5 Tips for Making a Killer Business Video on Your Phone

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We tapped OWN IT member and professional cinematographer Pascal Depuhl to share with us his top tips for creating a video you can be proud of — even if you only have a smartphone on hand.

Showcase who you are and why you love running the show as a small business owner or self-employed professional.

Focus on the WHY.• According to Pascal, the most important

thing you want to express in your video is the WHY.

• Why is your product the best? • Why is your service better? • Why is your small business the right

choice for a potential customer or client?

Focus on the WHY.

Once you nail the "why," everything else will fall into place.

Focus on the WHY.

• Identify a problem your customer has. • Show why your business offers the best

solution. • Finish with a call to action.

Put Yourself in the Viewer’s Shoes.

What do they need that you can offer? Do you need to explain something new to them? If it's necessary, how can you change their mind?

Put Yourself in the Viewer’s Shoes.• Do they want to hear from another customer? Make

a testimonial video featuring one of your star customers.

• Do they need to hear from an expert? Shoot an interview.

• Do they need to experience your location? Take them behind the scenes with a guided video tour.

• Do they want to learn how your service works? Film a short tutorial.

Put Yourself in the Viewer’s Shoes.

Remember, a good story will keep customers watching. A bad one (or worse, no story at all) and your viewers will drop like flies.

To Script Or Not To Script?

• Your video should be real. If you script what a client says in a testimonial, it’s gonna sound canned.

• That being said, it is vital to plan. • The good news is you’ve already

started.

To Script Or Not To Script?

• You’ve figured out the problem your customer has, why your business offers the best solution and how to convince the potential client to take action.

• You also know whether you’re creating a testimonial, a behind-the-scenes tour or a tutorial.

To Script Or Not To Script?

• Write out interview questions that you think will give you the answers you need for your story.

• Sketch out the order in which you want to walk through a behind-the-scenes tour, or lay out the steps you are going to cover in your tutorial.

To Script Or Not To Script?

• It doesn't have to be fancy. • A few notes jotted down or a few stick

figures in a story board will go a long way in keeping you on track.

• Don't forget to also consider the location where you'll be filming.

Is a smart phone really enough?

• Story trumps equipment. Period. Every time. Always.

• A great story shot on an iPhone is much better than a bad story shot on a $50,000 camera.

Great video isn’t just video.

• Sound is as important, if not more important, than visuals.

• The best way to get good sound is to get an external microphone for your phone. They aren't expensive and make a huge difference.

Great video isn’t just video.

• Don’t forget that it is illegal to use music you don’t have the license for.

• There are a lot of great sites that sell music for videos or even provide it for free.

• The same goes for photos. If you find a great image, ask permission before you use it.

Great video isn’t just video.

Remember that people will sit through bad visuals with a great story and good audio, but when your sound is bad or unintelligible, no one will care how cinematic your video is.

Tips for Nailing the Visuals in Your Video• Always shoot horizontal, never vertical. • Keep the phone steady. Whether you choose to lock it down, lean it

against a book, put it on a tripod or tape it to something, always look for ways to avoid shooting shaky video.

• Keep your light source in front of the subject. Lighting is important when shooting with any camera. If you’re just starting out, then your light source (window, desk lamp, sun, etc) should always be in front of the subject — unless you’re going for the FBI most wanted silhouette look.

• Film your interviews first. Then listen for what is being talked about. If your subject talks about a process, film someone going through that process.

It’s time to edit.Editing is where you assemble all the parts of your story.

There is no one single right way to tell the story.

It doesn't have to start at the beginning, although it can. You can have multiple people telling the same story, but it also can just be one person.

For a quick and easy (and inexpensive) editing tool, check out iMovie to get started.

Keep it short.

• Video is powerful. You can tell a lot in a short time. Think about your favorite Super Bowl ad. You realize that it's less than a minute, right?

• Make your video short, then go back into the editor and cut it again by half.

• 90 seconds is more than enough to tell the story.

FIND MORE INFORMATION on OWN IT• Visit OWNIT.com for the full interview about

Making a Killer Video on Your Phone including additional information and links.

• Check out the rest of our helpful series. • Join the Network Dedicated to Small

Business Success. • Connect with thousands of small business

owners like you with our free app.

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