5 Top video tips for eBay videos

30/03/2008 at 18:42

Smart Productions is the company ChannelAdvisor use for their Video Newsletters, and James from Smart Productions is in the US to film at the Catalyst conference. He’s been looking at how eBay users can use video to sell their product and these are his top tips to produce professional product videos

5 Top tips for eBay product videos

• Where to film
  Don’t film in a darkened broom cupboard, unless you’re selling glow sticks. Make sure the product is well lit so that the whole object is visible at the same time. Natural light is great, but even a normal lamp will do. Don’t film towards sunlight or a window or the object will appear dark against the bright background. If indoors closing the curtains and using additional light can work well. Hanging a sheet or curtain as a backdrop and table cover can give a great neutral background to display your product against.
• Use a Tripod
  If you’re filming an object on a table there’s nothing worse than a shaky camera (unless it’s the Blair Witch Project). You can still have camera come in to turn the product, but keep the camera still. All cameras have a standard tripod mount so any tripod will fit
• Composition
  Start the video showing the entire product without clutter in the background. It’s fine to zoom in on detail to illustrate specific detail of the product but start showing the whole product to fill the screen. Make use of the space of the screen, don’t shoot the object from a distance, fill the shot with the product.
• Sound
  A picture tells a thousand words, especially a moving one, but it doesn’t tell you everything that a voice over could. So if you need to record a voice over to help sell your product try to record in a very quiet, small room. Don’t record in your living room, next to an open door or window, avoiding echoes can be achieved by recording in a room such as a broom cupboard is perfect. A good voice over really makes a difference but is best recorded separately to the film itself.
• Presenting
  If you want to do a voice over to present your product then rehearse! Know what you’re going to say about the product and try to do the entire recording in one piece without mistakes, speak clearly and slowly. If you want to present an item with yourself in the shot that same advice goes… rehearse so that you know what to say without a load of “emms” and “errrs”

If you’re shooting a thirty second video for your eBay products they don’t have to be television quality, but the tips above should enable you to product some great shots of your eBay products.