Video Pre-Production - Plan and Organize Your Shoot

David Rotan: Hi, I am David Rotan, Video Production Manager for monkeysee.

com and I am showing you how to create the perfect user generated video to upload to our site. Right now I am in my kitchen and I am planning on shooting a UGC video on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But before I get started even rolling the camera, we need to look at preproduction and planning our shoot and also some pointers on how to be a more credible monkeysee expert on camera. Well, first and foremost I have got an outline, I sat down before we started our shoot and I wrote down the key points that I want to go over in my video and I have just practiced them and gone over in my head several times before we ever start even rolling camera. An outline is not the same as a script. I would not want a script because if you are reading from a sheet of paper that goes to being a credible expert, it makes it look like you don't know what you are doing when you are having to read and you keep looking back and forth at the paper. First you are going to want to put some peanut butter on your bread. Good eye contact is very important in your video and it lends to your credibility as an expert, it lets the audience know that you know what you are talking about, you are an expert in whatever subject you are doing, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or whatever it might be. If you are looking directly at the lens of your camera which is the audience and you are talking directly to them without looking down at the sheet of paper or looking at a script that might be off camera so also on your outline what you are going to want is a good introduction to yourself or the expert that you are shooting the video for just to let the audience know their credibility as an expert. For instance I would say, hi I am David Rotan and I am here today to show you how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have been making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for many years since I was a kid. I love making sandwiches, so hopefully today my expertise in the field of sandwichology will make you the perfect PB&J. Next after a good introduction to your expert, you are going to want to list materials, supplies, ingredients and safety tips. The materials you are going to need are two slices of bread, jelly and then next we use peanut butter, a knife or spreader and a plate. Now some safety tips to keep in mind. It's very tempting to lift the knife when it has the peanut butter and jelly on it but be careful of that you can cut your tongue as I have done.

So after you have made your outline with the nice introduction for your expert or yourself as well as listing the materials or ingredients and safety issues, you are going to want to think about location. Where are you going to shoot your video? Location is very important before you ever get out there and start shooting you have got to decide on a good location. I am here in my kitchen shooting my how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich video and one factor I kept in mind was the lighting, I am using my small consumer camera and I just want to make sure that whatever room or enormous outdoors, wherever I am shooting my video I want to have ample lighting. Another thing to keep in mind with locations is the sound, are you going to be near a very busy highway, cars going by or airport perhaps, you want to keep these things in mind and decide and really think about these issues before you get out there and it's a surprise to you and you find out, it's way too loud or it's way too dark, my camera won't work very well, I can't shoot here. That's something you should look at and decide on paper on your outline before you ever get to the set.

So those are some pointers for pre-producing and planning your video shoot before you ever start rolling camera and also some pointers on how to be a more credible expert on camera with some introduction pointers and tips. Now we are going to get into some actual shooting tips.