Basics Of Smartphone Video
If you've got an iPhone 7, or even an iPhone 4s, the cameras on the back of those phones are perfect for filming. I'm not familiar with Androids as much, but I've seen that footage too and it’s great! If you don't have more than $1000 to spend on a camera, you don't need to. Basically, a camera on the back of a smartphone is going to be better than most cameras that you would buy for under $15 000.
Equipment Needed Along With Your Smartphone
Get an Amazon tripod with a smartphone attachment. This is usually about $20. It comes with a little clip so that you can hook it up. Then, get a smartphone lavalier mic. That's usually about $70. You're under $100, and you've got the basic equipment that you need. If you don't have an office, with a very big window, you can get a basic lighting kit. Or, what we do, is we actually get China Ball lanterns and put a daylight bulb inside. They can then stay in your office as it looks kind of cool. You can use that to get better lighting, it will look like you’re sitting right next to a huge open window. You want lighting that's in front of you and on the sides, maybe a little bit behind. You want to face the window to make sure that no direct light is hitting you, but that indirect light is hitting you. You kind of want to face the window and then turn slightly, so that it's hitting you at like a 3/4 angle. You do not want to sit in your office, with fluorescent lights shining down and making your eyes look like black pits. You want to be able to see your face and your eyes want to be lit up. So, you want to be standing next to light that can get up into your face. So face the light, don't don't turn away from it.
DIY Video Tips
If you're interested in doing a video yourself, the most important thing is to have a sense of what you're going to say, before you say it. Or else, you’ll end up talking about yourself, which is the last thing you want to do. So, when you go to make a video, you want to be able to have a clear idea about who your ideal client is, what their pain points are, how you can help them, and then a call to action - which is really just a summation of those three things. Once you’ve filmed the video, throw it into iMovie, and place your call to action at the end. When editing the video, you just want to put a lower third title, with your name and maybe your tagline / practice name. A third title is basically in the lower third of the screen. Put a title and make use iMovie’s simple transitions, or not. or no transitions. Then, at the end, you want to put one screen, with your logo, and then a call to action. This could be, ‘Call today for a free consultation’, and then put your phone number in big big block letters. That's really all you need. You don't need to do a whole lot of editing on it, even if you don't do editing, that's okay. The important thing is that you're speaking with empathy towards your ideal client and calling them to action.
Facebook Live
If you don't want to go the route of purchasing all the equipment, just go live through your business Facebook page, or through your personal page. You can even just use it as a platform to talk about these things, just to get comfortable on camera. It's good practice, for you as a therapist, to be on the spot and to think on your feet. That's a great skill! And, to get rid of that fear of the camera. It's kind of like public speaking. So many people are nervous about public speaking, and it just takes practice and getting familiar with that space of being in the spotlight. And then, the other benefit of Facebook Live, is that it's so great for your practice. It's so raw and people see you for who you are, and and they get a real sense of the authentic version of you. It’s not spiced up, or edited, or scripted, it's you. So that's a really cool thing for people to be able to see. And then, the converse side of that, is you want to make sure that you're communicating what you really mean. That's a really powerful form of communication and you want to make sure that you're communicating in a way that reinforces your brand as a therapist and that doesn't distract from it.