Since we’ve revamped our indoor studio at Windwood we’ve been able to shoot a lot more product videos. If you’re jumping more into product photography or videography like we are, then we have some tips to help you narrow down ideas for your shoots.
Crafting Your Setting
One of the most important aspects of product videos is preparing a relevant style and color scheme. Take the time to talk with your client and research the product (or product line) that you’re promoting. Is the product in line with the company’s past work, and if so what kinds of promotional material have they made in the past? You want to be sure that you align with the appropriate color schemes and styles that fit for this particular product and brand.
Once you know what style and colors you’re looking for, it’s time to prepare your set. You want to coordinate an appropriate backdrop, table covering, and any additional props that might fit with the product. Think about what will complement the product and emphasize any points you want to make. If the product has bright colors on it, then you could stick with a solid dark color background so that the product stands out. Alternatively if the product is more simple, you can add background objects around it that spice up the image like product stands, fruits, beads, sand, etc.
Since product videos are often short glimpses into a company’s branding, it’s also especially important to find the right music. Really take your time and find something that suits this particular product and brand. Your goal should be to help shape the viewer's perspective of this product. Should you strike a serious tone or is this product more focused on a laid back style? Additionally, make sure to record and include sound effects that enhance the feel of the product, like the drip of condensation, or the perfect pour of a drink.
Camera and Visuals
Once you have your background and maybe even your music all set up, it is equally important to set up an effective lighting layout. You want to make sure that all sides of the product and the background are well lit and look appealing. We recommend setting up at least a traditional 3 point lighting setup. This includes a key light in front lighting up the subject (slightly to the side of your camera), a fill light to help balance out any shadows created by the key light, and then a backlight behind the subject to help give the subject more depth. If you have control over color temperature you should also make sure to choose something appropriate for your product that matches the rest of your color scheme.
Most products that you’re going to film aren’t going to move dynamically on their own. That’s why you should focus on finding creative ways to include dynamic movement into your product video. This could mean actually moving your camera in creative ways, like a dolly in shot to set the scene. Additionally though you can move the object. One common method is to use a turntable. This is great for beverages and other tall container items that look good spinning.
In addition to setting up your lighting and planning dynamic movements, you also want to make sure you film with the right lenses. Just like shooting portraits, different lenses will have different effects on your subject. If you have a lot of different objects in your studio setup and you want to compress the depth of the image, then you want to use a longer lens. Longer lenses are also generally more flattering for people and products. Alternatively though, if you want to capture an image closer to what your eye sees, or give a little bit more depth to your image, you can shoot with wider or medium length lenses. Experiment and find what works best for your particular product.
Just like any other video style, product videography just takes planning and practice. Get out some materials in your house or studio and have fun with it. The more you practice, the easier things will be when you need to shoot a video for a client.
If you want more examples of our own studio work, check out our studio page. Alternatively, if you want help with your next product video, or studio project, contact us here.