Video guides are currently in the rage, and you’ve probably
encountered a couple in the past. As opposed to articles or even illustrations,
video allows you to show someone exactly how to do something – while at the
same time telling them what to do via a voiceover narration.
If you’ve already been perusing some of the video guides out
there, you may have noticed that there is a stark and noticeable difference
between them. Some resemble amateur productions, with shaky and choppy video as
well as stuttered narration. On the other hand, others look much more
professionally produced – being smooth, seamless, and with flawless narration.
To create a professional-looking video guide, the first
thing you need to do is prepare.
Writing a Script Can Make or Break a Video
A big part of the reason why professional-looking videos
tend to be so smooth and seamless often boils down to the fact that they are
carefully scripted.
For any video, the script that you write is your plan, and
it will contain all the details of the video that you ultimately want to
produce. In a nutshell – it is the vision of your video, put down on paper, and
as such it should contain:
- A breakdown of the scenes
that make up the video.
- Details of what elements
each scene contains along with what they’re portraying or doing during
that scene.
- The voiceover narration
that is to be read at various points of each scene that it coincides with.
Start by drafting a basic script, and then build on it. Be
as thorough as possible, though at the same time bear in mind that although the
script will be your overall guide you may very well have to adapt it later on.
Record Multiple Takes
Have you ever wondered why professional filmmakers often
film multiple takes of a single scene? It’s simple really: Often a single take
may not be perfect, so they film it until they have a take that is, or are able
to edit together one that is from the multiple takes that they’ve filmed.
Seeing as you’re using screen capture to film your video
guide, it should be no problem recording multiple takes. Keep going until
you’re satisfied, but also be prepared to go back and re-record some scenes if
you later find out that they aren’t up to scratch.
Putting it All Together and Adding Polish
After the recording is done and you have the raw material
for your video guide, you will need to put it all together. Not only does this
mean combining the scenes that you’ve recorded to form the video, but it also
encompasses trimming unnecessary footage, and maybe even cutting and combining
segments from different takes to get it looking just right.
During this stage you should also record and insert your
voiceover.
Once that is all sorted, you should look to add the final
touches to your video by adding a certain polish to it. In some cases this
could be tweaking the quality or the look of the video by adjusting its color
settings or applying filters, or it could be something more notable, like
adding stylish transitions.
Every video is different and adding polish is often a
question of taste, style, and approach.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.
