In an age where we shift from one screen to the next to consume content, becoming a content creator is one of the best decisions you could make nowadays. Since you’ve made your way here to this blog, you have already decided that this is an interest that you wish to pursue.
Since it has become such an accessible form of content to produce, it is quite easy to establish yourself and understand what needs to be done to produce a formidable video. You have stumbled upon the perfect place to start your journey as a content creator which will give you the ability to venture into multiple forms of video content. From Vlogs to Cinematic movies, the possibilities are endless!
Why is Video Content relevant?
There are many types of content creators that have established themselves on various platforms. Content can vary from images to info graphics and videos. The platforms that are most used by video content creators are Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube. There are other channels such as Twitch.
Statistics show that video is considered as the number one informational source for 66% of the world’s population. To be more specific, 500 billion videos are watched within a day on YouTube and 75% of those videos are watched on smartphones.
From the data presented above, it is clear that the COVID 19 pandemic made the average consumer much more reliant on their smart devices, therefore the number of consumption has drastically improved.
It is important to understand the importance of video content before we dive deeper into the entire process.
What do you want to shoot?
There are a million and one different styles and type of videos you can shoot. Every single piece of content you scroll through each day has a different style and it is up to you to decide what you want to improve and fine tune on.Here is a list of video styles that you could easily use to embark your journey as a videographer.
Vlogs are basically blogs which have adapted a video format and is very easy to get into. You can do a video log of one of your experiences and you can showcase what you saw along with your thoughts and ideas on what happened. A lot of Vlogs are shot on phones nowadays.
Cinematic video requires a bit more know how as you need to understand fundamentals such as color grading / frame rates and aspect ratios which will be elaborated further into this article. These types of videos are best when used with cameras with interchangeable lenses but can be formidably shot on Smart phones as well.
POV video is also very fun and easy to as you can give the audience a unique perspective. Showcasing unique experiences as seen from your eyes are always fun to watch. They are commonly shot on action cameras such as GoPro and DJI since they are more rugged and can be used in extreme conditions.
Mastering and practicing these three core styles would aid you a lot to get into the countless other styles you can discover.
What could be achieved through video content?
The video below was done to showcase the various style of videography using a smartphone and a mirrorless camera.
Choosing your Camera
The one in your pocket!
Smartphones are considered as extremely powerful cameras nowadays. Since you’re reading this article as a novice, the most accessible camera for you would be your smartphone. The justifications behind using your mobile device for videos are plentiful. It’s always with you can shoot, edit and upload your content on one singular device, which would be impossible to achieve on the other mediums that would be discussed throughout this article.
It is a much more convenient tool for content creators who want to focus on portrait platforms such Instagram Stories and TikToks because the user gets to see exactly what they are shooting accurately as the device could be tilted to whichever way you decide to record your footage.
If you are currently on the lookout to purchase a new smartphone for video, an iPhone would essentially be considered as an option.
Just observing the video linked above gives you an idea on how much smartphone cameras have evolved. From crystal clear 4K footage, depth of field and the ability to shoot 240 frames per second from a smart phone sound too good to be true.
Apple marketed the new iPhone 13 Pro Max as Hollywood in your pocket. Although everything above seems like technical jargon, by the end of this article, you will be ready to use these terms in everyday conversations.
There are many arguments going around smartphones and how other brands are more beneficial when compared to apple, but from a videographer’s point of view, the iPhone from a software standpoint alone would be ahead of the competition.
Although Apple comes jam packed with all these amazing features, it also attracts a very hefty price tag as well. But there’s still a bias towards Apple from videographers because if you are unable to purchase the latest and the greatest, Apples entire line up of mobile devices are adequate contenders for when you decide to select a worthy advisory for your content creation journey.
Tempting Options!
If you have the ability to spend a bit more towards educating yourself, the sensible approach would be to purchase a DSLR or Mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. Since this will be your first camera, it is important that you do not dwell into the high-end market although it may seem rather tempting.
An entry level camera DSLR would be a formidable tool to understand how a professional camera would work. You can easily purchase a used camera for under 50 pounds. Action cameras are also quite hardy if your focused on capturing POV style videos.
These are a few more tips for you to research on when deciding on which camera to get. Make sure you scroll through the entire list!
Essential Jargon
Throughout this article we have been talking about a lot of video related words that you might already be familiar with. It is essential that you know what the following terminology means in order to understand what you are doing.
Frames per Second (FPS)
You might have heard statements such as 60 fps / 120 fps and 240 fps. This term essentially tells you the number of images are taken within a second in order to capture a video.
Why most cameras and mobile devices try to obtain a high number of FPS is to achieve slow motion. The more images your camera takes within a second, the slower your footage becomes. To sum up the higher the FPS, The slower the video.
F/ Stops
This is achieved either digitally (on smartphones) or optically (on cameras) by controlling the amount of light that is flooded to the sensor.
Resolutions and Aspect Ratios
The essential thing to know is that 1920 x 1080 is used for wide screen video with 16:9 aspect ratio. For squared of videos for Instagram and Facebook, it is 1000 x 1000 with a 1:1 aspect ratio. And finally for long horizontal videos for reels and stories, we use 1080 x 1920 with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Choosing your software
There aren’t a lot of software’s which could be recommended but it is important that you try out each one of them to further improve yourself. For Mac users, the software of choice would be Final Cut Pro as it works natively since there is software integration. For Windows users, the best option would be DaVinci Resolve which is a very powerful tool that won’t choke your computer.
For mobile users, apps such as iMovie, Filmr and Quick might get the job done. Almost all of these software’s and apps come with a beginner’s guide but I am more than willing to cover another blog on a medium you choose.
A few honorable mentions would include premier pro / After Effects and Camtasia Studios, but these software’s are very good for a beginner to hone their skills.
Thank you!
Since you’ve reached the end of this article, I would like to thank you for reading this blog all the way till the end. Please share your thoughts on how I could serve you, the person taking the leap to become a videographer.
Make sure you comment down below on what I could cover next. What software or camera do you want me to do an in-depth analysis on?
Until next time…
Learned so much in a couple of minutes .
It was very helpful to aspiring content creators like me and anyone who needs some extra knowledge.
Thankyou!
Thank you!
Great read and very useful!
Great Read. Keep it up.
Good one..Keep it up ..👌
Even though I don’t create any contents, this article is informative, useful for those who want to become content creators. Best wishes to you Praveen.
Very useful and great read.
Good stuff bro! So much of valuable information ! Thanks keeping us posted!
Way to go!
Good stuff. Learnt a lot. Keep it up
Informative and interesting article. Keep it up!
That was some good content. Interesting read and knowledgeable.
Looking forward for another article
Very good report about content creation. It’s a good point that is included technical details as well.
This is very insightful. Didn’t know of some since now. Bravo! A must read for marketing professionals such as I.
Very Good Report 👍🏼 Keep it up Bro 🥂
Good content. Worth the read.
Definitely a good read! So insightful and so much nitty-gritty on content creation!
Good job and way to go bro!
Very informative and interesting to read !!!
Very useful for the beginners and intermediate level person to study. Good content overall.
Digital video content is something that I’m currently working on. Lot of knowledge and great ideas.Really interesting blog.
Thank you.
Informative!
Keep up the good work. It was very insightful and kept interesting through out.
Thumbs up 👍🏼
Amazing content …
Reflects your professionalism and talent.
Good Job Praveen
Good stuff! So much knowledge and information for people who are interested to pursue. A must read for video content creators.
Great work! Keep it up
Learnt some new things about digital video content. Thanks for the valuable info bro
Good stuff! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing Praveen, this gave me an idea for my next project. I’m planning to shoot a video of a protest in Sri Lanka for a Webpage.
Many thanks and keep it up!
Interesting 😍
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
Very interesting!
I learned a lot.
Please keep on writing blogs like this. These are very useful.
Went through the article. Learned some new things. Thank you
Very informative and interesting
So grateful for sharing thank you so much
Thanks for sharing this informative Vedio learnt some new things about digital vedio content. Best wishes
So useful and valuable informations about digital video content, thanks paveen for sharing this!! Appreciate it👌👍
The content was so informative that even a beginner would gain so much insight. Thank you so much Praveen
Good read and great tips!! 👏🏻
Interesting read, very useful!
Very informative and interesting!
Good Job 👍
I just realised that even I can be a content creator. Thank you for this blog.
Waiting for more updates 👍
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing knowledge and keep up the good work.
Useful and detailed👍🏻
Interesting read! Loved the tips 👍🏽
Good information presented here, even for a beginner. Well done brother.
Interesting content!
Interesting 😊
If I end up buying a camera it would be definitely because of this blog!
Loved the creative videos and information simultaneously. 👍🏻
Woooww.. Interesting read,nice creative Videos and good information… well done bro.its great article!!
Interesting read, informative and useful! Good Job 👏🏽
An interesting and informative article. Really helpful for my cenematography project.
Very informative learnt something new.
Amazing.
Can I learn about the use of Final Cut?
Or any other software actually ro start video editing.
Though it is something different from my studies Its really inspiring blog.
Thats really amazing. Good read
So much of valuable information very useful !
Good Job bro 👏
Very informative and comprehensive. Well written!
very usedfull imformation. Nicely donw great work
Very insightful. Great job 👏
Good job.keep it up
Thanks for the comprehensive explanation very useful
A good one 👍
Very informative and looking forward for similar content.
Very informative 👍
Amazing work bro!! All the very best!!
Good content. Was pretty informative. Worth sharing💯
Wow! very informative and well written, explains crisply about how to create video content!
Great post! After reading your article I’m tempted to try out DaVinci Resolve for editing my videos.. Do you know if there is a free trial?
Hi Jana!
I’m so glad that your showing interest in video editing as you are excellent with XD.
DaVinci Resolve is completely free. Only the Pro version is paid and the only difference is that you can edit 4K footage and you get can do VFX which is visual effects.
Good job 👏
What an interesting blog, love the videos!
Very informative reading! I’m not a video content creator at the moment, but if I ever decide to become one, I’ll certainly come back to this blog post. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
An informative read! Thanks for explaining the jargons!