In case you are interested in shooting urban videos, you may need to learn what techniques are used by top video marketing professionals who challenge the way our cities are perceived today. It’s a common practice to open a video with a shoot taken from above. Whether you use a drone or try to implement some aerial photography ideas, the result will help you engage your viewers right from the first 5 seconds and put things into perspective. Then, you can zoom in on the city and use a quick succession of frames to show its main highlights. In this article, we have rounded up the most useful tips that will help you create an attention-grabbing video of a city with a strong dynamic feel.
Tips for Creating a Video of a City
The first thing you need to do between shooting any content is to plan what you are going to shoot. If you want to create entertaining content about a city, you may focus on parks and other locations where people get together and have fun. To create a promotional video, make sure to focus on specific locations, such as the company’s headquarters.
Before writing a script, think about your target audience and find a topic that it may find appealing. A topic that generates a lot of interest will help you improve the position of your site on search engines or help your channel become more popular on YouTube.
Then, you need to decide on the genre of your video. You can create animated videos, screen recordings, live-action videos, or any other type of content. During the next stages, you need to:
- Write a script or create a storyboard
- Select suitable locations
- Check whether you have the right photography equipment
- Take care of lighting
- Use an external microphone
- Select the best video editing software
Videographers who work in the studio prefer using DSLR cameras as they allow them to capture high-quality footage. However, if you want to shoot outside and need to go to different locations, keep in mind that a mirrorless camera is easier to carry around.
When working outside, you don’t need to worry about lighting if you shoot videos during the golden hour or on a cloudy day. However, you will need to use professional lighting equipment when working indoors.
How to Add Some Movement to Your Urban Videos
These days. videos are one of the best ways to communicate with your audience. To show the fast-paced life in modern cities, you need to capture moving objects, be they people or vehicles. In case your frames look static, you can add animated elements to them. Many videographers prefer shooting busy locations with loads of traffic and capturing city lights.
One of the best ways to make city videos more engaging is to alternate between aerial, fly-through, panoramic, and other types of shots.
Footage of cities is often used in:
- Social media content
- Advertising
- Trailers
- Explainer videos
Regardless of the type of city video that you need to shoot, you can capture movement by using different types of cuts. Thanks to different montage techniques, you can switch between J and L cuts as well as use jump cut, cross-cut and parallel editing. In addition, you may use a picture in picture video editor to show different shots at the same time.
How to Edit a Video of a City
When your footage is ready, make sure to select suitable software for editing your video and making the final cut. Such programs allow you to add transitions, adjust colors, add titles and subtitles, as well as create a sequence of segments that will help you tell the story.
You can customize video templates and use presets to reduce the time spent on editing. Some programs also allow you to perform image stabilization during post-processing. It will be especially useful for those who use budget cameras without in-built image stabilization.
By using the simple tips described above, you can easily create a great urban video with a well-balanced composition.