I always wanted to make videos—documentaries, travel videos, friends-and-family short productions, you name it. After three months of training in documentary filmmaking in 2015, I got the opportunity to work as a filming assistant for a German tour operator.
My colleague and I filmed travel destinations through Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, and Holland. Every day a new town to discover, along with amazing landscapes and activities: the dream job! From there I started working on my own and am now offering promotional videos to companies in the tourism industry—and also corporate videos for any kind of company.
Here are three reasons why I’m passionate about video:
1. Mobility. With video, you can work from anywhere, anytime. I once filmed a video for a store located in the Canary Islands, but then I moved to Canada. So, I edited it from Toronto, and then finished it in Québec.
We are now “connected” even in remote places, which allows us to share from anywhere at any given time and post the result of our work on social media, or send it with a link to our clients, or load it for them on a platform.
Equipment has gotten way lighter, too—only a good smartphone is needed to film, edit, and share a professional-quality video. And yes, editing can be done on your smartphone, too, with a fair number of applications available on both Android and iOS, such as iMovie, Kinemaster, Quik, and Splice, just to name a few.
2. Demand. Video is a powerful marketing tool. It’s the most effective way for businesses large and small to reach an audience and convince potential clients of the quality of a product or service.
In 2018, 73% of customers bought a product after watching a video about it. And since video brings a 54% increase in brand awareness, every company is aware that they should invest in it. In fact, 94% of businesses see video as an effective tool.
Production costs have also gotten lower, so even small companies and individuals can afford to promote themselves with video. You can be assured that the demand will always be there. Learning video is definitely a worthwhile investment!
3. Constant evolution. The basics are similar to photography and will stay the same: Frame your scene using the rule of thirds, find the correct exposure, seek a nice depth of field, etc.—but the trends and technologies are in constant evolution.
For example, many years ago, video professionals were claiming that filming on a tripod was the only way to have a clean result. A couple of years ago, though, you might have noticed that shows, movies, and documentaries were all filmed hand-held to give an introspective feeling to the viewers. It seems that now, the more it moves, the better.
With video, you’ll never stay stuck with the same old job or way of doing things. And for me, that’s a definite plus.