15 Crucial Mistakes To Avoid When Making a Video

Making a video can be a fun and productive way to share your ideas with the world, but it’s important to avoid making common mistakes. Here are some of the most common errors people make when creating videos, and how to avoid them. Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be on your way to making great videos!

Make sure your video is properly lit

Make sure to avoid shadows and glare when you’re recording. Shadows can suggest that there’s something implicit in your video content, but because of the poor lighting or camera angle, it just isn’t visible. Glare is equally distracting: it makes everything look blurry and unappealing. For example: If you’re recording yourself, make sure there aren’t any lights behind you (or anywhere near you) so the lens won’t capture the light and create a glare on your face. You can also try adjusting your position relative to the source of light if it’s still not bright enough – try pointing it slightly sideways rather than directly at you (just like what portrait photographers do).

Compress your video

In order to make your video accessible through mobile devices or computers with slower internet speeds, you should learn how to compress a video then proceed with uploading it. You can’t upload a massive video file on the internet and expect everyone to be able to watch. Videos should ideally weigh below 10 megabytes; try uploading some short videos first, make adjustments when necessary, and then create longer videos once everything’s been perfected. 

Having a bad audio source

A little bit of background noise can be ignored by the audience, but problems arise when the sound is too low or too high. The low volume makes it difficult for potential viewers to understand and enjoy your content; they would probably turn the volume up, which can potentially irritate those around them and distract their attention from watching your video. High volume is as bad as low volume: it makes it difficult for viewers to follow what you’re saying, but also risks being a nuisance to those around them.

If you have a microphone or any other equipment that improves sound quality, test it beforehand to make sure you know what you’re using. If not, try to record in a place where there’s no background noise. Always use earphones to be able to monitor your work and adjust the sound accordingly. You can also try different angles (where you point the microphone towards) if the audio is still unclear even after you’ve changed the volume and adjusted the microphone’s position.

Creating an intro for your videos

Intros are important as they’re the first impression that you give to your audience. They should be short and concise as they only have a few seconds to make an impression.

If possible, use free editing software such as Windows Movie Maker, Veed.io, etc., which comes pre-installed on most PCs or is available for download online for free. If you need help with using this software, try watching tutorials on YouTube – if you find it difficult and time-consuming to do that yourself, then perhaps ask someone else who has experience creating intros to help you out. That way, not only will your intro look more professional and complete (because there’s more than just one person working on it), but also because they’ll know what elements go into making a good intro.

Adding music

Adding music to your videos can be a great way to improve the quality and mood of your content, but it’s easy to go overboard by using too many soundtracks in one video or by choosing the wrong song entirely. If you plan on adding background music, try not to drown out your voice by having too much played at once; this is especially important if you’re recording yourself because there are no other voices for you to compete with.

Choose songs that fit both the quality of your video (i.e., the production value) and its content, so it doesn’t distract viewers from what they should be paying attention to. To avoid copyright issues, make sure that you have legal rights for any background music used. If you plan on using royalty-free or copyright-free music, try YouTube’s audio library. Otherwise, it’s best to look for songs that are Creative Commons (CC) licensed – you’ll find them by doing a simple search online.

Also, keep in mind that the faster the song is playing, the more likely viewers will be distracted by it rather than by your content; conversely, slow-paced songs tend to put people into a daze and can even make them bored with what they’re watching. Try listening to some of your potential choices before adding them as background music.

Talking off-the-cuff without any preparation

While it may seem more natural to simply talk when recording a video if you don’t have a clear idea on what exactly you want to cover in your video, then talking spontaneously will most likely not be helpful for your viewers. If you don’t prepare yourself properly, your thoughts can become jumbled and too complicated for an average viewer to follow. If possible, try writing down a list of things you want to touch upon in your video. Prioritize them according to their importance or relevance to what you’re presenting.

Organizing your points into categories

You probably have specific thoughts and ideas in mind that you want to share with your viewers. These may be grouped into categories, making it easier for you to build a structure of what you’re going to present in your video. Remember: these categories can help make your presentation more organized and structured which will help your viewers follow what you’re saying.

Creating a script

If you have too many topics to cover in a short span of time, then you can try preparing a script that covers each point in your video. You can use bullet points or numbered lists to help guide your viewers when watching your video. Just make sure that it’s easy enough for them to understand and follow what you’re talking about.

Having a static camera position

Unless you’re using animation, text, effects, and other methods to engage your audience and make your presentation more fun to watch try moving around while recording. It’s much easier for viewers to follow what you have to say when the camera is constantly showing different angles of your face or body. If you can’t move because you’re using a tripod, then try changing your position every now and then. If possible, do some test recording to get familiar with how walking around or changing positions affects the end product of your video.

Using too much text

Not everyone is fond of reading subtitles or closed captions when watching videos online. While it would be helpful if they know what you’re saying at all times if your presentation requires you to use text on the screen for viewers to understand what’s going on in the video, make sure that it doesn’t obstruct the show entirely. It’s best to keep them short and concise so that they don’t become overwhelming for potential viewers who are just interested in hearing spoken dialogue. Having each subtitle appear only once should also help make your video more engaging. Also, make sure that the font size of your text is legible and big enough for people with certain vision disabilities to see it clearly without straining their eyes.

Showing a lack of enthusiasm

If you don’t feel excited about what you’re talking about in your video, chances are, your viewers won’t get excited either. It doesn’t matter how great or interesting your content is if you can’t convey these feelings to others. If possible, show some signs of excitement while recording by smiling or using other expressions to keep yourself comfortable talking about each point in your script. This will help put your audience at ease so they could enjoy watching the rest of your video!

Don’t use too many special effects or filters

It’s tempting to make your video look amazing by using all kinds of visual effects. But the truth is: too many effects will not only distract viewers from what you’re saying, but they might also irritate them because it makes the viewing experience feel unnatural.

Focus on giving your best ideas and perspectives first – and then showcase other elements (like effects) that can back up and support these ideas.

Always check for spelling and grammar mistakes

Nobody likes to watch content where there are spelling or grammatical errors everywhere – especially if it’s a video that talks about something important or relevant; we tend to be more demanding as viewers when it comes to content quality, as opposed to just reading an article with no sound or visuals at all.

Always run a spell-check – or have someone else do it – to make sure your words aren’t going to hurt the quality of your video. The same goes for grammar: if you’re not confident about your grammar skills, ask someone who is before publishing anything.

Don’t use too many special effects or filters

It’s tempting to make your video look amazing by using all kinds of visual effects. But the truth is: too many effects will not only distract viewers from what you’re saying, but they might also irritate them because it makes the viewing experience feel unnatural. Focus on giving your best ideas and perspectives first – and then showcase other elements (like effects) that can back up and support these ideas.

Always check for spelling and grammar mistakes

Nobody likes to watch content where there are spelling or grammatical errors everywhere – especially if it’s a video that talks about something important or relevant; we tend to be more demanding as viewers when it comes to content quality, as opposed to just reading an article with no sound or visuals at all.

Always run a spell-check – or have someone else do it – to make sure your words aren’t going to hurt the quality of your video. The same goes for grammar: if you’re not confident about your grammar skills, ask someone who is before publishing anything.

Conclusion

When you’re trying to record video content, don’t be too hard on yourself and remember that not everything can go as planned. Practice makes perfect: it’s better to upload a video with terrible quality than to not upload anything at all. Make sure viewers know what they should expect by giving them a sneak peek; make your ideas clear right from the start; make sure there isn’t any background noise or glare (or adjust accordingly); use as few special effects as possible; always run a spell-check before publishing. If you keep these tips in mind, we’re sure you’ll be able to create high-quality videos for your audience – and increase your viewership!