How to Make a Short Movie

A “short movie” can be anything from a single shot posted on Youtube.com to a thirty minute high budget film. Filmmaking can be fun but it’s also stressful and demands a lot of hard work and energy. It takes a lot of time, talent, effort and resourses to make a short film. This article is full of tips to make the process easier and less stressful.

Step One: The Script

In order to get people to watch your movie, you have to give them something compelling to watch. Don’t film two people having a five minute conversation about their lame jobs. This isn’t a plot, it’s a conversation. Not to say some shorts can’t be conversation heavy, but a lot has to happen in a few lines of dialogue for it to be the basis of an entire movie.

Make sure you have clear and unique characters. Each character has to have a goal, and each goal has to be as singular as the character, but these goals can’t be easy to meet. You have to have obstacles, big ones. Make sure the stakes are high. It’s not enough to have a character in need of rent money, he has to already be late on the rent and one day from eviction and he can’t have any other place to go. He can’t just call someone for the money. No one can be in a position to give him a loan. He can’t get a cash advance through work. There can be no easy answers. Easy answers kill drama, and film is drama.

Keep in mind that you’ll be filming this script.  If you’re gifted at CGI and have the right programs then don’t hesitate to add special effects. If you’ve never used After Effects or any comparable program before then stay away from anything fancy. Don’t set yourself up for failure with car chases, explosions and the like. Focus on story. A compelling story will be more impressive than an alien spaceship, especially a poorly crafted alien spaceship.

Also bear in mind that you’re going to be the one finding the locations. A scene placed in a fast food restaurant may read well on paper, but it’s nearly impossible to find a burger place willing to let you shoot there. If you feel strongly about any location that may be difficult to secure, by all means keep it in. It never hurts to try, but have a back-up plan for shooting purposes.

Proofread the script and then have others read it for you as well. Make sure you ask them pertinant questions: ask if they could follow the plot, if the characters were likeable, if the action is beleivable, etc. If you can, get people together to read the script out loud. This will let you know which lines of dialogue are working and which are not.

Step Two: Pre-Production

The dreaded pre-production. Here is a list of things you must accomplish before day 1 of filming:

Break down the script: break down each scene and list the location, characters, costumes, props, and any special effects. This will make planning your shoots a far easier process.

Decide a Budget: Nothing’s made for free. You may only need to buy food, but it’s still a budget. Find out if you need to supply any costumes or props and research the cost. Also, some locations will require a fee, try to negotiate for the best rate possible or try to find a free alternative.

Secure Actors: If you don’t know who’s going to be in your movie, now is a good time to have auditions. You can put an ad on Craigslist or visit your local community theater. You may choose to use friends, but be wary, acting takes hard work and talent. Set yourself up for success by using actors if at all possible.

Secure Crew: This may be friends, family, or even people you know that have production experience. If you don’t know anyone that can help you, go to Craigslist and put out an ad.  It’s free and it gets a response. Also, decide which positions you need and do not accept more people than is absolutely necessary. If you only need one person to help with lights and hold the boom, stick with one person. If 15 friends volunteer, thank them and tell them no. Cluttering up a set with extra people will slow you down and add to the budget.

Do a Shot List: Go by the scenes and write down every shot you need. Differentiate between angles. Don’t just write down, “Need shot of Jim”. Be specific: “Need close up of Jim”.

Storyboard: Use your shot list, go through every scene and draw the shots you have planned. This helps you make editing choices ahead of time and also helps you plan your shoot. Storyboards are also a useful tool on set. If you’re busy doing make-up in one room and you have crew setting up the scene in another, a sketch will let them know exactly what you need.

Find Locations: When looking for locations keep in mind that you’ll need enough power to run lights, low noise pollution so you can pull in good audio, and working restrooms for the cast and crew. Work with friends, family, and Craigslist to find locations.

Plan Out a Schedule: Make a shooting schedule. If you were tight in the scripting and kept it to as few locations as possible, then scheduling will be a breeze. If you went crazy and have 40 locations then now is a good time to see if you can squeeze that down to a mere 25. When planning a schedule, try to make the actors come out as few times as possible, make your day count for as much as it can, and plan in meal breaks.

Find Equipment: You can go two different ways. If you’re making this movie to post online or for fun, then use a camcorder from a department store.  Feel free to skip lights as well. If you’re doing this to get your name out there as a filmmaker, to show possible clients what you can do, or as a calling card for future film projects, then invest in good equipment. Rent the equipment unless you’re planning on making many movies. If you can afford to, rent everything a day ahead of time so you can get used to how it all works. Try different light setups. Use the camera. Test the microphone and the cables. This  will save you many headaches on set.

Step Three: Rehearse

This is all too often skipped when making shorts. You have to get your actors together to go over lines. This is for them and you. You get to hear which lines are working, which aren’t and they get to work with the other actors. This also gives you practice directing. All actors work differently, you may be able to be blunt with some and have to be very gentle with others; rehearsal is a great time to find out how your actors respond to guidance. This will also give your actors a chance to run lines. All too often, actors show up without their lines memorized. You can’t direct people that can’t get the lines out.

Step Four: The Shoot

The most important thing about the shoot is the food. It may sound ridiculous, but it’s very true. Everyone’s working for cheap or for free and they will most likely be working long hours. Free food goes a long way to keeping your cast and crew motivated.

Try to follow the schedule as much as you can. Shooting is difficult and if you’ve never done it before then it’s easy to misjudge how long a scene will take. You may find on set that you have to cut shots in order to finish your movie on time or to get out of a location on time. Make sure you’re getting enough for editing purposes but, other than that, be brutally honest with yourself about what you do or don’t need.

Thank everyone. If they hand you something, hold the boom, or have their lines memorized, thank them. They deserve it for helping you realize your vision.

Work with your actors. Try to avoid this phrase on set: “say this line this way”. You’re going to have to resort to that sometimes but, the majority of the time, you want to have an open and ongoing dialogue with your actors. Remember, it is up to you to communicate your vision to the cast and crew. Allowing actors to explore on their own may also improve lines or even whole scenes. Filmmaking is a collaborative art for a reason.

Take the actors feedback. You may or may not use their ideas but always listen and respond. Sometimes actors envision a character completely differently than the director. You have to listen to the actors and prompt them with questions about their characters and the script.

The same goes for crew too. Listen to their suggestions, especially if they have production experience. As the director, it’s your job to make the final decisions, but great ideas come from all over a well-functioning set.

Have fun but keep working. Successful sets are ones that can keep a light mood while continuously working. Your cast and crew are there for a reason and they’re working for free. Don’t waste their time but allow them to have fun.

Step Five: Edit

If you’re doing a short you’re planning on festivaling or using as your calling card in the industry, then invest in good software. If you’re making a movie for fun and to show friends or post online, use the cheapest software you can find. The majority of online video content only requires basic editing tools.

If you planned a lot of CGI or find yourself stumbling through the editing process then seek help. Don’t be discouraged, editing software can be difficult to figure out and each program has its own quirks. There are many sites that have helpful information, tutorials, and forums where you can seek guidance. This is also a time where you might want to use Craigslist for help. Putting out an ad for an editor may be the right move.

The most important thing to remember is to have fun. It should be a pleasure to make a movie, a privilege. There are more opportunities now than ever for film making and more places to find an audience than ever before. If you have the time, resources and energy, then film-making can be a rich and rewarding experience. If you follow the steps above, you can do it without getting an ulcer or going broke.

Original Source : http://www.clipcanvas.com/blog/how-to-make-a-short-movie/

Do's and Don't for Video Production

TEN DO’S FOR MAKING VIDEO

1.  DO have good lighting.
Good lighting is probably the single biggest determining factor in the quality of your video image.  Good lighting on an average camera will get you a better picture lousy lighting on a fantastic camera.

2.  DO have good sound.
Viewers will put up with poor image quality before they will tolerate poor sound quality.  If they can not hear your video they will click out of it.

3.  DO keep it short.
Concise is actually a better word.  If your topic is something complex, like explaining the world’s political conditions that lead up to WWII, then two hours would be concise.  But most online videos should be simple enough so that one or two minutes is sufficient.  However, total running time is not the best measure of whether a video is the “right” length.  You have to judge by the ability of the video to keep the audience’s attention.

4. DO keep the script focused.
Tangents should be avoided.  Don’t ramble, chop out extraneous words before you cut your narration.

5. DO make decisions based on the audience’s needs/desires and not yours.
The video is really for them, not you.  The video is also really not for the client who is paying the tab but you certainly need to make them think that it is!
It serves your client best if you make the video with the audience as a priority.

6.  Be bold, which often equals creative.
Being timid usually holds back the creative juices.  Take a risk, be bold and someone will call you a creative genius!

7.  Be honest and fair.
Video gives you the power to distort reality.  Unless you are doing fictional work, please don’t.  It’s called responsibility.  Too many people these days making video do not seem to much care about being honest or fair.  I raise my one small voice in protest. 


8.  Be conversational with your storytelling techniques.
Writing video scripts is really the exact opposite of high-level academic writing.  A entertaining, watchable video needs to be structured as a conversational vehicle.  That is what appeals to people.
Very few people want to bother watching something that would make that stodgy college English professor happy.  You go ahead and read “Speculative Observations and Pretentious Analytical Goobledygook,” sir.  The rest of us prefer Captain Underpants.

9.  Pay attention to storytelling and vary your techniques.
Storytelling is the mission of any video.  Imparting your message, i.e. story, is the heart and soul of video making!
Variety keeps your audience awake.   Visual and auditory variety.  It is easy to get stuck in a creative rut.   I am guilty of that myself!  Spice it up.  watch other videos to get ideas for your own.

10. Just DO IT.
Absolutely the most important of all the do’s!

SEVEN DON’TS FOR VIDEO PRODUCTION

1.  Don’t be a perfectionist or too obsessed.
Notice I said “too” obsessed!  Good is good.  Perfect is unobtainable; so having a reasonable expectation of quality is a great idea for actually getting your project done without going insane.    I am a big fan of high-quality but perfectionism and obsession push the notion of high-quality into an extreme area that tends to bog down the whole process.

2.  Don’t be lazy/sloppy.
Coming quickly on the heels of my first DON’T, the exact opposite of the obsessed perfectionist is the lazy/sloppy attitude of “we’ll fix it in post,” or “no one will notice the green video and if they do, we’ll just say we were being creative!”
OK, neither flies with me.  Find the middle ground and keep the quality up there.

3.  Don’t let your ego run the show.
Wow, does this ever happen a lot!  It’s only natural since the creative process throws open the ego like few other tasks.  Everybody wants their personal creative ideas to be accepted, or even praised as brilliant.   Take it from me.  Collaborative video making means you need to be ok with hearing, “that’s a terrible idea,” and taking it in full stride.
IMHO, quality video making involves making lots of decisions based on what the audience needs or wants; not what you as a video maker need and want.  Now obviously, this is a fine line since being creative absolutely necessitates that you dive into it.  But you really are making the video for an audience, not just for you.

4.  Don’t be timid.
Go for the gold baby.   Insecurity is often the root cause of timidity.  When you are making a video, you are standing up and exposing yourself to an audience.  That can be scary,  no two ways about it.  What if the audience doesn’t like you?    Guess what?  They might not.  Or at least a handful of them might not but that is OK.  Most will and even the best videos are going to be criticized so get used to it.   Have the confidence to believe in your video project, then do a good job and let it fly.

5.  Don’t rely on  your equipment and technology as a substitute for good technique.
The word’s most fantastic equipment can not make a good video by itself.  Fantastic lighting and quality storytelling will produce a better video than HD resolution with lousy lighting and fancy, but empty, special effects.

6.  Don’t take your audience for granted.
No one except your mother (God love her) will watch your video simply because it exists.  Please your audience.

7.  Don’t forget to have fun!
Whenever I get too stressed and things stop being fun, I take a deep breath and exhale slowly.
I hope this list of ten do’s and don’t inspires you to think of your own list.  Leave a comment below!
JUST DO IT!  That’s the biggest DO!

Source : videoproductiontips.com/dos-and-dont-for-video-production

How To Make A Video– A Crash Course

Ok, so you have an old camera from a parent or friend, or you’ve just purchased a new or used one. Now you want to learn how to make a video – a funny skit, a short film, a school project, or a documentary on a subject you care about. But after your big purchase, that savings account might be a little on the slim side – or maybe you just don’t have the budget to afford all the big-ticket items you think you need.

Never fear. There’s lots you can do, even if an old camcorder is your only piece of equipment! For the purposes of this quick overview, I’m going to assume that you have no money, no experience, and no knowledge whatsoever about how to make a video. I’ve written plenty of tips, advice, and information about more advanced techniques and procedures throughout the rest of this site, so be sure to take a look at the other pages that interest you once you’ve got the basics down.

Your Camera

It probably won’t be super difficult for you to find a consumer-grade camcorder, judging by how popular and common they are. The trick is knowing how to use it.

Take a second to make sure you understand the basic functions it can perform and how to activate them. If you have experience with this stuff already and have used your camera and figured out how to make a video before with success, you can skip to the next section. If not, there are a few things we need to go over first.

The Media – How It Records

Every camcorder has to grab the visual and auditory information it captures and store it somewhere. What recording medium does yours use? Does it record onto tapes, an internal hard drive, mini-DVDs, or something else? In any situation but the internal hard drive camera, make sure you have the proper blank media to store your footage on.

It sucks to run out of tape or hard disk space just as you’re about to capture that perfect cinematic moment. So clear some space on the internal hard drive, buy some tapes, or pick up some blank video discs. Just make sure you have more than enough space to record what you need to.

Starting Up

Call me Captain Obvious, but do you know where the power button is and how to operate it so that you can turn it on and find out how to make a video in the first place? There may be several power modes or settings to choose from – these might include record mode, playback mode, picture/photography mode, and of course, off.

How about the record button? I can’t believe how many times I’ve let someone use my camera and they inadvertantly left the thing on and recording and didn’t even realize it. Know when you are live and when you’re on standby and you’ll avoid ending up with twelve minutes of epic footage of your right leg.

Often there is an indicator on the viewfinder or LCD screen. A red dot, REC, or RECORD symbol means you’re live, while a green dot, PAUSE, or STANDBY indicates that the camera is on but not taping.

Is This Thing On?

Some cameras have auto shut-off or power saving modes that will cause them to automatically power down after a certain period of inactivity, usually around five to ten minutes. If your camera was on before and it isn’t now, and you haven’t pressed anything, check the battery first and then check whether the device has a power save function.

Why Can’t I See Anything?

For as long as mortal man has used image recording devices, the lens cap has been the cause of many missed shots and lost opportunities. For cryin’ out loud, look through your viewfinder or pull out your LCD screen and take a glance at your framing before you start recording.

Point and Shoot

I’m going to move forward and hope that if you needed to, you actually read and followed the guidelines in the previous section to familiarize yourself with how your most important tool works. If you aren’t already familiar with cerebral concepts like how to turn a camera on, remove the lens cap and press record, I’d highly recommend reading through the text above.

So what now, just point and shoot? Well, sort of.

A film is composed of a series of shots that, when placed one after the other, create a cohesive scene. A shot can be described as one segment of uninterrupted video that shows a particular subject from a certain angle. During some shots the camera moves, and therefore the angle can change within one shot. But a shot is still a single segment of continuous footage.

Think of it as if you were to stand still in a room. Imagine that your eyes are the camera, and even if you start to walk around and maintain your gaze, you could even leave the room while continuing that gaze. Now if there were a table in the center of the room and you circled around it while looking at it the whole time, the table would look different from any given point at which you stood. As long as you never blink, you are creating a continuous “shot” with your eyes.

If you were to close your eyes, move to a different point, and then open them, you’d be starting a new shot. Maybe you start at the front of the table and walk toward it. You shut your eyes and take three steps to the side. Your second shot begins the instant you open your eyes again, and continues until you close them. Taking shots with a camera from multiple angles not only provides your audience with a greater understanding of the spatial relationships between objects in your scene; it’s also more interesting to watch!

Shooting Styles

Let’s get into some specifics and look at a couple of shooting styles that should help to illustrate how to make a video, and their characteristics. First think about the filming you’d see on a reality television show; the typical footage on these programs is taken from hand or shoulder-mounted TV cameras. Shots tend to be slightly longer than average and make use of quick pans between subjects: two people are talking in a room and the camera moves back and forth between them to capture their conversation.

Now think about an epic cinematic masterpiece like Lord of the Rings. You might see an extreme wide ‘helicopter’ shot from a distance that shows the Fellowship traveling over a long distance, followed by a close-up of Gandalf’s face that shows the old wizard looking out across the horizon with some expression of relief, horror, or bewilderment at the next obstacle the party will be faced with.

When you combine and organize two or more shots together like this to depict a particular moment or sequence in time, you’ve got a scene. Several scenes together (or sometimes just one long scene) will compose your entire indie filmmaking piece – your finished video or movie.

How you go about putting these segments in order depends on the resources you have available to you. Typically you’d tape or film your shots and then bring them to an editing or post-production station. But since this page is about making videos on the cheap, I’m going off the assumption that you may not have a digital workstation on which to edit your footage. If not, you may wish to read about In-Camera Editing.

Basic Shot Framing 101

I have an entire page dedicated to framing your shots, but for now I’ll go over the most basic of basics.

The three basic distance shots are called the close-up, the medium shot, and the wide shot. There are variations of each; the extreme close-up, for example. As a general rule, closer shots are used to show emotion.

In other words, don’t film close-ups of random passersby and wide shots of your main character. You want to make your audience feel close to the main character by showing facial expressions, so use close-ups to convey the thoughts and facial expressions of your principal characters.

Amateur Alert: if you’re framing a shot of a single person, don’t put your subject dead-center. This is a surefire tactic for how to make a video look home-movie-tacular. I like to use the Lord of the Rings movies as examples quite often, because the cinematography in these films is top-notch; watch them if you haven’t seen them, and watch them again if you have.

No one is ever framed in the middle in any of the LOTR films, unless it’s something like the moment when Aragorn bursts through the doors to the halls of Rohan, where the shot is used for effect. These films closely follow the rule of thirds, which is a basic tenet of photography and film composition.

Frame your subject slightly off-center, and at an angle, giving them some look room, which means if they’re on the left, provide more room to the right because it’s the direction in which they’re looking.

Use Light To Your Advantage

I also have a page on how to light a scene, but again – the page you’re reading right now is just a quick overview, so you can take a look at the lighting page for more detailed tips and techniques on lighting.

Natural light can be a great source for making sure your shots are illuminated well, but if you don’t have the suns rays you can bounce light from a small lamp off of a white or light-colored wall or panel to create a soft glow in your shot.

If you don’t have room for light bouncing, aim your light directly at your subject and use some kind of filter to diffuse it, softening the beam and spreading it out over a larger area. Some household filters you could use include white bedsheets or plastic semi-transparent shower curtains.

Common Sense Tip: Don’t rest your diffuser material on your hot lamps (or even too close) unless you really enjoy breathing toxic fumes and/or starting fires inside your house. Try building a basic frame out of some scrap lumber or a craft hoop and clamp it into place in front of your light instead.

Diffusers are very important; you should always try to avoid aiming unfiltered light toward your subject’s face unless it is your goal to cause temporary blindness and/or eye damage. That will make them angry and they may punch you in the throat and not want to be in your film anymore.

Also, unfiltered or unsoftened light from a short distance away creates sharp lines and shadows – the shorter the distance, the sharper the shadows – so again, use bouncing, filters, and indirect light whenever you can to cause your lighting to appear more like a glow than a direct beam.

The Earthquake Effect

The final point I’ll bring up in this overview is that above anything else, the single thing you can do to make your videos and films look like they were made by a complete novice is to shoot them as if you were a dad cracking open his first camcorder on Christmas morning. Nothing screams “I’ve never done this before!” like filming with an unsteady hand.

Tripods are your friend. If you don’t have a tripod, a flat surface where you can rest the camera is a good fair-weather friend too, but get a cheap tripod if you can manage it.

Making your still shots still and your action shots action-packed takes practice, but it’s such a key exercise that it’s worth doing over and over while you learn how to make a video, until you get it right. The pacing, framing, and motion of your shots will set the tone for your videos and films, and will become your most important tool for creating the atmosphere you’ve always imagined letting your audiences experience.

Source : http://www.indie-film-making.com/how-to-make-a-video/

How to Buy Digital Video Equipment

Do you have trouble selecting and buying digital video equipment? Can't decide which digital camcorder to buy? Or what factors to consider when selecting a video editing program?
Take buying camcorders as an example. You certainly don't want to end up spending thousands of dollars on a digital camcorder if you only intend to shoot simple home videos. On the other hand, if you'll need a high-end model to shoot broadcast quality video.
This article will give you some tips on selecting the best desktop video equipment. We'll break down the article into the various categories, namely, digital camcorders, computers, video capture devices, video editing software and DVD authoring programs.

1. Buying A Digital Camcorder 

 To shoot a desktop video, you'll definitely need a camcorder. There are both analogue and digital camcorders out there, but digital camcorders are more the norm now. To select a quality camcorder, you'll need to focus mainly on your budget and the camera's intended usage. A low to mid-range digital camcorder is more than sufficient if you want to shoot only home videos. Don't waste money on higher-end models which are more suitable for professional videographers. You should also consider other factors like Firewire support, lens quality and still image capability. For more on this topic, you can read my detailed guide on buying a digital camcorder.  

A HD digital camcorder from Canon  

2. Buying A Computer For Video Editing

A computer will be needed if you intend to capture, edit or produce your own movie creations on DVD or BluRay disc. Desktop and laptop computers pack a lot of power these days and you should have no problems selecting a decent model for your video editing needs. Again, consider your budget and intended usage. Other factors like future expandability, size, and even customer support are also important. I've written a short guide on selecting a good video editing computer which will be useful to you.  

3. Buying A Video Capture Device

When I speak of a video capture device, I refer to two things - Firewire video capture cards and analog-to-digital converters.Firewire cards are needed to transfer video from your digital camcorder to the computer (you cannot use the USB port). It is an absolute must-buy if you have a digital camcorder. If you own an analog camcorder, or if you want to convert analog video footage into digital format, then analog-to-digital converters come into play. These devices take the analog video and convert them into digital format so that you can preserve those precious videos forever. Check out my guide to choosing Firewire cards for video capture.  

4. Buying Video Editing Software

There are so many video editing software packages out there, it can be mind boggling to the newbie.Traditionally, Adobe Premiere Pro has been recognized as the industry standard in editing video. It is an excellent package which has all the possible video editing features and special effects you'll want. However, if you intend to edit home videos, you will want to consider the more budget Movavi, Corel VideoStudio and Pinnacle Studio products. To help you out, you should read this useful guide on selecting the best video editing package.  

Corel VideoStudio Pro X4 video editing software

5. Buying DVD Authoring Software

VCD, DVD and BluRay authoring packages are very popular these days. These are available as standalone products (e.g. Nero Burning ROM) or built into video editing packages like Corel VideoStudio or Movavi. Typically, these simplify the process of burning a DVD with point-and-click user interfaces. They are also quite cheap and affordable. Traditionally, Corel has been the industry leader for many of these products and I would recommend buying their software.

Conclusion

Whew! Considering the huge array of digital video equipment out there, it is most confusing to the beginner digital video enthusiast. I hope this article sums up the types of video equipment you need to buy and gives you some idea of what you will and will not need. The most important thing, as I always emphasize, is to consider your budget and intended usage of a particular digital video product. If you follow that simple rule, you will, in general, make a good selection and purchase.

Source : http://www.desktop-video-guide.com/buying-digital-video-equipment.html

Video Production Techniques: Where to Start?

No matter what type of video you’re making, the first step is ALWAYS to consider your audience. WHO is the video intended for and WHAT do you want them to get out of it? The answers to those two questions will determine most everything else.

If you’re producing a home movie of your two-year-old’s birthday party for relatives, chances are you’ll need to do things much differently than if you’re producing a demonstration video for investors of your multimillion dollar experimental hybrid car.

All videos should be planned and created with the audience in mind. Ask yourself these questions:

• What does the audience want to see?
• What do they expect to see?
• What information do you want them to learn?
• What information are they likely to already have?
• What emotions do you want them to feel?
• What style appeals to your audience?

When you’re producing a video, you are largely in control of what your audience will get out of it, both intellectually and emotionally. Granted, you can’t control any individual’s reaction, but as the video’s creator, you have the ability to tell them what you want them to know and present it in such a way that they are likely to feel the way you want them to feel. Powerful stuff!

How do you actually do that?

By telling a story.

All videos tell a story, even if it’s nothing more complex than the story of how to knit a blanket. (Some stories are inherently more exciting than others.) Even the most hum-drum topics can be made interesting by adding appropriate story-telling elements and playing on the audience’s emotions.

There is a saying in television production that there are no boring stories, only boring story-tellers. This is true.

Take the how-to-knit-a-blanket example.

BORING: Take an extreme wide-shot of a blanket. The camera is so far away that the viewer has to hunt for the blanket amid all the other stuff unrelated to the blanket that’s showing on the screen. The shot is shaky, grainy and poorly-lit. there's narration that’s full of static. The person reading the narration mumbles inaudibly and every now and then sniffs deeply. The script is long, rambling, and uses lots of ten-dollar words. The narrator drones on in excruciating detail, describing how to make the zillions of tiny stitches. However, the audience never actually sees the tiny stitches the narrator is talking about because the video remains on the one wide-shot of the finished blanket for the entire thirty minutes.

NOT BORING: Begin with a fast-paced montage of brightly lit shots of an adorable baby snoozing peacefully while snuggled in a blanket. Include lots of close-ups of the blanket’s details, plus close-ups of the baby, which are guaranteed to make the audience say, “Awwwwwww.” (Any time you can make an audience say, go for it!)

Upbeat, cheerful music accompanies the articulate narrator who speaks clearly, with enthusiasm. The script is conversational, using common, everyday language. The details of how to make the stitches are shown visually, with close-ups, repeated in slow motion. The entire video lasts only ten minutes.

See the difference?

Even though the first video actually contains more information, no one will ever absorb that information because who would sit through such torture?

Not even the producer’s mother!

Simple story-telling techniques make the difference between a video that people will tune out and one they’ll watch and absorb. Never assume that you can’t tell a story because your subject matter is too dry. In fact, the more tedious your subject the more you need to tell story and there's always a way.

Telling a story doesn’t necessarily mean you need complex characters and a compelling plot. (However, you'd be amazed by how detailed a story you can pack into a 30-second spot.) Characters, plot and action always enhance a video, but sometimes it's best to be more straight forward with your information and character will just get in the way. If that's the case, story-telling is still essential, but it can mean nothing more than adding some emotional elements like mood music and close-ups of smiling people that the viewer can relate to.

In the blanket story example, the script doesn't even mention the baby, merely having the cute video does the trick. People relate to other people and smiling faces increase your videos watch-ability exponentially. Cute visuals tell a story merely by being cute.

It’s been proven repeatedly in market research, the most memorable and compelling experiences for viewers are ones that affect their emotions. Telling a good story is the key to touching a viewer’s emotions which makes it more likely they will remember and respond to your message. Anytime you can hit an emotional button, you greatly increase the chances of your video’s success. The easiest way to do this is with compelling visuals. Babies, people crying, people laughing, explosions, it sound cheesy but it’s guaranteed to work every time. Music is an essential mood enhancer and is also extremely easy to add. There's lots of other ways too enhance your story.

The level of emotionalism you want in your video depends on your audience's needs and your subject matter. One of the criticisms leveled at the television news industry is that too many news stories are told with emotions and not facts. I believe this is a valid criticism; TV news is the one area of video production where emotionalism should be kept in check. However, newscasters do this in order to keep their newscast from being deadly dull. How many news directors did I hear lecture, “If your story is so boring no one watches it, than what good is it?” So every story we did HAD to be done based on people, not just facts and figures. If the story was about tax increases, we weren’t allowed to just give a laundry list of the numbers, we had to go find a family that was going to be affected by the increases and ask them how they felt about it. No doubt the news director hoped emotionalism would run high due to the family we chose being an extreme case. Then, the facts were woven into the story of this family.

Doing a story on colon cancer? Find someone who suffered with it and tell their story. Trying to educate your audience about an amazing product you're selling? Find someone who benefited from it and tell their story. The reasons why they liked it will probably be fairly universal. Want to educate the masses on flower gardening? Videotape people who love gardening and tell their stories.

We can argue all day long about the ethical aspects of doing meant to squeeze the emotional jugular, but in the end, the reality is that few people care about information, they care about people. So regardless of your subject matter, you need to inject emotions into your video and traditionally this is done by telling stories about people and their experiences. It's guaranteed that your audience will relate to the subject of your story more than they would just a recitation of the facts.

Source : http://videoproductiontips.com/video-production-techniques-where-to-start