Product Video Creation

                                                     

High-quality videos that appeal to your audience and convert are key to success for e-commerce brands nowadays - but how do you actually get started with the creative process? 

 The most asked questions relate to different content types, shoot preparation, perfect lighting, and how to actually meet your targets during a typical shooting day. In an interview, Humphrey advises his clients to build and maintain consistency, brand aesthetic, and a high level of quality when it comes to (video) content creation. 

How to get started with shooting product videos 

As a creative, videographer, photographer, art director, or stylist, it’s important to start with the foundation. The foundation for the shoot is threefold. Usually, you’ll receive a briefing from your client or your manager. Regarding the briefing, different types of content serve different purposes. When you receive the briefing, first consider the type of content you’re going to shoot. Then have a look at what you are actually shooting. Is it a product by itself or will you be shooting with a model? 

Next , a mood board can be a great help for inspiration and the direction of the content. A mood board usually shows a general aesthetic with visual examples of colors, lighting, the overall mood, and the material you’d like to get out of the shoot. 

How to differentiate between shooting e-commerce and editorial content 

When looking at the different content types, it’s important to not only take your actual buyer persona into account but also which phase of the customer journey your audience will be in when faced with the video content you’re producing. Editorial content is usually very creative and artful. It tells a story and often emphasizes a brand’s aesthetic and direction. Focus points are generally colors, lighting, styling, and props. Editorials are usually targeted to the buyer persona that likes to get inspired. There are also various output channels for editorial content, for example, billboards, websites, or social media where it gets the attention of your target group, often in the awareness stage of the customer journey. 

You can look at the whole process like fishing: With editorial content, you cast your line and hook the audience. Then, you reel the audience in with your e-commerce. 

E-commerce content really sells the product. Therefore, it should be product-focused and informative. This type of content has the most customer engagement and is what customers base their purchase decisions on. E-commerce content is most effective for the more practical buyer persona that doesn’t want to spend too much time shopping. Nevertheless, e-commerce content can be fairly creative, even though it should be more straightforward, with clean lighting, and a clear overview of the product you’re shooting. Therefore, this type of content is usually accompanied by various close-ups for the customer to understand the product better. 

With regard to big collections coming from the fast fashion industry, the styling of e-commerce shoots can be done quickly and should focus on showing the fit and correct colors of the garments. 

Set design 

For e-commerce, it’s common to use plain white or light grey backgrounds to really let the products speak for themselves. For more creative work you can play around with set design and different colors to set the mood and to amplify what you’re shooting. Using props can add depth to the set. Props and different lighting can also help you to create a context for your products. For example, using sand, seashells, and direct lighting to cast strong shadows, just as direct sunlight would, when shooting a summer fragrance.

                                

How to shoot product videos with models 

 Make sure to walk the models through the whole idea and concept of the shoot ahead, so they know what to expect. Do this one on one, so both of you can really focus on each other. Show some examples and put some music on! That always helps to break the ice for the whole team. 

Take some test shots before starting with the real deal. During the shoot, make sure to keep eye contact while giving directions. Last but not least, let go and give the models room to move freely and express themselves. I’m sure there will be some great unexpected shots that you can use for your campaign. 

Product video should capture

Try to capture what stills cannot show. For example, movement, reflections, and functionality. Build on top of the stills you shot beforehand. Then think about what is hard to showcase in a photo and how you can optimally capture it on the video to show relevant details to your audience. You can rotate your products, manually or on a turntable, to show the reflectiveness of materials or play with composition. Close-ups are great to show fabrics immersivity so that customers get a better understanding of your product - in many cases the product video gives customers the last push to eventually convert. 

Product videos are also a great way to capture the functionality of products. Explanatory product videos give a clear indication of how to use a product or service in a matter of seconds without multiple shots and close-ups. Optimally, you use product videos to create believability and trustworthiness in your brand - and of course, make for lower return rates. 

Ensure color consistency between product images and videos 

First of all, make sure to check your hard- and software. You can set the white balance on set with a grey card. Also, make sure to use the same brand of cameras for product photo and video creation. The same holds for your lighting - make sure to keep it consistent. I also recommend working with a high-quality color-calibrated monitor. You can create custom presets for shooting stills and videos with a fully adjustable integrated camera and lighting.

Best lighting gear for a video studio set-up

It’s important to use continuous LED lighting for e-commerce content. This will also save a lot of time in post-production as you have to do less color correction. A great benefit of consistent colors between product images and videos is that it will lead to less confusion on the customer side of things and will eventually result in lower return rates. 

How to shoot product videos with models 

Make sure to walk the models through the whole idea and concept of the shoot ahead, so they know what to expect. Do this one on one, so both of you can really focus on each other. Show some examples and put some music on! That always helps to break the ice for the whole team. 

Take some test shots before starting with the real deal. During the shoot, make sure to keep eye contact while giving directions. Last but not least, let go and give the models room to move freely and express themselves. I’m sure there will be some great unexpected shots that you can use for your campaign. 

How to find the perfect lighting for your model

A quick and easy way to drastically improve your lighting is to use bounce boards (also known as polyboards) when shooting video and stills. Bounce boards come with a black and a white side. The black side can be used to make subjects appear darker. When you shoot a model wearing a white shirt in front of a white background, the black side of the bounce board can help to distinguish the product from the background and define the edges of your subject. You can use the white side of the bounce board to have the opposite effect and brighten your subject. The white side can also help to even out the lighting when shooting for e-commerce, for example, if you have only one light source on set. 

How to shoot reflective products 

Same as with shooting a model, framing the product with black boards or placing it on a transparent cube can work wonders with removing reflections and defining edges. Putting an object on a transparent cube prevents you from seeing reflections of the surface it stands on (e.g. a turntable) in the product. 

Take-Aways

A shoot day is usually packed - so make sure to prepare as much as possible in advance. Start with a clear brief and identify what needs to be shot.  Products need to be prepared prior to the shoot. Arrange the set and create a context for your shoot. Curate outfits and put them in order if you’re shooting fashion. For non-fashion shoots, you might want to create an order based on product type. 

Build and test your lighting set before you start shooting. Also, make sure that you have a proper file naming structure in place so that the content can be exported quickly and easily after the shoot. After styling and actually shooting the products on set, make sure that you export your product videos in the right format. Next, your content can be edited in post-production and published when ready.