Photography & Decor

It's amazing how beautiful your house can be with some frames, pictures and creativity.
So if you like photography & decor but you don't know how to put a frame on the wall, you should have a look at some great ideas that we've separated on our Pinterest Page.

Let's shoot and decorate like a pro!

5 Video Production Tips

We separated for you #5 great tips of video production. Check it out!

1# - Get close to your subject

We know you can zoom into a shot but it's not the same thing. The visual perspective is different, and so is the sound. You take better shots when you are closer to the subject and the sound will be much clearer.

2# Film scenes using more than just one shot

It's usually best to film a scene using multiple shots, giving different perspectives to what's being viewed, but don't overdo it.  Decide on the style of shots that you will use, and be consistent unless there's a reason to change. 

3# Use an external microphone

If you can't get close enough to what you're taping, or you're in a noisy environment, then using a microphone that's remote from the camera really helps get a much better sound.

4# Use a tripod

If you're filming something that needs a steady shot, then you need a tripod (or place the camera on a stable object). It's very distracting to watch something like someone speaking at a presentation, if the camera is wobbling all over the place as if it were being filmed during an earthquake. 

5# Edit and be ruthless with ShotClip

Editing means putting together just the shots that you need.

You should remove anything that doesn't belong to your video (mistakes, lots of waiting around for something to happen, boring pauses between things, etc.).

PS - Be careful, you can't fix filming errors with editing, you're stuck with them, so if you make a mistake while filming, re-do the shot straight away.  

via Camera Tim

Helping Students Get The Most Out of Learning Through Video

Lets face it, school could get pretty boring. Sitting daydreaming, doodling and distracted, it wasn't always easy to stay focused and interested! One of my favorite memories of school was when the door would swing wide open, and what was rolled in? You guessed it; the TV and VCR. The DVD may not have been anything as exciting as I hoped, but it was something that grabbed my attention back and got me engaged.

As we enter the digital age, it's even harder for students to stay focused, with the prevalence of smartphones, social media and YouTube, kids these days have their minds on the digital world. This isn't always a bad thing! It's the present and the future. So how about we incorporate this into their learning! Sounds too difficult? It's not.

At Shotclip we believe that educational learning videos are a great resource for students and teachers. For students it is visually stimulating and encourages them to explore learning and topics in class, and engages them in a more visual world.

Teachers are the perfect catalyst for this, as trusted education providers you have the chance to show students how to responsibly look up resources for learning and also create online tutorials to classes, so they can be referenced when doing homework, study or project work.

Simply set up your video camera or smartphone and record the most important aspects of your lesson.
Remember if you break the lessons into shorter 5 minute sessions you will hold the students attention a lot more. Try and add some props or screen grabs to make it visually interesting.

You can even make the class time activities more fun by posting up discussion prompts or clues to future classes on youtube and asking students to find videos on the subject. And by encouraging the to create video replies this further prompts interactivity.

You can easily edit your video and add cool transitions or effects, pictures and text on www.shotclip.com

A great video resource I found was http://www.watchknowlearn.org/ but we always recommend creating your own and tailoring your class!

Happy video making! :)

Siobhán 

Capture your Customers Attention with Exciting Video Content.

Video can be your best communication tool in business- if you've decided to use it you've just tapped into one of the richest ways to create content and promote yourself or your business. In 2012 Comscore tells us that viewers watch 22 hours of video a month. What's even better is you no longer have to hire expensive studios or equipment to achieve a great video that is going to boost your companies awareness and importantly, the profits.

Whether you want to create a video to email to clients, generate content for your blog or advertise and create press awareness, we at ShotClip want to help you do this. Body language can communicate more than writing ever can, so don't just tell your customers what to buy-show them the benefits.

Getting Started

You've taken the leap and decided you're going to make a marketing video. What do you want to gain from your video? Do you want to build a rapport with your customers? Do you want them to download your whitepaper? Or go to your website and buy? For example, perhaps you have an online farm shop and want to promote your market fresh produce, you may want to create a video about the benefits of organic produce.Customers love to see the "Real You".
Creating a video telling the story of your produce can go a long way to building a rapport with clients. 

Tip: Be authentic, if you make a mistake, it's ok, it makes you look real. Don't adopt a persona that is not you.

Planning Your Story 

This is the first step that ShotClip can help you with. Your video needs a beginning, middle and end. As well as populated guides with great shooting tips, we have customizable guides wherein you can plan your scenes and shots before you make your video.
Think about your call to action, what is your angle? Based on this create your story that will engage your viewer. Planning is key, we all want our videos to be as real and personable as possible but we want them to look sleek and professional and really make your company shine. You can go to our Guides and get some pointers on how to frame and shoot these shots.

Tip: Try to keep your video under 3-4 minutes long. 

Lighting and Audio

If you get this right your video will look even better, you don't need fancy equipment just a reasonable camera, a tripod is desirable and as many lights as possible  to create a professional looking video. 

If you have access to, or can get a clip mic, this will benefit audio quality. 

Tip: Shooting outside is great, you have all the natural light you need.

Editing

Okay, so you may think this is the hardest bit of the process, it's not! With ShotClip, it's easy and you don't need to get confused with complicated editing software or processes. After you have planned your story you can "Make Your Movie" in the editing section of the website. Simply upload your clips and rearrange them, cut, trim, or add text and effects to make it look professional and sleek.

Tip: Take a look at our blogpost about royalty free music to add to your video! 

When you have rendered and published your video, you will have created rich compelling content for your website as well as a personable video that can be shared on social media and with your customers. Upload it to youtube and embed it on your site and get sharing!



Siobhán. 

Tips for a creative wedding video

As wedding season approaches we here at ShotClip realize what an important keepsake your wedding video is. It will be cherished by you for years to come which is why we think it should be as unique as you are!

Add some personality to your wedding video and get creative! Here are a few of our tips on how to make your wedding video special.

Record the preparation! 

The wedding day starts from the moment you get up and the excitement starts. Why not get one of the entourage to record some footage of the hustle and bustle of the morning of the wedding. Getting ready, flowers arriving, and leaving for the church. If you have a special message to your partner before the big moment this is the time to record it! With Shotclip it's easy to quickly edit your clips and have it ready for the reception where it can be shown as a trailer during cocktail hour to entertain guests.

A wedding music video.

This is becoming more and more popular, all you have to do is get a few of your guests to sing along to a few lines of a special song, (Examples!) and then with Shotclip you can easily later edit the music video! It's a great keepsake to later share with your guests! 

A Love Story Slideshow. 

Do you have a proposal video, or special moments you have shared together. Put together a slideshow of special moments, like holidays and events you were at together,  add a romantic song and you can play it at the reception for your guests!

Its easy to edit all these, you don't have to be a professional just follow our Guides on the website and make a great video for your special day! 

We also have a Pinterest board where we pin all our favorite wedding ideas!!  Check it out here! 

Enhance your Videos with a Soundtrack

The soundtrack to your video is often vitally important. It can really set the tone for your movie. It conveys happiness, inspiration, emotions in your viewer! It can make your video even more exciting and get more viewers. However when your are editing your video you can't upload any track you like for fear it may be subject to copyright and if you re uploading it on you-tube it's in danger of being disabled. So how do we solve this problem? Well we wanted to give you a few tips and links that may help all you Shotclippers editing your video online with us!

Incompetech  Is a royalty free music website where you can download original music with a by creative commons licence  but don't forget to credit where you got it from! 

Jamedo  is another awesome free music website that has thousands of tracks and tells your clearly the kind of licence the track has! 

If you don't mind spending a little bit to get exactly what you need FriendlyMusic lists tracks by mood and 

Rumblefish have plenty of tracks and they won't break the bank either!  

You can also try YouTube's feature AudioSwap will let you add the music they have listed as licensed songs.

If you are in anyway musical of course the best way is to get totally creative and make your own soundtrack!  If you play an instrument but no audio recording software there are options available. Audacity is a free music recording software. For amateur Video makers who want to use their own soundtrack this could be a great way to get started recording your own.  

We love creativity and collaboration at ShotClip!We hope you get some ideas from this on how to use great audio that is affordable or even better FREE to make even better ShotClip videos! 

Happy Editing! 

#BuildYourStory

Go Pro Videos are Awesome!

Lately we have been awed by all the cool Go Pro videos we have been seeing all over the internet space! The Go Pro is a small durable, light camera that captures beautiful high  quality point of view action shots. It's become even easier to become an excellent video maker with these cameras and document and build your story. 

That's why at shotclip, we just had to make a guide and give anyone who Go Pro a few tips on shooting their clips as well as editing in Shotclip to make the most of their videos. 
Often it can be tricky with reels of action footage to pick the best shots and to make an actual story of the footage, (that everyone wants to watch!) 

We wanted to do the work for you! So we created this Guide. 

http://www.shotclip.com/node/31591

We give you hints and tips on how to shoot interesting clips, as well as build your story and editing tips! Creating a professional video with your go pro just got easier! 

Oh and we wanted to share our favorite Go Pro Videos with you.. (just for fun!) 

This Trombone player!

Frisbee madness...

Crazy Ski Jumps!