In my last 5 part series, I talked about the ‘Different Videos Your Website Is In Need Of’
Now I will run through what equipment you need to make it all happen.
The minimum amount of video content you will need for a successful video marketing campaign PT 1.
Before we start, try not to get overwhelmed with what I am outlining… If you take things step-by-step, everything will be easy to digest. You won’t have to go out and buy a bunch of professional equipment… there are many shortcuts you can take and I will be here for you to describe them. The main thing is not to associate filming video with pain and difficulty – otherwise, you will never end up shooting. The key is to start off simple!
To start with we are going to run through the first piece of equipment you are going to need… you can either buy it, borrow it or hire it but you are most definitely going to need some recording gear. Now there are two paths you can go here: either a camera or a screen capture device. We all know what a camera is, but what’s a screen capture device? Screen capture allows you to record your computer screen while you are using it and also records audio as well. This is perfect if you are a little shy and don’t want to be in the actual video… This option works well if you are giving a demo on how to use something like software, or if you are going through a power point presentation. There are 2 different types of software I recommend depending on the sort of computer you have: Camtasia if you have a PC and Screenflow if you have a Mac. Both of these are very reasonably priced and they also double as post-production software (editing, which we will cover later).
If you choose to present the video (instead of hiding behind a screen capture) you have some different options for cameras: The first and most obvious is the video camera on your phone… The picture quality on these things these days are wonderful and they tend to be with you at most times should you spontaneously want to shoot – A great place to start if you are a beginner.
Your next option is finding yourself a good quality webcam. Logitech does a great version, but to sure do your homework first and check some reviews on Youtube first before you buy. You shouldn’t need to pay much more than $80 and you will get something that will come with HD and will produce great results.
Your 3rd option is a popular one and that’s the “GoPro” – they range between $200-$300 and are even more compact than a phone. They are waterproof, have auto-stabilize, HD and a host of accessories like glide-cam, mounting jacks and other cool features. I really recommend this camera because it has the ability to do what all the others can plus more… My favourite part is that it’s so compact.
In my coming posts, I’m going to outline the rest of the gear you will need… as you have seen with this post, nothing has been too techy so far so don’t freak out, just follow along and take baby steps.