Technically, unless you’re using a film camera, it’s FIELDS per second, since you’re not actually capturing frames of images.
As far as frame rates go in media today, most feature films are shot at 24 fps, web video is commonly shot at 29.97 or 30 fps, and things like broadcast news, live sports, and multi-camera sitcoms are typically shot at 59.94 or 60 fps (unless you’re in a country that uses PAL instead of NTSC, which is shot at 25 and 50 fps). However, many consumer cameras today are capable of recording 60, 90, 120, 240, or even up to 1,000 or more frames per second!
You can choose any frame rate you want for your footage, but you are going to get vastly different results with each setting. A lower frame rate like 24 fps will give you a more cinematic or “film” look, adding much more blurred motion to your video. Shooting at 29.97 or 30 fps will give you a more digital or “video” look, and 59.94 or 60 fps will give you a more “soap-opera” or “live/broadcast” look with less motion blur.
If you want to shoot slow-motion or high-speed footage, you need to shoot at least 60 fps and slow it down in post-production. Any less, and the image will stutter and look a little off. The higher the frame rate is, the slower your footage will be when played back at regular speed.
Once you’ve mastered these five basic camera functions, you’ll be able to work in any environment with any camera.
