PRO: VICTORIA GRECH
CEO of Video Marketer Victoria Grech shares tips on overcoming the uncertainty of learning new skills
Video Marketer is a smartphone video training site and video marketing service for photographers and other non-photography businesses. The premise is to teach how to film a professional-looking video on a smartphone with a minimal budget. It teaches the psychology of visual storytelling, which makes your video not only engage but connect to your clients and audiences.
The main thing stopping stills photographers is probably fear. I remember when I first jumped into filming. I didn’t want to learn a new skill or risk my business trying to provide a skill that seemed so difficult. I think the aspect of video which stills photographers find the most difficult to adjust to is focusing. However, with today’s new DSLRs and bigger video cameras, the smart follow focus is pretty impressive. I switched from Canon to the Panasonic S1H and was amazed at some of the software options I had in-camera. Next, the art of visual storytelling and motion requires adjustment. What works for still images doesn’t work for motion. I quickly learned, while photographing and filming weddings, that I needed to direct the couple for the still image, then direct for movement.
One of the biggest mistakes a novice filmmaker can fall foul of is turning audio off on your camera if you are recording on a handheld device. This means there is no audio wave track to sync in post (I did a whole Greek baptism like that and it was insane in the edit, a lesson learnt the hard way). Try and get two or three versions of your audio just in case something happens to the main mic.
Ultimately video was the best risk I have ever made for my business. Even if photographers start to film on a smartphone alongside a DSLR – use what you have and be creative.