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SOCIAL MEDIA - Tips on Making Short Art-Videos (Reels/ TikToks etc) 🎞 ✨

Added 2023-03-22 22:02:02 +0000 UTC

The e-world rushes forward without hesitation. Many of us may not like the fact that the platform on which our main portfolios are located constantly changes the requirements for the published content.

I consider myself quite flexible when it comes to new media and even if the next change bothers me at first, I usually find ways to adapt to it. Instagram doesn't pay me for what I create there, but it's my main social and marketing tool, so I respect and appreciate the opportunities it gives me.

I know that many people have a problem with the process of making Instagram Reels (or TikToks) so I thought I'd prepare some tips for you on how to create them. Here is a summary of everything that has been most useful to me so far.

I. SET UP

/ The products I present are not sponsored in any way, this is just a personal review of my favorite tools. /

CAMERA

I record all short films with an iPhone. Previously it was the iPhone 8, now the 13 Pro. Although the new model has much better parameters, I think that good reels can be made with most of the current smartphone models.

I film in a static way by arranging the phone in specific settings. I always block the exposure and auto-focus before shooting, otherwise every time I move my hand, the iPhone tries to focus on it and the drawing gets blurry.

If I have too little light in the room and want the image to be brighter, I increase the exposure. This is probably an option that is not available on all phones, but it is not a must-have.

TRIPODS

I've tried various ways to set the camera or smartphone in a place that would be good for recording purposes and wouldn't bother me when drawing. It was extremely difficult and annoying because it's very uncomfortable to draw when you cannot lean over the drawing or when the tripod covers something. Here are my favorite solutions:

RØDE PSA1 Professional Studio Arm (found thanks to @drawingbylucy) - the arm, that is sold as a handle for heavy microphones, is suitably static and strong, but also very mobile. You can easily mount it to the table (if it's stable) but in my case it's attached to the windowsill. Thanks to the additional little-thingy (which I got from another tripod, but you can also buy it separately here) and the appropriate holder, I can set the phone or camera at different angles and directly above the drawing.

The arm is also great because it doesn't get in the way on a daily basis so when I need it I just put my phone in it and record. It saves a lot of time because I don't have to set up annoying and wobbly tripods before drawing.

DJI Osmo Mobile 3/ Gimbal - I got this device once for my birthday and it's great when you want to record smooth transitions in a stable way. Thanks to the additional stand it can also be used as a small, very stable and precise tripod.

This is a good solution if you want to record when going to a coffee shop or when traveling.

Small, affordable tripods - on the web you will find a lot of small, cheap tripods that may turn out to be completely sufficient (especially at the beginning) but often it is difficult to find the one that is stable.
Mugs, jars etc. - this solution is often enough! If you would like to film a close up of your process this is a very good and stable solution.

You can always put a mug on top of some books to get a higher point of view 📚

LIGHTNING

Natural lighting is usually best when you want to capture subtle nuances in your drawings, but unfortunately it cannot be fully relied upon due to its dependence on weather, time of day and season. I hate when I have to stop recording and wait to draw until the next day because the sun is setting.

I tried to use many models of lamps...

A good solution is to buy a lightbox or two but I don't have room for it in my small studio-slash-bedroom...

I have tested this UNIQU product, which I saw in online adds, but I wouldn't recommend it. It is unstable, the phone falls out from the grip or changes angle, it's unintuitive, and the light is dim.

REDGRASS R9

Luckily, a Swiss company that designed a great product contacted me.

This lamp is by far the best I have dealt with.

This model has a large (long) surface with two rotative wings thanks to which I can regulate where the light falls. It is diffused so that there is no spot of light on the paper.

The color of the light is cool and looks natural - not yellow like most artificial light sources. It doesn't make a sound when it's turned on, and believe me - some lamps can give you a headache!

The lamp is placed on a very similar arm to the one I use as my main recording stand - it is stable and solid.

The kickstarter campaign of the Redgrass R9 lamp will start on March 30.

MICROPHONE

If you want to record a voiceover for your videos, I know two options

Directly to the smartphone - a completely sufficient solution
Separate Microphone - the model I use is: SPC GEAR SM950 and I'm very happy with it. It is user friendly, the sound is clear and the background noise is suppressed.

If you already have a set-up (even if it's just a smartphone in a cup), let's move on to the process of recording short videos...

II. THE PROCESS OF FILMING

✏️ DRAWING PROCESS.

There are two main schools of thoughts: some record the whole process so as not to disturb their drawing process but have more work when editing. Others shoot a few key moments while drawing - they have to remember to take breaks and position the camera, but they're already half done off editing. I am in the second group. I usually record the beginning, a few moments in the middle, and the final details.

🎞 B-ROLLS.

In addition, I record so-called b-rolls, which are nice transitional shots, for example, spreading brushes on a stand, a drop of watercolor falling into a jar or removing masking tape - like in >this reel<.

If possible, I record b-rolls several times (for example, taking the markers out of the box) to make the shots as smooth and satisfying as possible. I'm a bit crazy on this point, so I like it when all the pens or crayons are evenly arranged with inscriptions in one direction. In other cases (removing the masking tape) I can only record the effect once, so I make sure the camera and focus are right and the tape is heated to avoid any nasty surprises.

📂 You can record an infinite number of such B-Rolls when the lighting is nice and keep them in a separate folder to use them in different reels. Here are just a few examples:

Taking the sketchbook from the shelf or pile of sketchbooks
Opening of a sketchbook
Flipping through sketchbook pages
Pencil sharpening
Pencil chips falling on the table or into some nice container
Mixing paints on the palette
Soaking a brush with an expressive color of paint or ink in clean water
Arranging art supplies on the table
Fastening paper clips on a sketchbook
Opening a box of neatly organized colored pencils

Such transitions will complement your video with a pleasant, cozy atmosphere, and this is something that viewers like to look at. Not only on your work of art, but also on how you work, with which tools and what mood it accompanies. Because art has a therapeutic value, such images are especially soothing and satisfying.

III. ART REEL IDEAS

What you wanna show in the video depends on you only. It can be a tutorial, demonstration process or even a relatable, funny content. My main and favorite material is showing the creation process, and from time to time - tutorials, which I will probably do more. Sometimes I also show short sketchbook tours or compilations of sketches in a given technique, for example a bunch of drawings I made with colored pencils.

I get ideas for the reels mainly by watching other videos on Instagram and TikTok. I think it's crucial. If you want to create popular content, you need to see what others are doing, choose what appeals to you the most and create your own versions (not copies but inspired versions). Especially since social media now works on the principle of short trends that allow for virality, and which are easy to miss if you are not up to date.

If you don't feel like spending too much time on social media, which I totally understand, I'd adopt the "keep it simple" rule. Any material that you show in a simple, short and aesthetic way can be very good, regardless of whether it is currently in trend.

It is very important not to limit yourself. Sometimes I think a video is so-so, but I publish it and it turns out to be extremely popular. Sometimes people notice and compliment things about them that I haven't even noticed.

IV. EDITING

This is another issue that causes many people difficulties but in my opinion it's very simple when you create a specific work system. Here are some tips in a Q&A form.

How long a Reel should be?

If you are a beginner and do not have yet large base of followers I would recommend videos that are no longer than 15 seconds. It doesn't seem like much time to show something but it's enough, basically anything can be shown in 15 seconds. It's also a quite convenient amount of content for editing.

How to choose what should be in the roll?

Do you know how to record a movie scene in which a character goes to a bar? The whole process of getting dressed, leaving the house, going to the stairwell, catching a bus or a taxi, driving to the place and entering the bar?

In two shots: first: the character is leaving the house, 2 - the character is in the bar.

In reels, I always follow the principle of "throw away everything that is not essential".

How to do it step by step?

1. First I throw upload everything into the editor (usually InShot, sometimes directly to Instagram). All the short videos I recorded during the drawing process. 2. In the next step, I cut and throw out everything that is 100% unnecessary, i.e. empty frames, errors, hesitation moments, failed attempts, videos with poor focus, etc.

3. In the next step, I remove more shots that are not my favorites, for example, they are not smooth enough or just don't look nice or contribute little to the whole process.

4. I delete stuff until the video is 15-30 seconds long depending on what I want to show in it.

Which apps to use for editing?

I mainly use InShot but you can also use CapCut or other apps. In the recent updates introduced by Instagram, however, videos that are edited directly in the application are favored, which is unfortunate because the editor is quite poor. Hopefully they'll improve it soon.

As long as the Instagram editor works poorly, using other users' drafts is a good way to go. You can see an example in this reel - if you click on "use draft" you can replace my videos with yours - the draft will cut them to the same length and match to the same music. You can adjust the moments you wanna show in each frame.

V. POSTING REELS

There are a few main things to keep in mind when sharing a Reel:

🎧 What music to use? Preferably the one that is in the trending group because it will give you much more views than other tracks, but I like to match the music to the beat because it is a very satisfying effect. You can try both ways as I do.
Apparently Instagram doesn't favor original sounds now, so it's better to use the ones from their library. Don't upload anyone's music to Instagram because your soundtrack will be removed due to copyright.
🍒 Remember to click “upload in the highest possible quality” in the advanced settings of the reel right before sharing it. This way your video will not lose quality.
✍️ Describe your video because Instagram is now a SEO platform, so use some keywords dedicated for your niche - for example if you draw in a sketchbook like me then use the words “draw” and “sketchbook” in your caption.
#️⃣ Use 3 to 5 hashtags. It used to be 30, than 9, now Instagram supports mostly the posts with 3 to 5 hashtags.
💬 If you need subtitles, add them in the app. It also helps the searching engine and boosts the algorithm.
🍿 If you want to use the same video on other social media, remove the watermark. You can do this by downloading your video from this page. I heard some media can see even an invisible water mark (how?!) so it's better to just edit everything in each app (separately for Insta, TikTok and YouTube) but who would have time for this lol.
✋ Don't remove videos that have less views because sometimes they become popular after some time. If the reel doesn't fit the grid and I find it annoying, I remove it from the main page, but I leave them in the reels tab.