Bookmark Vlog Blog
Jul
30
Shaky, out of focus, dark, blurry, inaudible, nauseatingly zoom-crazy.
You name it and some vlogger is out there doing it right this very moment. While there’s a lot to like out in the vlog world, there’s also a lot that is simply painful to watch.
Although it’s true that good content can shine through even the worst style, why would a vlogger want to put that extra hurdle in the viewer’s way?
There’s an old maxim in writing that says you have to know the rules before you can break them. This, of course, means that the writer who is breaking the rules after he/she knows them is doing it intentionally - FOR EFFECT.
A lot of vloggers could learn from this.
That said, vloggers don’t need to be professional videographers. Far from it. In fact, the realistic “cinéma vérité” style lends a certain authenticity to a vlog.
At the moment anyway, this “non-professional” look that most vlogs have is actually beneficial. It separates them from their overly slick film and TV cousins. They are the girl next door, not the air-brushed centerfold who turns out to be more photoshop than girl.
But far too often the overly shaky picture or wind-blown audio can start to grate on the viewer’s nerves. Unless your subject/content is so dramatically interesting that people can’t wait to see what comes next, over time you’re likely to lose viewers. Even if they find your content interesting, psychologically, the “ugly” in your vlog may start to wear on them to the point where they will begin avoiding you.
Even the straight point-and-shoot, talking-head vloggers can probably make their videos better by learning and practicing a few simple tips. The idea is not necessarily to put the “pretty” in, but, rather, to take the “ugly” out.
If you can achieve that simple goal, you’ll be miles ahead of other vloggers out there, and in the long run, your reward will be more viewers – and more loyal viewers. When the ugly isn’t acting as a distraction, they will be able to concentrate on your content.
With that in mind, if you’re interested in improving your videos, there are a few places that might make for a good starting point.
A short 8-point text guide for the basics can be found at LifeHacker: 8 Ways to Shoot Video Like a Pro
For something more in-depth (and with more tricks), check out the video tutorials at MetaCafe Studio’s “Production School”
And lastly, one of the people who contributed some of the MetaCafe videos is Israel Hyman, who offers a whole boatload of free video tutorials over at his site IzzyVideo.com