Creating short video content is currently a major trend, especially among Gen Z who enjoy watching brief, concise, and creative content. In this article, we’ll guide you through short video shooting techniques that will help make your content appeal to your Gen Z target audience. If your business targets this young demographic, you absolutely cannot miss this!
Understanding Gen Z Behavior
It’s essential to understand the behavior and preferences of Gen Z before starting to create content. They typically enjoy quick and concise content, as well as novelty and uniqueness. Each video clip must be creative and distinctively different. Additionally, emphasizing authenticity is something that makes Gen Z feel comfortable watching, as it lacks excessive embellishment and truly reflects genuine identity.
Steps to Shoot Short Videos for High Views
1. Plan before shooting short videos
Start by clearly defining your concept, identifying the video’s goal and message, determining the mood and tone of your video, and importantly, preparing a script or main points before shooting to stay on topic and complete the actual shoot quickly. You can create a rough storyboard.
Then, choose an appropriate filming location with sufficient lighting for video recording, arrange the background so it’s not too cluttered and looks attractive, and add some special touches to make it interesting and relevant to the content being filmed.
2. Techniques for shooting interesting short videos include:
- Image composition: Use the Rule of Thirds when shooting and position elements in interesting ways. Also be aware of distractions in the frame while shooting.
- Creative use of lighting: It’s recommended that using natural light will give your image natural colors; some clips will show naturally beautiful skin tones. Avoid camera angles with backlighting as it will make the video dark. If your shooting angle truly doesn’t have enough light, you can use supplementary equipment like LED lights or other colored lights that match your theme.
- Camera movement: Create smooth movement rhythms while shooting and don’t move the camera too quickly to make editing easier. However, another approach follows the trend of rapidly moving the camera up and down. Therefore, the style of video clip you choose should match your main concept.
3. Professional-looking video editing, broken down into details:
- Interesting editing techniques: Most often use transitions to connect clips smoothly and create interest in shooting each shot. Common techniques include Jump Cuts to create exciting rhythms, Match Cuts to seamlessly connect different scenes, Pattern Interrupts to create novelty in videos, or Visual Effects to increase interest, etc. There are many more techniques with no fixed rules – you can create your own style.
- Appropriate length: TikTok uses 15-60 seconds, Instagram Reels uses 15-90 seconds, and YouTube Shorts uses no more than 60 seconds. Choose the appropriate length for each platform.
- Using music and sound effects in videos: Choose trending songs for short videos, such as new releases from famous artists to gain more attention, as the algorithm will distribute your clip along with that sound trend. Additionally, using sound effects adds interest to your video as a small gimmick that helps attract attention and adds color that makes people want to watch until the end. Finally, synchronizing your edits with the rhythm of the music in the video clip makes it even more interesting.
Elements That Make Videos Interesting for Gen Z
1. Using Text Overlay in Videos
- Use easy-to-read and modern fonts in videos
- Emphasize key points with text between clip cuts
- Add captions for viewers who watch videos with sound off
2. Using Stickers and Filters in Videos
- เUse moderately, not excessively
- Make them consistent with the content and target audience of your video
- Create interest without distracting from the main content of the video
3. Techniques for Creating Engagement Through Videos
- Clear Call to Action: At the end of the clip, encourage viewers to like, share, and follow future short videos, as well as invite viewers to chat in the comments below the video clip.
- Using hashtags for videos: Must be relevant to the video content, and if related to trending hashtags in short video filming as well, it will increase engagement even more. Also consider creating your own specific hashtags to build a memorable video brand.
Latest Trends in Shooting Short Videos
- POV (Point of View) Content: Choose to shoot from interesting angles, telling stories through personal experiences with finesse to create a shared feeling with video viewers.
- Concise Storytelling: Start with an interesting hook in the first few seconds to make people stop and watch, have an intriguing twist during the video, and end with an impressive conclusion to make viewers remember your video.
- Behind the Scenes: It’s recommended to record video clips during work to be able to use these camera-set clips to reveal interesting behind-the-scenes aspects of the main video shoot. These are considered ways to create closeness with viewers through very natural videos.
Precautions When Shooting Short Videos
1. Video Quality
- Image resolution must be clear
- Sound must be crisp, without noise interference during video recording
- Editing must be smooth, not jerky, to create a good video viewing experience
2. Copyright
- Be careful about using copyrighted music in your videos
- Credit sources of content used in your videos
- Use authorized music and images for your videos
3. Content Appropriateness
- Be careful about shooting content that violates community guidelines
- Avoid sensitive issues that may cause problems in videos
- Maintain safety standards when shooting clips every time
Essential Equipment for Shooting Short Videos
1. Basic Equipment: You can use any type of smartphone, but most video platforms emphasize good quality clips. Finding a tripod or Gimbal to use helps keep video images steady. If there’s speaking involved in your video, use an external microphone separate from the clip for even better sound quality in videos.
2. Supplementary Equipment: Lights for shooting in low-light areas, add-on lenses for smartphones for diverse perspectives in videos, or remote control devices for convenience while shooting clips.
Measuring and Improving Video Quality
Key indicators are views and engagement with the video, the rate of viewers watching videos to completion, as well as shares and comments below the video. Additionally, in analyzing and improving videos, you should study appropriate times to post videos, analyze popular video formats to see how others make their clips and use them as guidelines (but don’t copy). Improving shooting techniques based on viewer feedback which will also impress your audience and lead to long-term following.
Currently, all social media platforms have backend systems that make it easier to analyze each clip and understand the data behind it. We can use these system recommendations to develop in precisely targeted ways.
Convert Digital is Ready to Make Short Video Shooting Easy
Creating short videos that appeal to Gen Z isn’t difficult if you understand the basics and various techniques. The important thing is to have creativity in shooting clips, understand your target audience, and be ready to adapt to constantly changing trends. The techniques we’ve shared today are just a part of it, but if you want your video clips to trend, you must never stop learning new things. If you think you have enough on your plate managing a business, you can consult with Convert Digital because we offer social media services on all platforms – you just tell us your goals, and we’ll share amazing ideas with you.