2013 is the year of the video! That means you’ll want to ramp up your video content creation, production, editing and distribution… BIG time! I’ve said for years that NO amount of sophisticated technology will EVER take the place of real, live, in-person, face-to-face connecting… because you can look into people’s eyes, feel their energy, shake their hands, and observe their body language. However, the next best thing is VIDEO! Especially live video, when possible. Google Hangouts (on Air), Livestream and Ustream are all great examples of reliable live streaming video platforms.

Plus, the good news for producing your own video content is that the costs of doing so are becoming so much more affordable. I’m going to be exploring many elements of successful video creation over the coming weeks. This blog post is the first in a series of short video tutorials on important elements you’ll need in order to create top-quality videos. I’m delighted to feature my friends Catherine Hedden and David Gumpel from Films About Me. (Catherine is a Social Media Marketing expert and Brand Specialist, and her husband David is an Emmy Award-winning Director). 

Play this short video below for the simple lighting tips:

Here are a few of the key points:

• Bad lighting is like talking to people with your sunglasses on – it doesn’t create a good connection.
• Good lighting is critical to ensure great eye contact through the camera lens with your viewers.
• Basic 3-point lighting is a big soft light on one side, a smaller one on the other side, and a back light.
• The purpose of a back light is to separate the talent from the background, so you don’t look glued to the backdrop!
• You can also include a bonus floor light — called a “diva light” — to create extra fill (nice and flattering for lighting up us women!)
• Extra diffusion on the lights makes the lights look nice and pearly.

If you have any questions or comments on video lighting, please do let us know in the comments below.

Lighting Kit

FloLight Fluorescent Lighting Kit

Gear We Use

FREE Live Webinar – January 24th

You’re invited to join David, Catherine and myself on a free LIVE webinar on January 24th where we’ll discussing in-depth how to regularly create quality video content, distribute your videos effectively for maximum impact, and create measurable results including improving your bottom line. You’ll learn about a whole range of equipment, and we’ll explore a variety of options for video style, including your very own web-TV talk show. Plus, we’ll discuss how to map out a proper social media marketing plan to set yourself up for the best viral distribution. Find out more here, or just pop your name and email address in the fields below so we can save your seat for you!

Mari Smith

Often referred to as “the Queen of Facebook,” Mari Smith is widely known as the Premier Facebook Marketing Expert and a top Social Media Thought Leader. Forbes describes Mari as, “… the preeminent Facebook expert. Even Facebook asks for her help.” IBM named Mari as one of seven women that are shaping digital marketing. Mari is an in-demand keynote speaker, corporate social media strategist, dynamic live webcast host, and popular brand ambassador. She is coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day, and author of The New Relationship Marketing.

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