Want to learn film theory for video marketing?
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The importance of video marketing in online business cannot be overemphasized.
Statistics are clear. A whopping 96% of marketers agree that video marketing helps to increase user understanding of their products and 87% say video helps them to drive more sales.
Image via Wyzowl
Further, 91% of marketers say video marketing helps them drive website traffic:
Image via Wyzowl
What’s more, 49% of marketers say video helps to boost audience engagement thus increasing website dwell time.
What’s more?
According to a survey report by Wave.video, 72% of small business owners say video marketing helps them increase brand awareness.
Image via Wave.video
This explains why top companies are investing in AI-text video-generators to create original and eye-catching videos.
But here is what you need to know about filming videos for marketing.
Video marketing isn’t a cut-and-dry.
To nail your video marketing, you need to get multiple elements right.
Thus, it’s important to familiarize yourself with some film theory basics.
If you’re interested in understanding the film theory for video marketing, here are the essential elements that can enhance your visual experience.
1. Set Design
The set design is a vital element in the video production process.
The overall appearance of the set including the style, tone, and personality helps your audience understand the concept.
What’s more?
It also gives your viewers a good first impression of your brand.
Thus, whether you’re creating promotional, educational, or explainer videos, make your set distraction-free. Better yet, ensure the set design represents exactly what you want to achieve.
So, it’s good to consider what you want your audience to think of when they think of your brand.
Pro tip: To produce high-quality videos, we recommend using the best online video makers or maybe think about hiring a video editor.
2. Lighting
Lighting should speak for your brand. Without good lighting, you cannot produce high-quality footage.
Granted, most devices can shoot a video. However, you need to backlight the subject. This will help to differentiate between the subject and its background.
Without proper lighting, your videos will be grainy and blurry, leading to poor-quality videos that aren’t engaging.
It will hinder you from achieving your video marketing goals.
Proper backlighting of the subject can help to set the mood and tone as well. In fact, most international movie producers leverage lighting to make their movies soft and romantic.
Here are a few things to get your lighting right:
- Make the key light your primary source of light that illuminates directly on the subject.
- Use the fill light as the secondary source of light to balance the key light.
- Use the backlight as the background source of light.
There are many lighting equipment on the internet. You can also use the existing light sources you have to create a three-point lighting system.
Pro tip: You shouldn’t rely on overhead lights that you cannot dim or move. Use portable lights.
3. Space
This is the third and yet another essential element in film theory for video marketing.
Here, you need to determine the main focus.
As your audience views your videos, where do you want them to focus their attention?
In this case, you need to establish what is called depth of field or focus. Case in point: When a B2B company Phonexa decided to create its ‘The Telephone’ commercial, the ad took place in a busy 19th-Century street as the company wanted to use humor to highlight the revolutionary way of communicating.
Depth of focus helps to demonstrate your space and makes the scene more interesting to your viewers.
4. Shot Composition
The way you frame the shot can make or break your video marketing goals. You need to determine what you want your viewers to see and where you want them to see it.
Here, you need to be guided by two main rules namely the Rule of Thirds and the 180-Degree Rule.
What is the Rule of Thirds for video?
The Rule of Thirds is a gold guideline that determines how you frame the elements in your film to make the final product more visually captivating.
It states that when filming, you should divide the frame into nine even pieces and three main thirds using a vertical and horizontal line.
The idea is to make the video more balanced rather than centered.
Typically, the Rule of Thirds helps to:
- Leverage composition techniques that align with pleasing your viewers’ eyes.
- Creatively use negative space.
- Have a balance between the subject and background.
For instance, if you’re filming an educational video, the Rule of Thirds can give you room for any overlays you want to include in the main shot.
In this case, you can put your subject in either the right, center, or left frame.
Similarly, if you’re creating a video where you’re interviewing an industry expert, then ensure both of your close-ups are in opposite thirds.
This makes it easier for your viewers to follow when the camera switches back and forth and establishes a realistic eye line between you and the person you’re interviewing.
What is the 180 Degree Rule?
It’s the principle that dictates the space that should be between two people in a frame.
Image via Wikipedia
Here, you can create an invisible line that stands between two people. This could be you and the person you’re talking to or interviewing.
Under this rule, you can switch the camera between both of you but it shouldn’t get past the imaginary line or axis.
Videos that follow the 180 Degree Rule make it easy for viewers to follow the conversation without getting lost.
Ideally, this rule helps to maintain continuity to avoid distracting the viewer.
Conclusion
With more brands leveraging videos in their digital marketing campaigns and more customers preferring video to text-based content, there is no doubt, video marketing is the future of digital marketing.
Nonetheless, it’s essential to understand the film theory for video marketing to ensure you are nailing the visual components that determine how your brand is perceived by your target audience.
Utilizing all the elements mentioned above will help you produce high-quality videos, showcase your brand, and distinguish yourself from the competition.
Gaurav Sharma is the founder and CEO of Attrock, a results-driven digital marketing company. Grew an agency from 5-figure to 7-figure revenue in just two years | 10X leads | 2.8X conversions | 300K organic monthly traffic. He also contributes to top publications like HuffPost, Adweek, Business 2 Community, TechCrunch, and more.
