Great videos start with a great story.

And videos are one of the best mediums of telling stories - we live in a visual world. You might already have the perfect story in your mind. Other times, you might need to come up with a story. Or maybe you’re starting a YouTube channel, but don’t know what to make your videos about.

This lesson will cover different ways to come up with great video ideas.

Pre-production is important, even for videos that seem like they don’t need it. We spent weeks preparing for this video course - writing outlines, scripts, planning shoot days and locations, writing out shot lists.

For us, pre-production includes: concept, timeline, equipment list, personnel list, budget.

Depending on if you’re making this video for yourself or for another company, you might need to write up a treatment and pitch it to your client. This includes a description of the work, schedule, and how much it will cost. This can also act a sort of “Bible” for you to come back to when you feel you may have lost sight of your original vision.

This lesson in the video production bootcamp will teach you how to plan your video.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, we'll walk through our downloadable production checklist for a real video project we're working on.

Please download the Word or PDF checklist to follow along.

This section of the course is put together for those of you interested in equipment. We always get questions about equipment we recommend, so in the following lessons we will cover the equipment we recommend at the time of filming. 

Technology changes rapidly and that’s why we try to make this course ‘camera agnostic’... meaning we believe you can shoot great videos with any camera, and they way we teach the course should work for you… no matter what camera you’re using.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, we'll give you our recommendations for choosing a camera on any budget. Don't forget to download our PDF guide that gets updated with our latest recommendations.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, we'll give you our recommendations for choosing a microphone and audio recording equipment on any budget. Don't forget to download our PDF guide that gets updated with our latest recommendations.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, we'll give you our recommendations for choosing a lighting kit on any budget. Don't forget to download our PDF guide that gets updated with our latest recommendations.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, we'll give you our recommendations for choosing a video editing application on any budget. Don't forget to download our PDF guide that gets updated with our latest recommendations.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, we'll give you our recommendations for choosing a drone for videography.

In this section of the video production bootcamp, you'll learn basic cinematography. How do you expose your video? How do you compose better shots? How do you choose a background? Basically, you'll learn how to use your camera to tell your story.

Settings and Exposure

The main thing you need to do with your camera is be able to set the settings so it is properly exposed. Exposure is how bright or dark your video is. You want it to be not too bright or not too dark.

You control exposure on your camera with three tools - Shutter Speed, ISO, and Aperture. You can also add or decrease light to make it brighter or darker.

Now that you know how to expose, you have to compose. Composition is basically understanding how to set your frame to tell your story. What is in your frame? What is not in your frame? Where are things in your frame? Everything in your frame matters.

This lesson will teach you about frame sizes, shot types, and how to position a subject.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, you'll learn key tips to filming videos of yourself.

Your video background should help tell your story. It shouldn’t be an afterthought.

You background depends on the type of video. Real backgrounds create an environment for your story. They shouldn’t be distracting, messy, or have things that shouldn’t be seen. Paper or cloth backgrounds are an option educational and promotional videos. They are great for consistency, even when setting up in different locations. Green screen is another option that allows you to replace the green screen with any background you want. A proper green screen that looks natural isn’t easy, and isn’t recommended for beginner video creators

What shots do you need? This lesson of the video production bootcamp will teach you how to make sure you have the right shots to tell your story. You'll learn the difference between A-Roll and B-Roll, and how to tell your story with both.

See the behind-the-scenes of one of our setups - Phil's office. You'll see the background and lighting choices we've made. you'll hear the pros and cons of shooting in a home office. And you'll learn some tips for shooting in your own home.

In this lesson you'll learn how to set exposure for your DSLR camera. 

Start by setting your frame rate and quality. ○ If shooting for slow motion, use a higher frame rate like 60, 120, or 240 fps. Note that not all cameras have these settings. Set your shutter speed to 2x your frame rate (or around there). Set your aperture depending on how much depth of field you want. Remember, a higher f-stop make more in focus (a deeper depth of field) while a lower f-stop has a more shallow depth of field.

Set your ISO accordingly to make your video brighter or darker (depending on the situation). Try not to go above ISO 1600 unless you are using a camera that has high ISO capability without digital noise and grain like the Sony A7S ii mirrorless camera. If you need to add more light, use additional video lights or move to a location with more light. If neither of these are an option, decrease your f-stop or increase your ISO. 

In this lesson of the Video Production Bootcamp, we show you how to properly use a smartphone for recording video. You'll learn about lighting, composition, slow motion recording, and filming yourself.

Focusing is one of the most difficult things to get good at. It just takes a lot of practice. Not only do you need to be able to get focus on steady shots, but you can make your shots more creative with rack focusing. This is when you change focus in the middle of a shot. 

In general, we like to use manual focus while filming. If using autofocus, the camera might make micro-adjustments in the middle of a shot, leaving you with footage that is distracting to the audience. 

Shaky footage is one way to look amateur. While handheld shots can be a stylistic approach for realistic documentaries, narratives, and vlog-style videos, it isn’t good for all types of videos. In general, we recommend using camera stabilization when available.

Tripods are great for interviews, pans, and tilts. Monopods are great for run-n-gun videography like shooting weddings and events. Steady-cam systems from companies like Movi and Ronin are great for more cinematic looking shots.

If you don’t have any of these stabilizers, use whatever is in your environment - a fence, stack of books, wall. Try to have three points of contact w ith the camera. This could be your two hands and a camera strap, three legs of a tripod, or a monopod and your two hands. 

The ability to change lenses on your camera is a main reason that people love using DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Zoom lenses like the 24-70mm lens are great for all kinds of shoots, and allow you to get multiple types of shots from one location. Prime lenses that don’t zoom typically have better quality glass and can open up to a wider aperture (meaning you can shoot in lower light situations). Primes force you to get creative with your compositions, and you’ll have to move around more than when you have a zoom lens.

Most cameras come with a kit lens that is a standard zoom between ~24-105mm. This is a great lens to start with. As you build your kit, consider getting more of a t elephoto zoom like a 70-200mm or more. You may also need a wider lens like a 10-18mm.

Most of the camera manufacturers make all these types of lenses. They come at different price points. The same zoom could cost twice as much if it has ###i/i### etter glass and a wider aperture. But investing in lenses is a good thing because while camera models get upgraded every few years, lenses can be used for decades. 

Instead of using your internal computer webcam, get an external webcam like the Logitech C920. Even though my iMac’s webcam shoots HD video, the technology and quality of an external webcam is better. 

In this lesson, you'll learn how to light and compose better shots with your webcam. We'll also cover setting up a great background.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, you'll learn how to create great screencast videos.

Here are our tips for shooting better drone shots with any drone.

Here are several types of drone shot try to get.

In this lesson of the video production bootcamp, you'll learn how to choose the microphone for your shoot. Remember your mic options - lavalier, shotgun, on-board shotgun, internal microphone, USB or studio mic. Each has a different purpose for a different situation.

This lesson of the video production bootcamp covers how to record better sound in any environment. You'll learn things like how to reduce echo and reduce background noise. 

Lavalier (aka lapel or lav) microphones are awesome for interview and talking head videos. The wireless options get rid of cords that get in the way. But placement of lav mics can be tricky. That's what we'll be covering in this lesson.

Shotgun microphones are great because they are very directional, meaning they focus in one direction and don’t pick up a lot of background noise. It’s ideal for situations where the speaker is sitting or standing in one spot. This lesson will cover the basics of using a shotgun microphone.

To get better sound when recording with your computer, you need to use an external microphone like a USB or studio microphone. USB microphones are really easy to use because you just plug them in. Studio microphones that don’t have a USB line have to go through an audio interface that converts it to digital audio.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to record great audio with these USB and studio microphones.

Proper video lighting makes videos look amazing, even when shot with a smartphone. It can also help tell your story by creating a mood for your video. This is what we'll be covering in this lesson.

Using natural light is the cheapest way to light your videos. But it's not as easy as standing outside on a sunny day. Learn our best practices for using natural light in your videos in this lesson.

This lesson in the video production bootcamp will teach you about three-point lighting, the basic lighting setup for any video - interviews, narrative films, etc. You'll learn about the key light, fill light, and back light. You'll see us demonstrate the use of each light and set them up. By the end of this lesson, you'll be confident when going out to shoot your first project.

Welcome to the post-production section of the video production course. This section is all about how to use editing to make better videos - no matter what application you're using.

This lesson of the video production bootcamp will cover the steps to editing your videos: organization, import, sync, pulling selects, editing, adding b-roll and graphics, adjusting audio and video, adding music and effects, and exporting.

As an editor, I like to see myself as the person who actually gets to put together the story. This lesson will teach you how to tell your story through the edit.

Here are some basic ways to make your video better with better sound. You'll learn how to improve vocals and add background music.

Music can add a lot to your videos, making them feel more professional and engaging. But finding free music is one of the hardest and most time-consuming tasks of an editor. Here are my favorite places to find music.

Adding titles and graphics to your video can make it more engaging and help emphasize a point. It can also make your video more mobile-friendly. This lesson will teach you how to design better text graphics.

Most of your videos will have a goal in mind - to get people to visit your website, buy your product, join your email list, support a cause or even just learn something new. Using calls to action can increase engagement and conversion. We'll show you how in this video.

In this lesson, I'll walk through how we created our title cards in Adobe Premiere Pro for this course using modern colors and clean text!

We live in the world of HD, and resolutions are only going to increase. Learn what settings we use when exporting our videos.

This lesson of the video production bootcamp will help you decide where you want to post your videos. There are a number of options including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Knowing how and why you use a platform can help expand your video's reach.

YouTube can be one of the biggest and best ways to grow brand - which in turn leads to followers, clients, customers. Learn the best practices for growing a YouTube channel in this lesson.

In this lesson, we'll look at a real-world project of Phil's to understand what goes into making a short documentary.

In this case study, Will breaks down a project he did for Ghirardelli Chocolate - covering the logistics of running a high value production.

In this case study, Will shows you a wedding video he created breaking down the wedding videography process.

In this case study, Sam takes you behind the scenes of Major Lazer. As the band's videographer, he was in charge of capturing their concerts as well as day-to-day lives. In this lesson, he goes through 2 different videos that he created for them.