Tobias Gleissenberger, the guy that runs YouTube’s Surfaced Studio, has a few things that you can do literally right now that will make your videos look instantly better. And the best part about these tips is that you don’t even need any extra expensive equipment! All you need is your camera, a basic video editing program, and maybe some cheap lights if you don’t have a window to film by.
Lets see what Gleissenberger’s has to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1PT5qdnCOs
First, Gleissenberger says that the easiest thing that you can do to make your videos look better is to add more light. He stresses that cameras aren’t as good at seeing in the dark as our eyes, so what may seem good to you with your normal eyes may not be good for your camera. Add more light by filming in the daytime near a window, or by using inexpensive video lights, to avoid having your footage getting that grainy and dull look that you get when you film in low light.
Next tip is to shoot in manual mode. You camera will automatically adjusts shutter speed, aperture and ISO so it can keep the brightness in your image even, but this can end up leaving your footage with bad artifacts and lower the over quality of the image. So, set your camera to manual mode and use a auto exposure lock if you can so you can prevent your camera from changing any of the settings you have in place.
The third tip that Gleissenberger suggest to do is to disable auto white balance. If white balance is left on automatic, it can change the tone color of your footage, which isn’t something that happens in professional video. By setting this to manual, you will prevent any color shifts with you are filming.
Fourth, Gleissenberger says to get something that will stabilize your camera. Do things like use a tripod and avoid hand-holding your camera whenever you can. These best practices will greatly increase the quality of your video.
As for the last tip, Gleissenberger says that you should do some color correction in post-production. He says that it can be simple correcting like adjusting the brightness of your footage, adding more contrast, or fixing the white balance.
All of these tips may seem really simple, but they are the beginning essentials to making videos look professional. Try to use them all whenever you can and you will see an instant improvement to the quality of your videos.
