The videos for teacherpreneurs on TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest, etc., seem to look alike and different in many ways. If you want your videos to look professional, you will need the correct equipment.
Having the right equipment to create marketing videos is an investment. Luckily, if you take a good amount of product pictures, you may already have a lot of what you need!
These are not affiliate links, but simply what I recommend for your videos!
Equipment for videos for teacherpreneurs
The Basics
There are a few things that you’ll need for your setup that are essential. Here is a list of what you may need:
- A sturdy surface/table. I use a long card table!
- A phone mount. Here’s what I use: Arkon Pro Phone Stand
- Backdrop(s): poster board works perfectly fine for this! You can find many different patterns/colors at your local craft store. I got mine from Hobby Lobby. I usually use white, but my personal favorite is the white-washed wood!
- Anything else to stage your products. If your product requires glue, you can easily place a glue stick into the shot, for example.
Lighting
Good lighting is ESSENTIAL. If you don’t want to invest yet, natural daytime lighting by a window is the way to go. I prefer to have lighting on hand in case I need to film at night. Make sure that somewhere you have an overhead light! Here are some of my recommendations:
- Ring light: this light is so versatile. I bend my ring light over the table and set it at its highest brightness. I always film with my phone looking through the light!
- Clamp lights: I use two clamp lights to fill in any shadows that appear. Make sure to point them in the direction you are standing (so as you’re filming, they should be beside your body). Make sure you use parchment paper (as seen in the picture) overtop of the lights so it isn’t so intense.
- 5500K Lightbulbs: If you’re not using a window as natural light, you want lightbulbs that are at least 5500K! I use these for my clamp lights and they work wonderfully.
- Photobox: I have never used one of these, but hear good things about them.
Phone Apps
Remember to think of your video pin the way you think of your product cover– it’s an attention grabber. You don’t need to give everything away, and its purpose is to get a click-through or save. You really do not need a bunch of fancy apps or lots of text to achieve this purpose… this is what your product preview/description/video preview is for!
- Inshot: This is the only phone app I use when creating video pins. There is a free version, and I only use it to adjust the lighting if needed.
- Adobe Sparkpost: If you do want to add text or animations, Adobe Sparkpost is a great choice.
- PhotoGrid: If you want several videos playing at the same time, PhotoGrid works well. I usually do not do this, but I think it’s personal preference.
Computer Software
You now know that my personal preference is to put everything together on a computer. My program of choice is Final Cut Pro X, which is only available on Mac, and pretty pricey. I do tons of pins at a time for clients, as well as create product previews for TPT sellers, so purchasing Final Cut was an ideal decision. If you do not think you’re ready to make that investment, iMovie or something similar is okay, too! It’s just not as versatile.
- iMovie: free and easy to use, but very limited in its abilities
- Final Cut Pro X (for Mac only): one-time payment and pretty user friendly. This is professional-grade software
- Adobe Premiere Pro: also professional-grade software, but you pay on a monthly basis
- Camtasia: I don’t know as much about this one, but I do know that some popular Youtubers use this to edit videos.
For those who aren’t ready to make an investment, smartphones are the way to go, along with iMovie. I truly believe that the pins look more professional and “clean” when done correctly on the computer.