What’s the big deal? You just press the record button right?”

No…

I had someone tell that to me during a production, and a bunch of

people believe that, until they try making a video… Luckily you are

smarter than that! But could still benefit from knowing these 5 video

concepts to make your job 87.65% easier :)

Let’s get to it.

#1. Resolution

1080p, 4K, 6K, 8K?! What does it all mean!?

Video resolution is the size (in pixels) of your video. Even though 4K

is gaining popularity, the commercial video standard is still 1080p.

Remember resolution refers to the size of the video, not necessarily

the quality. You can have a 1080p clip filmed with a cinema

camera look better than 5K GoPro footage.

This is because many factor’s affect a digital image including

dynamic range, color science, bit depth, compression and much

more.

But what does this mean for the marketing professional?

It means that you shouldn’t be sold on a videographers that

promises resolution alone. Look at their sample footage or demo

reel and decide if you like their look and deem it acceptable.

 

It’s much better to film with a cinema 1080p camera than with an

8K smart phone.

Remember that higher resolutions also take up more space. If you

read our “7 COSTLY Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring A

Videographer” you know that you should request source footage.

 

I record mostly record 4K at 30fps using two cameras and on a 4-6

hour shoot can equal to over 215GB of footage. If I had filmed in

8K it would have nearly 1TB!

On the other hand, had I recorded everything in 1080p, it would

have barely been over 100GB (not accounting for

compression, frame rate, and other factors).

In light of this, I recommend 4K. It gives the flexibility in post to

reframe and zoom in (assuming you are delivering in 1080p)

and are not the insane file sizes that 6K video and beyond has.

 

Filming in 4K is also a great way to future proof your footage, and it

always allows you to export it in both 1080p and 4K!

 

Filming in 1080p alone really limits you in regards to reframing, and

will look outdated when 4K becomes the video standard (which will

be soon). Check out this awesome video for another detailed

explanation on resolution!

#2. Aspect Ratio

Resolution is the amount of pixels in a video, aspect ratio is how

those pixels are distributed. Just like a 800sqf room can be

shaped in many sizes and still be 800sqf, different videos can all be

4K and have different shapes as well.

Why is it important to learn this? Because depending on the

platform you are posting your videos on, different aspect ratios will

be best. For example, if you are posting to YouTube or your

website, then the traditional 16:9 is what you want. Posting on

Instagram stories? The vertical 9:16 will allow you to take maximum

screen room in your viewer’s devices. On LinkedIn 1:1 square

ration works great as well. So make sure to know the optimal

aspect ratio for your delivery platform (see Instagram’s guide here).
 

#3. Storage

When a videographer delivers a video to you, it should be in the

form of an MP4 (or .MOV) video file; NOT a YouTube link. Why?

Because if they own the YouTube channel that means they can take

down the video whenever they want. To truly have ownership of the

video its essential to have the actual video file.

So can’t you just store these files in the same place and manner

on which you store all your other company documents?
 

Not exactly…
 

One of the interesting side effects of learning video is that you also

need to learn about computers, and specially STORAGE.

 

If don’t know already, video takes a TON of storage. There are

many factors that affect the size of the video, like resolution, frame

rate, compression, bit rate, etc. Since at a minimum you should

require your videos to be at least 1080p at 23.976fps, each hour

amounts to 2.23GB. If you are recording in 4K (and you should)

each hour is 8.31GB. One hour of video is NOTHING for a

company with an engaging video strategy. You will likely have

hundreds of hours (without even counting source footage, which you

should request).

 

Allied Steel Buildings, one of my video clients, has over 1.05TB

(1,005 GB) of content in less than 50 videos (including source

footage). While Vitality FL (a previous client) has over 4TB

(4,000 GB) in only 70 videos (also including source footage).

 

So where do you store all this?

 

Essentially, there are three places where you can store video files or

clips. The computer’s internal drive (which won’t work due to the

massive storage requirements), the cloud (which at about

$15/month per TB is a viable option) or an external hard drive.

 

The issue with cloud storage, is that depending on your internet

speed it will take a while for the footage to upload. Specially if it

does it while your work, which will slow down your computer

and your internet speed considerably. That leaves us with my

favorite, external drives.

 

I won’t get into the differences between HDD and SDDs, but having

1-5TB drive is a must for every marketer. Its essentially a USB drive

on steroids. It allows you store MASSIVE amounts of date in

portable, transferable (you can plug it into any computer)

convenient way while not taking any space in your computer’s

integral storage.

I would recommend anything by Western Digital, and they are very

affordable.

So this is the take away, buy an external drive!

 

#4. Source Files

Source footage are all the corresponding clips filmed during the

filming session, whether they where used or not in the final video.

For example:

You hire a professional to film a full day of interviews with two

4K cameras.

That videographer is likely recording that into his camera’s SD

cards, and when he/she is done they will have to upload it in their

computer for post-production (editing).

 

He or she will probably have two main folders: A Cam and B Cam.

Each with all the clips (every time between pressing of the record

button) saved inside. But not all those clips will be used in the final

interview. Many “ums, ahhs” or bad takes will obviously be

removed from the final video. But all these source files still need to

be stored incase you want to reformat or add new sections. You

should NEVER delete source footage. Just because you didn’t use it

in this video, doesn’t mean you won’t use it in the next.

 

Also, for editing purposes, you want your editor to have the original

source file from the cameras rather than editing a compressed final

video.

 

Source footage is like the Legos in building set. You might build what

you need with only a handful of pieces, but that doesn’t mean

you throw the rest away! You need to save them in case you want to

add, replace, or make something new altogether.