Planning Your Web Video

When you're making a web video, you need to treat it like a major motion picture.  Although, you will most likely not have to go to the extremes that Hollywood professionals do, there are some traits that you must pick up from them.  The most important out of all these traits is designing and planning your web video.  Making a web video that is powerful, entertaining and informative does not just "happen."  It takes time to plan out what you want to say, how you want to say it and the overall look that you want your web video to be.  The post effective web videos are those that are composed and shot with care.  The more time that you put into your web video, the better it will look.

However, it is understood that many people who want to make powerful web videos simply don't have the time to sit around and map out every detail of the video.  While doing so guarantees that you will have a aesthetically pleasing video, there is a simpler way to organize your web video.  Before you ever begin to film, you must first have a shooting, or concept, script.  Whether you literally write down dialogue that you want to say, or if you just need to organize your thoughts, always write a shooting script for a web video.  If you are making a video for a product that you are selling, than you will want to explain the product clearly, and also demonstrate the product.  This is one of the greatest aspects of web video, individuals are actually able to see the product in action before purchasing it. 

With your shooting script, you will also want to lay out where you want to film the video and how many people are needed.  You may find that you can do this all yourself, however, usually the more people that you have helping you the easier the project will be, and the better the ending result will also be.  While many people do not understand how to compose a professional shot, it is very easy to learn.  When you are looking through your camera, what you see in the screen is what will be recorded.  Take a moment before you begin filming to make sure that everything in the "frame" is what you want to be seen.

Make all of the surrounding objects neat, or simply take them away.  If you're going for a unique look to your web video, make sure that all of the elements that you want to be seen are visible within the frame.  A great way to make sure that you have a beautiful shot every time is to follow a simple rule, that even Hollywood filmmakers follow, and that is the Rule of Thirds.  

When you're filming in the Rule of Thirds, imagine that the screen is split into a basic tic-tac-toe formation.  Always make sure that the person you are filming has their head placed on either the right or left side of the screen.  Instead of filming a person that is precisely in the middle of the frame, move them over to the right or left section of the screen pattern.  This will provide the viewer with a sense of balance, and will give your web video a professional appeal to it.  You can see the Rule of Thirds in action within almost every web video or even in movies.

Next time you watch an interview, or a character in a film is giving a monologue, 90% of the time they will be positioned either on the right or left side of the screen, following the Rule of Thirds.  Also, the most important part of filming a web video is to make a story out of the video.  This doesn't mean that there needs to be dramatics involved, although this can make for an interesting addition to your video, it simply means that you will want to create a sense of flow to the information that is being given out.