Common video mistakes to avoid
And not only the channel but also your desire to create these videos, your motivation, and the budget you’ve spent on content creation.
To prevent this from happening, take a look at some common mistakes that should be avoided when making videos.
No planning ahead
Not using a script is one of the most common and biggest video mistakes. Of course, you can improvise, but trying to come up with something on the spot may be uncomfortable for you as a novice. Try writing a script to organize your thoughts. It will actually save your time later, and you can read it out loud before filming to make sure everything sounds natural.
Set the right tone. Music, visuals, and other elements can influence the viewer's perception. If the style does not match the message, it can confuse them. For example, using grim colors and chilling music would look questionable when making a light-hearted video.
Also, it is essential that the viewer not only watches the video but also performs the action you need, for example, answering your questions in comments or checking out other videos you promote. The right call-to-action in a video helps to attract new viewers. Therefore, determine which CTAs work effectively in your case and appeal to your target audience.
Shooting without proper gear
Much depends on how you see a certain scene in the video. Use ambient lights to set the mood or highlight a particular object in the shot – you decide what should grab the audience’s attention! Proper lighting can brighten up even an ordinary shot.
Sound also plays an important role. When recording it, consider location, distance from the microphone to the source of the sound, and the type of microphone. Unintelligible speech, echoes, noise, and other interference will only leave a negative impression on the video. So apply the proper settings for the microphone and check how it sounds before recording.
It’s hard not to notice shaky shots in the video as well, as they make it difficult to focus on what is shown and said. Fortunately, in most cases, it can be fixed in post-processing. But it’s better to save time and not have shaky shots at all. If you’re shooting outdoors, consider getting a tripod to place a camera or phone on. If you mainly make videos indoors, a tripod is also useful but not a necessity – you can use books or other things to make sure the camera stays still.
Video length
It should be taken as an axiom that if the video is not interesting and doesn’t attract attention with its story or ideas, then users will close it almost immediately, no matter how long it lasts: three minutes or thirty. You can’t keep every viewer, but the video’s length is still significant. Decide what message you want to convey and try to keep it short.
Indeed, there are exceptions, such as video reviews, but even if you make them, try not to make them too long. Otherwise, you can repeat things already said and make the viewer bored.
No proper framing
How to shoot a high-quality video without knowing the basics of composition? Alas, no way.
If you’re not familiar with composition, simply put, that means you shouldn’t leave too much extra space in the shot. The main object or person should be in the center of attention, and you should remove any distracting objects unless they have a particular creative purpose.
Avoid unflattering angles. An object looks different depending on how you look at it, so try different angles – maybe a view from the top or bottom would look more attractive!
The best way to learn composition is to watch high-quality videos of other content creators. Watch it not for entertainment but self-education, and stop the video while watching to analyze the composition of a particular frame.
Absence of editing
One of the essential steps of video making is editing. Unedited video can discourage people from viewing with a sheer number of shots where the author is trying to correctly pronounce a line from the script that should’ve been cut out.
But editing is not just cutting shots out. Most often, this process includes additional aspects, including graphic effects, text placement, adding background music, etc. Even some easy tweaks, such as setting higher contrast or saturation, can make the film pop out and look more engaging.
Specifics of editing depend on the mood of your video, but you can always experiment to find out what works best for you and maybe find your editing style!
