Video blogs, or vlogs, are a great way to quickly convey information in a personal and visual way. If you’ve thought about starting a vlog, or if you’re looking to take your current video blogging skills to the next level, I’ve got 6 tips to share with you that can help you create a better vlog.
1 – Define your purpose
Why are you using a vlog as a medium? By knowing why, you’ll be able to determine if your content will be suitable for the approach. Are you sending a quick message to your students about an upcoming assessment? Maybe you need to further explain a concept that your students didn’t quite grasp from a tutorial earlier in the day.
Vlogs can be a great method to communicate key concepts or start discussions around a topic with a low production cost. In this instance, I’ve used the vlog as a means to quickly talk about improving vlogging. (I know, very meta.)
2 – Get your lighting right
I’ve employed the window as my key light, with no other lighting sources. There’s a handy course on lighting for video in an office environment on Lynda.com if you’re keen to find out more.
3 – Use a better microphone
Apparently ‘sound is half of what you see’. Although the picture quality isn’t great using a webcam, I’ve used a RODE NT-USB Microphone to improve the overall presentation.
4 – Change the framing of your camera
There’s a lot of research around this topic, but here’s a great resource on video composition from SLR Lounge.
My ‘sophisticated’ vlog setup.
5 – Keep it short and simple
That’s not to say you can’t wax lyrical about your topic of expertise but keep your audience in mind – a short simple vlog will likely be more effective than a long-winded and unorganised one. Sticking to a few key points helps to direct the flow of your content.
6 – Have a call to action
Here’s my example (and also please do these things) below:
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If you’ve got any questions about creating educational media, please get in touch with the Learning Innovation Hub’s Shared Services team.
Do you have any other tips for making better vlogs? Let us know in the comments below!
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