Posts in Filming
What You Should Know & Do Before Hiring a Videographer (DVG 027)
What You Should Know & Do Before Hiring a Videographer (DVG 027)

If you're looking to hire a video person or team to come shoot videos for you, there is plenty to know beforehand and a lot to do that will help the project go as smoothly as possible.

In this podcast episode I chat with Wes Wages of Armosa Studios about what it is like to work with a videographer.

We cover everything from what to expect process wise, how to prepare to get the best result from your video team, whether or not it makes sense to make them travel to you or you to them, and tips on dissecting proposals and contracts. 

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Filming, My Podcast, FreelancingCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional, Intermediate / Amateur, Beginner / Hobbyist
How Moz Makes Whiteboard Friday Videos ft. Elijah Tiegs (DVG 026)
How Moz Makes Whiteboard Friday Videos ft. Elijah Tiegs (DVG 026)

Publishing a video every single week is tough. 

Especially when different people are in the videos and what they're teaching is extremely technical and complex.

Enter Whiteboard Fridays from Moz. A weekly video show about SEO, content marketing, and getting traffic to your website. They've been showing up every week for years, with the ability to quickly share real-time information as it changes in their industry, like what's new with Google's latest algorithm.

In this episode with Elijah Tiegs from Moz we talk about two main things. First, the power of having a permanent video studio set-up and how that speeds up and simplifies the process for making a video each week. Second, we discuss the set-up they use at Moz to create Whiteboard Fridays. Specifically, we breakdown the lighting, focusing on both the subject and the whiteboard, and using wireless lavalier microphones instead of boom shotgun mics.

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Filming, My PodcastCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
How to Make a Compelling Event Video ft. Paul Searle (DVG 025)
How to Make a Compelling Event Video ft. Paul Searle (DVG 025)

I love attending conferences. 

I've shared many times before why, so I won't do that here, but to someone trying to decide whether or not to attend a conference for the first time, there are only two real ways to decide.

Either ask someone that has been there before or watch the event video, and your only option is usually the latter.

In today's episode I chat with Paul Searle, a freelance videographer who focuses almost exclusively on making videos for events. We chat about what makes a great event video, how to best record the talks, how he is livestreaming events to the web, and all the gear he uses to do so. 

If you ever need to record something that takes place live (weddings, sporting events, conferences, documentaries, etc.), this episode is for you.

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Filming, My Podcast, FreelancingCaleb WojcikIntermediate / Amateur
Getting White Balance Right (Video)
Getting White Balance Right (Video)

When you leave the camera in the auto white balance mode while shooting, the colors of your video can change while recording, which is a huge nightmare. 

And setting it incorrectly can immediately make your videos look awful too. 

In this video I'm going to show you how white balance works and how to stop just setting it to auto when you shoot videos.

Watch the video above, on YouTube, or through iTunes.

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Filming, Lighting, My YouTube VideosCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
10 Video Mistakes I've Made and How to Avoid Them (DVG 023)
10 Video Mistakes I've Made and How to Avoid Them (DVG 023)

Even if you're a professional and you've done something tens of thousands of times, you're still going to mess up occasionally. (Just think of how often NFL receivers drop easy catches.)

When you make enough videos, you're bound to make plenty of mistakes. 

The two most important things to recover from mistakes are to fix them as soon as possible and to put processes in place to never let them happen again.

In today's episode I talk with Tim Krupa, my editor, production assistant, and brother-in-law. In it we discuss ten mistakes we've made while making videos for ourselves or clients and how you can avoid them. 

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Filming, My Podcast, FreelancingCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
4 Ways to Focus a DSLR on Yourself (Video)
4 Ways to Focus a DSLR on Yourself (Video)

On a typical afternoon and you set up your camera, your lights, the microphone, and get ready to record. You record for a hour, take everything down, put it away and the put the SD card in your computer.

"Wait a minute. I'm out of focus?? Are you kidding me!?"

This only needs to happen once for you to never let it happen again.

Which is why one the most common questions I get asked from people starting to shoot videos of themselves is, "what is the best way to focus my camera on myself?"

In this first episode of DIY Video Guy TV I detail four different ways you can make sure you're in focus every time you shoot a video. 

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Filming, My YouTube VideosCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
How to Make 200 Videos in 200 Days ft. Antonio Centeno (DVG 021)
How to Make 200 Videos in 200 Days ft. Antonio Centeno (DVG 021)

What if you released a video every single day? How long do you think you could keep that up? What do you think the results of that would be?

Today’s guest on the podcast, Antonio Centeno, created 200 videos in 200 days and racked up over a half million views on them a few years ago. Fast forward to today and he has a YouTube channel about men’s fashion that has over 400 videos on it, with almost 15 million views, and over 227,000 subscribers.

In this episode I chat with Antonio about why he got started making videos on YouTube after seeing a competitor do so, his tips for batching the creation of his videos together, how to make your thumbnails more clickable, how he grows his email list directly from his YouTube videos, and why he embraced the DIY mindset when he first started making videos online.

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YouTube, My Podcast, FilmingCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional, Beginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
How to Build a Video Production Studio (DVG 020)
How to Build a Video Production Studio (DVG 020)

Having a dedicated space to shoot videos in is really helpful for increasing the amount of videos you can produce.

It can be hard to figure out the best place to set one up though and sometimes you need to use a space that has another purpose too (like an office, bedroom, living room, etc.).

In this episode Thomas Frank asks me questions again, but this time we chat all about creating a video studio in both a shared space and in a completely dedicated space (like a garage or studio).

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Filming, My PodcastCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional, Beginner / Hobbyist, Intermediate / Amateur
4 Things Every YouTuber Should Know About Mobile ft. Greg Hickman (DVG 019)
4 Things Every YouTuber Should Know About Mobile ft. Greg Hickman (DVG 019)

YouTube says that 40% of their worldwide watch time comes from mobile devices. 

And if you’re using annotations in your videos, such as telling people to click to subscribe or follow a link on screen, that is 40% of people that can’t click on them.

In this episode I chat with Greg Hickman of Mobile Mixed about what you need to consider about mobile viewers when making videos for YouTube or the web. 

We discuss annotations, calls to action, how to convert viewers via SMS, and how videos made with your phone can be less produced and scripted than with a regular camera.

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Filming, My Podcast, YouTubeCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
How Fizzle Makes Videos (DVG 018)
How Fizzle Makes Videos (DVG 018)

While at Fizzle.co I made a ton of videos. Complete courses, founder story interviews, and more. 

At the time of leaving Fizzle the three of us had created nearly 100 hours of finished video in a couple years.

Instead of me just sharing what I learned there and how we made videos, I asked Thomas Frank, who was the guest on episode six of the podcast, to interview me about what he wanted to know about how we made videos at Fizzle.

In this episode I share what processes we used at Fizzle to create a full video courses, how to do motion tracking, how to create templates in FCPX or Premiere for using similar effects in all your videos, what to do when you get embarrassed while recording when other people are home, and we get really technical about jump cuts and slide transitions.

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Filming, My PodcastCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
iKan Elite iPad Teleprompter Review
iKan Elite iPad Teleprompter Review

If you're making a lot of scripted talking head videos, a teleprompter may be a solid investment to save you time during both production and editing.

I'd used one in the past while shooting a video course for a client, where some of the videos were nearly a half hour long and fully written out, but I just recently bought an iPad teleprompter myself and wanted to show how it works by unboxing it and showing you some of the features.

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Gear / Equipment, My YouTube Videos, FilmingCaleb WojcikAdvanced / Professional
How Wistia Makes Videos ft. Chris Lavigne (DVG 014)
How Wistia Makes Videos ft. Chris Lavigne (DVG 014)

Wistia is one of my favorite companies. I use their video hosting for my course, have learned a lot from their training videos, and they throw a heck of a conference.

That is why I wanted to chat with Chris Lavigne, who has been making videos for Wistia for almost four years, about how Wistia does video well.

In this episode I chat with Chris about getting stable handheld footage with a DSLR, working with many different people on camera, dampening sound in a studio, and why you should make multiple videos instead of just one video.

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Filming, My PodcastCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
Which Camera Lens Should You Use for Videos? (DVG 009)
Which Camera Lens Should You Use for Videos? (DVG 009)

The lens you use to shoot your videos matters more than you might think.

Each lens gives a different vibe to your videos, has restrictions on apertures you can use and can be really flexible (or not) depending on whether or not it zooms.

In today's episode I'm gonna help you figure out what lens you should use to make your videos.

I'll be sharing which lenses I own and why, how a cropped or full sensor impacts the results you get from a lens, what features to consider when choosing, and why you might want to rent a lens and try it before buying it.

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My Podcast, Filming, Gear / EquipmentCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
Weekly Videos with No Budget ft. Thomas Frank (DVG 006)
Weekly Videos with No Budget ft. Thomas Frank (DVG 006)

If you have no money for camera gear, lights, or software that can often hold you back from making videos.

Luckily, our guest on today's episode of the podcast, Thomas Frank of College Info Geek, shares how that isn't holding him back from making weekly videos on YouTube.

With less than a few hundred dollars worth of equipment, he makes short-form talking head videos for college students. 

In this episode Thomas shares how he makes his videos look great without investing a ton of money on a bunch of gear, tips for planning out your videos before you sit in front of the camera to make them, and how incorporating b-roll into his videos speeds up the process.

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YouTube, My Podcast, Filming, Gear / EquipmentCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist
Film Grain, Noise & What ISO Setting to Use (DVG 005)
Film Grain, Noise & What ISO Setting to Use (DVG 005)

Increasing the ISO setting on your camera makes your camera's sensor more sensitive to light. 

But why wouldn't you just want more light sensitivity? More light is almost always good right?

Unfortunately not.

In this episode I'll discuss ISO, which is the last of the three camera settings that impact the exposure triangle, and how it works. I'll also discuss the differences between film grain and camera noise, as well as how to add or remove each.

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My Podcast, FilmingCaleb WojcikBeginner / Hobbyist