How to shoot your first video

These days, video cameras are so more accessible than they once were. While most DSLR cameras will do a great job, most smartphones can match if not better their results.

Just about every mobile phone has a camera that will not only shoot pictures, but video too... and good quality video at that. Most have fantastic resolution and, in many cases, have anti-shake features built in too.

So now, just about everyone has the power to become a movie-maker!

Cheaper equipment - a few things to consider

When shooting video, the achilles heal for most cheaper recording equipment is the sound quality and lighting. If you can get an external microphone you'll enjoy much better results. And if your recording live events or an interview, I would say that it's a must-have. Whilst poor lighting can sometimes be corrected using editing software, the spoken voice can be much harder to correct.

Editing your video

When it comes to editing your videos, there are plenty of options out there - many of them free. If you own a Mac, then the application iMovie, that comes with it, or is free to download via the App Store, is a fantastic tool and has many great production features.

For those using PCs, the Windows platform offers the free Movie Maker software that can also produce some great results. To find out how to use them simply go to YouTube, where there are literally hundreds of great tutorials that cover everything you need to know.

Keep it brief

There have been many studies on the perfect length for a video, given the average human's attention span and ability to consume information visually. The conclusions of these generally point towards keeping videos as short as possible - especially if you have want the viewer to take away one key point, or want them to take a single course of action as a result of watching your video.

As a general rule of thumb, two to three minutes is considered be the longest time before the viewer begins to become uninterested, distractible or less likely to remember what is being communicated. So generally try and keep your videos to an approximate length of one to three minutes max.

Whilst video-casts and video shows will naturally be longer, the need for relative brevity and succinctness still remains the key. In these instances, try and break these longer videos down into shorter and more consumable sections. So maybe cover or talk about one topic for three minutes, then change the scenery and topic to something else for another three minutes, thereby making the longer video more 'digestible'.