5 Common Video Mistakes and Their Easy Fixes

1. Not considering goals: When you have an awesome concept idea and you just can’t wait to get started, you might be tempted to skip over some of the pre-production details like goal setting. But failing to consider the goals of a project before diving right into creative can ultimately lead your video astray. How will you measure the success of the video without knowing what, specifically, you are making it for? At the start of every video project, take time to determine what you want your video to accomplish and what metrics you’ll use to track it.

2. Bad lighting: A lot of things can go wrong during the actual production of a video, but bad lighting is one of the most common and the easiest mistake to avoid. Shadows and darkness can render video footage almost unusable, and unevenly lit shots can make your video look choppy and low-quality. Your production lighting doesn’t have to be expensive or expansive, but it should be consistent! Set up a few lights and do test shots to make sure what you’re capturing is bright and focused.

3. Not branding: Your company uses branding to heighten awareness and brand recognition, but branding is often glossed over in video. Forgetting to brand your video might lead customers to be confused about whose content they’re watching! Not every video needs to be plastered with your company name, but it is important for your creations to represent your brand appropriately. Branding within video can take the form of a certain color scheme, art style or music choice. It’s also a good idea to include your logo somewhere in the video, whether in a corner throughout or at the very beginning or end. 

4. Forgetting to caption: During post-production, your video team will put the finishing touches on your project and get it ready for publication. But did you remember to add captions? Adding an accurate transcript and optional captions to your video does multiple things. One, it adds an extra level of accessibility for viewers who are hard of hearing. Two, it maximizes the number of people who can watch your video by allowing them to view while on mute. And three, adding a transcript bolsters your video’s SEO by making the videos searchable.

5. Making the video too long: Videos need to capture the consumer’s attention and hold it until the message is clear and the call to action has been delivered. If your video is too long, you risk losing the viewer’s attention and having them miss your message entirely. Avoid cramming too much information into your videos in favor of keeping them short and simple, with just enough info to make the audience want to learn more. In addition to keeping videos short, pay attention to the visual appeal and the platform you put your video on, as these can also influence length.

Marketers who don’t have experience in video production run the risk of making these mistakes and many more while creating projects. Working with video professionals can help. To ensure your brand creates the highest quality, mistake-free videos possible, say hello to the video production experts at Spin Creative! 

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Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.