First of all, we need to understand what is meant by a professional video. For that, we have to understand what is meant by professionalism.
Anything done with a specialized body of knowledge, training and on-amateur intentions for a living can be called to be as professional.

A professional video is shot with the intention of economic activity with a minimum number of mistakes associated with it. A professional video must be based on proper analysis and the people doing it must have adequate training to direct, shoot and edit the video. Professionalism is something that is associated with honesty and integrity along with efficiency and effectiveness on goal achieving. A pro video is always focused on a particular kind of the admirers.

Let us now understand step by step what are characteristics if a professional video that is expected to be appreciated by the audience. So bear with me, you will understand every bit of it and ultimately be able to make a great video out of it.

• Script or the Content

If not “the” most important, it is one of the most important things of your video which actually attracts the audience and also keeps it to you. A proper script ensures that the time if your audience is not wasted and you do not put unnecessary things in the video just to make it longer. The audience realizes it and it hurts the future of your video career.

It is also important to have a proper script for the video because it is the only thing for which your audience might have come, and if there is good content, they will appreciate your work. You must have a  department full timed professional people looking at the script part of the video so that there is no confusion at the time of shoot of the video regarding what is to be done in the actual video.

A proper script also involves the sequence through which you will go in the video so that content doesn’t appear broken and it also ensures that your audience is also continuously attached to your video and they watch it till the end. A good script also ensures that you can perform as per the need of the audience. It is imperative to understand that the audience is here only for the content they will stick to your video only if there is a correlation between their demand and your supply.

So it becomes important to understand what is the demand of the audience that you are looking to cater to and do a proper SWOT analysis before you make the video so that you can cater to all the demands.

• Ensure proper lighting

Lighting is important to focus on your subject and object and the make the audience realize what is important and what is not. It also becomes important in the sense that you do not miss a single important reaction of the subject in your video.

Proper lighting also ensures that you can shift your focus from one object to another if you have more than one object in your video this can also be used if you want to change your focus from background to foreground and vice-versa.

Proper lighting is best when you are outdoors and it is sunlight outside but if you have to shoot inside, then you must have proper lighting to ensure that you are video doesn’t appear hazy or a bit darker.

During the study we must have realized the importance of the light in your room, if there is more light in the room where you study you can concentrate more and the same goes with videography that the more there is light the more audience is kept attracted to the video but there is a limit to you cannot add more than sufficient light which my list of the focus of the subject or the object.

• Always be contented while facing the camera

It is important to look confident in front of the camera because you must realize that you are not talking to the camera but actually to the audience. And the audience must also be connected to your video and so that they also realized that you are talking to them and not the cameraman.

The more relaxed you feel from inside, the better you will appear on the camera. You may use your hand’s movement when you talk (like famous YouTuber ‘Dhruv Rathi’ uses in his videos), keeping your back straight when you talk or simply keeping your hand comfortable.

It is important to smile in the video, the more you smile, the more you will pleasant and seem happy on the camera. It may not seem very easy at first, you can try relaxing and thinking of something funny it relaxing.

Have you heard that some people become camera shy and become uncomfortable?

I will tell you hundreds of reasons why people become camera shy. They don’t like what they see on the video screen. It can be said that camera-shyness might be a  product of social anxiety, to being the centre of focus. 

• You must have proper sound equipment like microphones

Microphones ensure that there is no background noise in your video and the sound of the audio is systematically connected and synchronized
 with the video that you are making. If there is no equalization between the audio and video it might create a situation of confusion for the audience where they will not be able to understand what you are talking about.

It is important to get a microphone that can perform well and will last longer. There are some decent options in every range of budget. If you are an amateur video maker then it’s ok with no extra sound but if professional, you need a list of the equipment needed to produce a video of your own.

• Place your cameras properly

Placing the cameras is important again to make the audience realize what is important and what is not. If you have multiple cameras that can take multiple shots, the audience realizes what is important and what is not. Multiple cameras cancel the object and subject from various angles and the depth of the subject or the object.

You must also take care of your camera like you must clean the lens of your camera again and again to reduce any disturbance.

You can use the rule of thirds( the most basic principles of photo or video making).

Imagine a grid of 3×3 on the camera screen and try to place the subject in one of those lines or better try to place them at the point where horizontal line intersects the vertical line as that will attract the viewer’s eye.

• Use tripods in the video to increase the stability of the video

The video will appear shaky to the audience that will stop the flow of the video and also make your audience feel disturbed and make them realize that you are not about making the video and there will we very little time in which the audience will realize this fact. Instead of moving the camera if you want to change perspective, you can cut from one shot to another which shall make the video stable.

Using a tripod is important because an unstable tripod is more stable than your stable hands and helps reduce vibration and camera shake. A tripod allows more creative and versatile shots, such as when you need to move along with a moving subject. Use cheap mount extensions to attach your microphone too. So it becomes important to have a stable tripod for a professional look to your video.

• Add subtitles to the video.

Adding subtitles to video makes it easy for the audience to understand and also to those who don’t understand your language. The Same language submitting(SLS) has been made compulsory in many countries and there are chances that it will be made compulsory in India too. There are various advantages of subtitles like good synchronization between audio with video and also background telling. The importance of subtitles also lies in improve communication with the viewer – as seen in the present situation COVID-19 global pandemic.  The World Health Organisation (WHO) and organizations like the Indian Medical Association and many others across the globe are relying on using subtitles to illustrate emergency messages to people across the world.

• You must not over-edit and keep them simple

You can Try out different effects during the video editing process, but do keep it simple. A simple editing tool looks more professional than any over edited video.

You should ensure these things when editing the video:-

i) Noise-canceling to remove up any irregular background noise.

ii) Do cut awkward pauses and silences out of your video.

ii) Background music is important to ensure the rhythm in your video.

If you understand editing clearly, it is where the shot footage is converted into a story. You must understand that what you are trying to convey with your video must match your initial script, editing will let you cut the information into a precise and clear to the audience.

Music tracks in slow volume can be added to the background of the video which quickly informs the audience about a particular scene or a happening. Making the cuts in raw footage without disturbing the story is an art. Timing can be said to be the most important part of video editing services for the production team and obviously for the audience.

• A short summary of the things we learned

It can be said that the most important part is the content or script of the video because the audience is here for that only. After that, your confidence in front of the camera is important because that will make the audience also confident that they are in the right place. It is important to edit the video well but is more important to keep it simple and not exaggerated. A proper microphone is very important as they help to reduce the background noises in your video.

While shooting the video you should always use a Tripod as it provides stability to the shoot. The more there will be stability in your shoot, the more it will be connected with the audience.

It is also important to add subtitles in your video because people might not be much familiar with your ascent or even might not know your language, so by giving a subtitle in a popular language, you can attract a huge audience for you.

So these were the few things that if you follow if would grow as a professional videographer and attract the audience on your videos regularly. As a freelance filmmaker if you are always worried about the shoot, then these shoots might just change your way of looking into things. You should always know your tools very well because that will enhance your level of uniqueness and creativity and reduce your complexities in the longer run.