When making a film (a commercial, a documentary, or video of  your three-year-old) it’s important to keep composition in mind. Composition is important because a poorly composed shot can make your movie flat and uninteresting, taking the care to properly arrange your shot and you can create depth and visual interest.

Some Tips to consider when composing your shot:

1. Try to incorporate a foreground, middle ground, and background. Your subject will usually be in the middle ground. Behind them is the background, which establishes the environment. Often forgotten is the foreground, unless you’re going for an lonely feel, you should try incorporate something between the camera and the subject.

2. The Rule of Thirds - Within the frame of your shot, visualize lines in thirds vertically and horizontally. Ideally your subject your subject is near one of the two vertical lines or the four points that are made with the intersecting lines. This rule is almost always used in photography, but it’s applied in filmmaking since they go hand in hand.

3. Make sure there’s enough light! – Lighting plays an important role by showing the audience depth between the subject and the background, as well as creating a focus point where you want the audience to look at.

Remember, you want your audience to be drawn into your scenes,  this is a world you’re creating for your audience, try to keep things interesting! Watch this short video that goes into further detail about composition.

AliVega Video Productions isn’t saying that everyone thinks the same things are funny, but the majority of funny videos have five key component, and here they are!

1. Surprise: Viewers like when something happens that they didn’t expect.  It’s often a let down if they can guess the ending.
2. Speed: Viewers don’t want to wait around for the joke, they want it fast and simple to understand.
3. Title: The title of your video is the introduction, if your video doesn’t live up to their expectations from the title your viewer will be disappointed.
4. Message: Most funny videos say something about the big picture.  It’s not just about one particular action in the video, but society as a whole.
5. Sharing: If your video is  funny, your viewer will often want to share it with other people.  Make your video easy to share and its popularity will only grow.

Contact AliVega Productions for more information on about editing funny videos at our contact page.

One of the most common mistakes people make when shooting video is not using light effectively.  If you’re video taping someone inside a dark room in front of a light window, for example, the subject will often become a dark shadow.

This is because your camera is automatically adjust the exposure to match the outside window (the brightest light source) making your subject unseen in comparison.  Here are some ways to fix this:

1. Add Your Own Light:  This can be done with a reflector or video lights aimed on your subject
2. Change your camera’s exposure settings:  This will lighten the subject without additional lights, but the window will be blown out
3. Move: Go to a different place so you’ll have the light from the window aiming at your subject not competing with it.

These lighting adjustment will improve your videos.  Contact AliVega Productions for more information about how to improve your videos

AliVega Productions loves show casing its work on our YouTube channel!  However, we understand that some people may want videos to remain private. Don’t fret! They’re options for people like you! YouTube allows you to upload your videos as “unlisted“.  By checking this box, your video will not be included in any of the YouTube searches.  They can only be accessed by people that already know the URL.  This will prevent unwanted discovery of your video, while allowing selected individuals to still enjoy your creativity! Contact AliVega Productions for more information on YouTube channels at our contact page.

Content is important when making a quality video, however the best information in the world will not make people interested in watching your video.  Other factors are included that make people actually want to watch your videos.  Here are some tips that can help add interest to your videos:

1. Double Angle: Shoot your video with different camera angles, this will decrease the monotony.
2. Walk it Out:  Walk around with your camera to change your background’s scenery.  It makes your viewers feel like their just hanging out with you.
3. Screen Capture:  Actually show your viewers how to do something instead of just talking about it.  This will make people understand you easier.  By seeing what you see on your desktop you can easily walk them through the steps.  Free programs like Jing make this simple! Download it at http://www.jingproject.com/
4. Drawing:  Simple pictures can make explaining things easier.  Studies have shown that people respond to visuals more than hearing something alone. Also, this shift from a video of you talking to a digital drawing can keep your viewers interested in what you have to say.  The Bamboo Tablet makes this technique easy by displaying your drawings from the pad instantly appear to your computer monitor.

Contact AliVega Productions to learn more about improving your videos at our contact page.