1. Crop the image

Remember the third rule “rule of thirds”.

The eyes are in the middle box.

When the subject is talking to the camera, he then looks directly into the camera lens.

When you talk to the camera, remember “Rule of Thirds” or “Third Party Rule” which in practice means that the square is divided equally into 3 × 3 grids. It is a good idea to crop the main objects in the image to the lines and intersections of that grid. In practice, for example, in a personal interview, this means that the person being photographed the nearest eye is at the intersection of the upper line.

However, in video blogs, it is appropriate to limit the subject (i.e. often the photographer himself) close up image in the middle. This looks more natural in vlogs.

The video blog is composed so that the head is between the vertical lines and the line of the eye is approximately parallel to the upper horizontal line.

If you’re talking to the camera instead of the interviewer, then placing the subject in the center of the screen (and in a pretty close-up) makes the frontal direction toward the camera feel natural. If again to be photographed talking to the interviewer which is located next to the camera, I would place him somehow as shown below.

The unwritten rule is that that if the subject speaks to the audience, i.e. the viewer, he looks into the camera lens.

If, on the other hand, he answers a question for the interviewer (even one who is never shown on video), he looks past the camera interviewer, as in the picture above. There are exceptions, of course, and this is very much a matter of taste: try different ways and decide what pleases your own eye. As a rule of thumb, however, it is worth looking directly into the camera lens, no camera monitor or past the camera, it often looks very strange: a bit like talking to a person and not looking into your eyes.

By experimenting with different compositions, you will start to see which composition is sensible and visually proportionate. Here are some great video tips on YouTube.

To some extent, the same composition principles apply to both photography and video recording.

2. Attach the phone

Gorillapodi

Selfie

Tripod for smartphone

You should get it to make shooting easier stand and holder, to which the smartphone is attached.

The cell phone doesn’t have the same threads as the camcorders, so at least you need to, for example tripod holderto which you can connect your smartphone.

This can be used as a table stand, or it can be screwed on, for example into a twig or railing. In addition, it can be used as a kind of selfie window if you are photographing yourself by hand. By connecting the smartphone holder mentioned above to this gorilla laptop, you already have a very versatile shooting support system in place.

Stabilizer You can record a video while walking, and the device attenuates the bounces. You get a smooth shooting result.

The stabilizer keeps shooting smooth even when walking with the unit.

3. Good image quality for video

Shoot in good daylight in front of a window or outdoors.

Do not shoot in low light conditions.

Do not zoom the video, it will make the image look pixelated.

The camera cell of a smartphone is really small, which in practice means, for example, that image quality deteriorates, if shoot in low light. In addition to digital using zoom can make the image look like a pixel.

You should make sure that shooting conditions are optimal.

Shoot fairly in lighting: Daylight is the best option free of charge lighting equipment.

For example, position yourself near a window so that the light coming from the window illuminates your face at an angle of 45 degrees to the other side, or so that you are perpendicular to the light source, ie the window. However, do not set the light source (such as a window) behind the subject. The images above are a good illustration of how much difference natural light makes compared to a completely unlit image and what the image will look like if the light source is left behind.

4. Good sound for video

You can improve the sound quality by holding the phone as close as possible to your own mouth, using a cell phone headset, or by purchasing a separate button microphone designed for smart devices or even a directional microphone for a mobile device.

Please note that any microphone does not work on the smartphone, even with a quick glance, the 3.5mm microphone jack would look the same. Smartphones generally use TRRS plug-in type. Normal microphones, on the other hand, are of the TS or TRS plug type.

In practice, the number of plastic rings on the microphone plug arm reveals what information the connection conveys: 1 plastic ring (TS) means mono sound (either headphones or Mickey), 2 plastic rings (TRS) means stereo sound (either headphones or Mickey) and 3 plastic rings (either TRRS) means that the stereo carries both stereo sound to the headphones and sound from the same plug. The latest option therefore allows both the headset and the mic to be used with a single plug, which is why it is used in smartphones.

5. What would I edit?

The rudimentary editing of a video is now even quick on the phone itself.

Behind the link you will find a list various video editors for mobile devices. Some of these are free and some cost from a few euros to twenty euros. Check them out at home or at school.

It is worth at least getting to know these features, and think about whether they are worth the money for their own use.

Mobile editors can be used to edit microcontent content (i.e. to share video blogs). However, editing is common faster and easier on your computer, if more demanding cuts or texts are needed.

For computer editing, Apple computers should be utilized free iMovie. It is a qualified video editor with features for quite versatile and professional editing.

Actually, the only really key thing missing from it is the gloom of the sound and the image and / or multiple video clips based on the sound. These qualities can be found in a degree more professional From Apple's editor, Final Cut Pro.

For Windows machines, there is a similar free program MovieMaker.

Davinci Resolve is a free but professional editing and coloring program for both Mac and Windows.

7. What kind of structure?

If your video blog is a daily blog where you talk about what comes to mind at any given time, then there is no need for planning. If you make a blog post less often and think carefully about the content so you can keep the presentation concise, you might want to try Message Map tool.

The idea in the message map is to share the content of the message to the core message, this to three main points and each of the main points details.

Message map tool

Instructions for filling

Example of ready-made

9. In what snippets?

Do you cut a lot of different snippets from different situations and places throughout the day on the same blog, or do you only shoot one monologue at a time? These factors affect how the description should be designed.

In the first case, you should design and describe the content surgery in mind, in which case no excess material should be described unnecessarily.

You should also shoot a lot of extra material for the video. It can be used as a filling material, if it turns out that one of the shots has gone wrong or there is not enough footage as planned.

If the purpose is to describe monolog (monologue) to the camera from one seat, it is worth describing that does not pause recording, even if the words go into a knot or you have to stop for a moment to think about what to say next. Reflections and shuffles are faster to remove in surgery than to restart recording 15 times.

Don’t stress about whether the shots go perfectly at once.

Just focus to be yourself. Exercise does this too master.

Gradually, one’s own style of photographing, editing, and generally appearing on the camera is found and the excitement of being in front of the camera disappears.