Top Tips For Making Digital Content

Whatever your skill level, here are 12 helpful tips for making better online content for your group.

1) Tell a story
Photography and videography work best when you keep in mind what story you want to tell. Think of the mood you are trying to create, the audience you're reaching out to, and where your photo or video will appear. This will help you pick your subject matter, frame your shots and produce the final content.

2) Plan in advance
It's worth putting in some time and effort to make sure your content has the biggest impact. So find out how long it takes for you to make good content and factor that into your planning.

When taking photos, remember that capturing a memory is different from taking photos for promotional purposes. You may want a big group photo of everyone who took part in your event as a memento, but that may not mean very much to people who are viewing it afterward.

Ask yourself what you want the end result to be (i.e. people visit your venue, join your group, donate to your fund, visit your website etc) and think about what would inspire you to get involved - and then, how can you capture that with photography and film?

3) Be inspired by related fields
When seeking inspiration and tutorials, throw your net a bit wider than your specific area of interest. For example, if you're capturing something dynamic like dancing, look at how people take action photos of sport. Or, if you're capturing craft objects up close, look at how people frame and light products for advertisements etc.

4) Get to know your equipment
Spend time trying the different features of your camera or phone to see what it's capable of. Press every button, adjust every setting. Do the same thing for the platforms you plan to post it on, such as YouTube and Instagram - each one will require different shapes and sizes, so you'll want to avoid your carefully chosen shot being cropped.

5) Keep the camera still
In most photography and much of videography, you will get the best results if your camera doesn’t move. Find out what you can use in terms of a tripod. If these aren’t available, learn how to hold your camera as still as possible.

6) Learn the rule of thirds
When composing a shot, it pays to not only consider what appears in the centre of your image. Imagine your frame is split up into thirds and pay attention to what aligns with each section. This isn't a hard and fast rule but it's worth keeping in mind.

7) Consider your lighting
Remember your eyes are much better at seeing in low light conditions than your camera is. Room lighting is often too dim to get good images. Get in as much daylight as possible or bring in lights, such as softboxes.

8) Good audio is important
People are more forgiving of bad video than bad audio. Make sure a microphone is close to whoever is speaking at all times. Use shotgun or lapel mics on your cameras and don’t be afraid to use separate audio recording equipment.

9) Plan your shoot
It's really annoying to look at your footage after an event and realise that you didn’t shoot something. And it can be hard to keep track of things in the middle of a photoshoot or day of filming. So work out exactly what you want to capture ahead of schedule and follow that plan on the day (although if something wonderful presents itself during the shoot, be flexible!).

10) Find a friendly editor
There are several video editing packages out there that will let you edit for free. These will often add a watermark or limit the features available to you. As well as looking at which paid plans may be best suited for you, consider getting in touch with an editor who will bring both their creative ideas as well as their software.

11) Follow current trends
People are making a lot of content these days and some of it is really impressive yet surprisingly simple. Keep an eye on platforms like Instagram and Tiktok for the current trends and see if any of them lend themselves to your needs.

12) Low-tech / High-impact
Digital transitions that some software offers can actually look really naff and outdated. ‘Low-tech’ techniques, such as in-camera transitions, are being used to great effect these days. You may not use them often, but they’re great to keep in mind when planning your content.

Useful Links

Editing software

Adobe Premiere Pro - https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html

Final Cut Pro - https://www.apple.com/uk/final-cut-pro/

Canva (free to non-profit charities) - https://www.canva.com/

WeVideo - https://www.wevideo.com/

InShot (mobile app) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.camerasideas.instashot&hl=en&gl=us

and https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/inshot-video-editor/id997362197

Filmora Go (mobile app) - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/filmorago-video-editor-maker/id1019382747 and

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wondershare.filmorago&hl=en_US&gl=US

Instagram accounts

@bleachfilm