S2 Ep. 21 How to make your video more creative Part 2 S2E21

It's time for part 2 of my capsule series which is all about helping you make more creative videos. 

If you missed part one, you can catch up now by scrolling back in your feed and listening to episode 20. I'll leave a link in the show notes. 

Last time,  I covered the clever camera angles, camera movements and speciality shots that you can incorporate into your next video to keep it more interesting for your viewers to watch (and more interesting for you to make!). 

But this week,  I’m delving into on-screen performance, narration and sound effects. 

Let’s jump straight in. 

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Three creative video techniques that wow your audience. This is the second part in a four-part series where I'm doing a dive into creative video techniques to help you get some fresh ideas on how to make more creative videos. It's all for you, and yes, you are welcome. Now, if you missed part one, do not worry, you can easily go back to it once you've listened to this episode because they don't need to be following any particular order. And in the last episode on creative video techniques, it was just episode 20, so one episode back, because you're listening to 21 in the Moonshine Moonshot podcast. So in that episode number 20, I covered the clever camera angles, camera movements, and specialty shots that you can incorporate into your next video to keep it more interesting for your viewers, and which will also mean the video is probably a lot more interesting for you to make. And now, today it's part two, delving into on-screen performance, narration, and sound effects. So if you're new to this podcast, welcome. It's great to have you join me as I explore all the things that can help you make great videos because let's face it, no one sets out to make a boring video. But that is exactly what can happen when you don't have all the information you need to make a great one. Sometimes just a few small pointers can take a dull video and really make it shine online. And I've been creating video content for well over a decade, and this podcast is where I share all of the things that I've learned with you so that you can get into the fast lane and make your own really great videos. So let's jump into ways to get more creative with your next video. Now, my first piece of advice is keep tabs on your performance. When it comes to making more creative videos, one of the things you can turn your focus to doesn't involve any tricky camera work or technical know-how. And I'm talking about performance. It could be you in front of the lens, or it could be a team member or an actor, but whomever you've cast to be up front in the spotlight, performance is key. So if it's you, and I'm speaking from experience here, paying attention to your energy levels is really important, especially if you're batching your content like the way Mike and I do for the Moonshine Moonshot Companion video series. And by batching I mean recording multiple episodes all in the one day. When you're the one in front of the camera, it can be really hard to gauge how you're coming across. Because you might feel like you're full of beans and speaking with passion, but you're actually sounding very understated. So why is that? Why does that happen? Well, for me, when I'm speaking in front of the camera, especially if I'm feeling a little bit self-conscious, I can unintentionally play down my mannerisms or become a little bit more deadpan with my delivery. And that does not make it interesting for the audience to watch. So I highly recommend you watch your performance back to yourself so that you can get really clear on understanding how you are coming across. Are you as animated as you thought you were? Is your dialogue clear, or are you actually clipping your words or mumbling or saying the dreaded uh um oh yeah, um, so uh, and that type of thing a lot. And you get better at this as you do it more often, but it's really important to analyze your performance to know how you come across and where you can step it up. Your tone of voice and body language, it will evolve as your confidence grows and you refine your topic. But remember, sometimes you need to get quite intimate with your audience, and other times you want to rile them up and inspire your viewers to take action straight away. And it can be difficult to differentiate between those tonal shifts when you're under the spotlight. And that's why I also always recommend having another pair of eyes and ears onset when you're filming, because feedback really is a gift, and it's up to you if that person giving feedback is a director, a producer, or even just your mum. And although your mum will probably think you sound great no matter what you're saying or doing, so you might want to recruit someone who can be a little bit more objective. But just be sure to have someone around who can pull you up when you casually shift from animated to excitable and quiet to serious without missing a beat. And if you're the director on set, these are the things that your talent are gonna need to be aware of as well. So they'll need your feedback. So if any questions are coming up for you about this topic, DM me over at Instagram at Moonshine Communications Academy, and I'd be very happy to answer any questions that you have about this episode so far. So moving on to my next piece of advice, which is introducing a voiceover or narrator to your video. So if you've watched the companion video series to this Moonshine Moonshot podcast, you'll have already been introduced to our voiceover artist, also known as the big guy in the sky. And if you want to check out the videos, just head to YouTube, type in Moonshine Communications Academy into the search bar, and you will find the channel. Our voiceover guy is a quirky character who pops in and out of each episode to share his hot take on what we are discussing. And sometimes he might just chime in to lighten the mood. Either way, he makes each episode a little bit more dynamic and engaging and entertaining for the audience. So if you're unsure about the term I'm using voiceover, you might be more familiar with the idea of a narrator. Most documentary filmmakers employ a narrator to deliver key messages and to tie a story together for their viewers. And at Moonshine Agency we weave narration throughout most of our impact films, and I really find that the narrator helps to not only make the films more engaging, but also to cohesively tell the story for the audience. And I know what you're thinking, isn't narration really expensive? And it's true, it definitely can be pricey depending on who you hire. But you don't have to work with Hollywood stars or someone with a big profile to get the desired effect. You can simply jump over to a site like Fiverr and you'll find a catalogue of voiceover artists who can do the job really well. And in fact, all you have to do is write a script for them. So the next thing that you can do to spice things up is with sound effects. Yes, add sound effects. Sound is really important because it can enhance the storytelling, engage your audience, and dial up your production value all at the same time. It helps to emphasize what's on screen, illustrate mood, develop suspense, and elevate your video in the best way. So have you ever watched a scary movie scene with the sound off? Because it's nowhere near as intense. Sound effects also give your audience some guidance around the story unfolding in front of their eyes. Did your on-screen talent just have a brilliant idea? Ping! Bring that to life with a sound effect. Or are they busily typing on their laptop? You can mimic reality and introduce some typing sounds. And perhaps you're just trying to create an eerie atmosphere, think scary movie. Wind sounds or floorboards creaking will really help the scene feel much more believable. So sound is an easy and affordable way to make your videos fun, creative, and interesting. And the best bit is that there are great low-cost sound effect libraries available online these days. And we use one called Premium Beat, but you could also check out Soundstripe or Pond 5. And most of the sites also offer great music libraries where you can search for just about any type of music you can think of. So are you feeling inspired to get out there and roll camera? I sincerely hope so. And I promise I've got way more tips and tricks up my sleeve for the next instalment on this four-part series. So just remember you're listening to part two, and part one was episode 20, and there's two more to come, and they're all about helping you make more creative videos. But just a quick refresher on what we covered today: being mindful of your performance and ensuring that you're matching your energy levels to the topic your video is talking to. Introducing a voiceover or narrator to deliver your key messages and tie the story together for your audience. And play around with sound effects to indicate the mood of your video. Bring home what's on screen and help your audience get a better grasp on the story that they're engaging in. So go on. Get out there, start making incredible content. Come back next week. Don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. And of course, let me know, DM me on Instagram if you have any questions or you just want to make a comment or observation about this episode. Look forward to speaking to you all next week.