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3 Steps To Shooting A Short Video Ad

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So there’s been sort of a debate that I’ve seen happening in not only the martial arts industry, but in many industries. It revolves around the question, “Can’t I just use my phone for all my video needs?”. Yes AND No. Thats the truth.

What you should be asking is, “What works best to get the result desired?” There’s a little quote that sums this up perfectly. “It’s not the tool the carpenter uses but how skilled he is with it”.

Meaning the technology is everywhere but it’s your ability to apply it that matters. Now I’m not going to beat a dead horse with this point, but knowing what shots to get and why matters a great deal when it comes to putting together a quick video ad for either your academy as a whole or certain specific aspects to your academy.

So let’s dive into what I believe are the 3 steps you can learn and implement to create a variety of video ads for your academy (plus save you $1000’s of moo-la!).

Step #1: Plan out your shots.

Whether you are using your smart phone or a SLR/DSLR camera you need to plan out the shots you want before ever turning on your camera. Using the above step as your guide for who and what to shoot will help make these planned shots the most effective possible.

There are hundreds of ways to shoot and thousands of variations/styles. So depending on what kind of video/commercial you are shooting will influence the shots you need. Once you write out the above emotions and actions you want the viewer to feel, THEN you plan what to shoot. 

Let me give you some general suggested shots that you can use, tweak, add too, and subtract from depending on what emotion you are trying to evoke.

Meaning, if I am making a video commercial to show how effective my martial arts life skills are, I wouldn’t use fast-paced action shots. I would use more close-up (personal) shots of the students eyes, and of them responding back. The pictures could also include the students actually using the life skill in their everyday life.

With that being said, here are my suggested shots for making a short highlight reel of your academy in action:

1 – Shot of your academy from the outside or the parking lot. Time: 3sec

3-5 – Action Shots – Make them all different. i.e. kicking, bags, rolling, drilling. Time: 3-4 sec clips.

3 – Close Up Shots – This can be a kid looking at the coach smiling or a specific move or board break or takedown. Time: 3-4 second clips

2 – Mat Chat Clip – 1 Clip should be facing the Instructor and then over the shoulder clip but showing all the kids sitting and listening. Time: 3-4sec clips

2 – Bowing Out Clips – Show this from 2 different angles of the whole class. Time: 3-4sec clips

*Option: 20-30 sec interview-style shot of the Head Instructor talking about the benefits of their academy and what makes them different.*

Now, I gave you my suggested amount of time for each shot, but you need to make sure you CAPTURE the correct moment you want. If you need to run the camera for 10-20sec extra to get that shot, that’s fine, but you’ll need to cut more time off each clip when editing it.

To recap – write out what shots you need to get BEFORE turning your camera on or paying staff to be at your business. This will save time, money and create a better result.

Step #2: Decide the result you want and find what emotion is going to give you that result.

This step is massive and so underutilized. It’s baffling to see people “just shoot” videos without a plan or goal in mind and think they will be effective.

Prior to a shoot, you need to have a power-planning session (20min long) with your team to decide what result you want or what action you want the viewer to take.

Next, you need to decide what emotion (this is soooo huge) you want the viewer to feel that will inspire them to take action.

We are emotion-driven buyers.

This will directly feed into planning your shots. If you don’t know WHY you are shooting, then it will be very challenging to get the emotion that will cause the viewer action to take place.

I have a natural “eye” for this type of preparation, but I still get stuck sometimes with just shooting the same type of video, and getting the same type of emotion and response. So ask yourself the following to help you nail down the emotion and result/action you want.

Q1 – What key pain points is your target audience feeling/experiencing?
Ex. For martial arts academy adults: Decreased energy, lower back pain, not sure how to work out, low-self confidence.

Q2 – What problem are you solving for your viewer?
Ex. They feel out of shape and not sure how to fix it.

Q3How are you going to solve it and how will it make them feel when they have the solution?
Ex. With guided, fun and easy to do martial arts classes. This will make you feel 10 yrs younger; impress your spouse and kids with new energy and a new sexy confidence; you’ll feel and look so healthy that it will surprise your closest friends; you’ll feel so confident in or out of your clothes so summer will once again be your favorite time of year.

Q4 – What will they feel when they watch your video? What action will they take next?
Ex. They will feel like someone like them can get in shape. They will feel like its easy to join and get started. They will feel excited to “finally” do something that sounds fun. They will want to get started now and not wait till later. Cause they desire those feelings, they desire becoming a better version of themselves.

Do you see how when you understand WHY you are shooting these videos, it will be easier to shoot the correct style of video? And in turn create an action from your exact customer avatar.

Step #3: MAKE. SURE. ITS. STABLE!

Nothing makes videos (like these ads I’m talking about) harder to watch and look amateur, more than shaky footage.

So – walk slower, turn slower, use a tri-pod, mono-pod, gimbal… whatever you need to make the footage smooth and clean.

I can not stress this enough! I have made this mistake countless times thinking, “I can clean this up when I edit”.

Not only could I NOT use the footage but I often had to re-shoot it.

This is a complete waste of time.

So how can you hold the camera for smooth footage? Walk steady, slow and bend your knees slightly as you walk. Similar to tip toeing around a dark room or sneaking up on buddy for a prank.

This will instantly take some of the shakiness out of it.

But the BEST way is to shoot is with a gimbal, mono/tripods or some type of stabilizer.

This will get the smoothest footage possible for when you are ready to edit.

I know this was kind of a lot.

But hey… theres a lot that goes into creating really great video content.

Want a Free Video Strategy Session? Books yours here: https://martialartsentrepreneurs.com/survey/


Author : David Bamber