Top Video Tips from Award Winning Cameraman Jeremy Humphries
Video content has become an important part of our lives over recent years and according to Google, 68% of YouTube users in 2016 watched YouTube videos to help make a purchase decision. Video can really grab an audience and businesses all over the world are now starting to use video more. We spoke to a client of ours, Jeremy Humphries, about his top tips for using video.
Jeremy is a BBC trained cameraman, who has spent over 30 years filming documentaries across the globe and has a passion for telling stories with his camera. His portfolio includes work with the BBC, C4, ITV, National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, telling stories that entertain, educate, inform and instruct.
Now his company Skills2Film works with international corporate businesses to train them to shoot their own video content and to tell their stories.
When talking about the impact of video, Jeremy told us, “The visual image is one of the first emotions we use. Throughout our lives it will engage us, make us feel happy, sad, excited. And the visual image can tell a story. It’s why we look at a Rembrandt, watch our TV, take a selfie”.
Here are some top tips from Jeremy on how to begin your video production journey:
- What is your story? Think about what you are trying to say.
- If you are selling a product – even a can of beans – don’t just show the product, but show someone enjoying using it – or eating it
- The human face can be the most engaging object we use on our screen – use someone who is comfortable on camera to articulate what your story is
- Talk conversationally to your contributors, like a friend. Don’t allow them to wave their arms around or speak too fast
- Avoid filming against bright windows
- Don’t move the camera around, keep it steady
- Hold your shots for at least 10 seconds
- An iPhone and iMovie editor is a great place to start. Someone in the office will have had a go before, if not experiment
- Watch your favourite TV programme to see how they make a sequence (a series of shots) – to tell their story
- In any sequence we use the closer shots to have the maximum input.
Video is an important step on captivating your audience in a technology focused world, as a business it may be worth thinking about the ways that you could incorporate video in to your content strategy.
To find out more about the work that Skills2Film do, take a look at their website www.skills2film.com.
