5 tips for producing professional-caliber DIY videos

Want to achieve video content that gets noticed on social media, while staying on budget?

Here are five ways to get professional results with DIY video content—even when your crew is just you.

1. If you don’t want a scripted video, still make a plan.

Sometimes it makes sense to forego a script to allow your subject(s) to be themselves and connect with an audience. Some examples might be a how-to video, an expert testimonial or an informal interview.

You want authenticity, but you also can’t ignore structure. Start drawing up your plan by asking yourself: What is my objective? Who is my audience? What do I want to convey? These will influence the interview questions.

Now, create a beginning, middle and end beat to your story. Form a few questions around those 3 beats, and don’t be afraid to capture answers to those questions over multiple takes.

2. Get good audio.

So much talk goes into which cameras to use and how to frame a shot, but if you need to generate content for social media, you will lose an audience in the initial few seconds if the sound quality is poor. People are much more forgiving about rough visuals than rough audio.