Shot some cool video? Want to do more than just share it? Have a computer sitting around, begging for some Hollywood-Lite video production. Here is a brief overview of how to shoot good video with your cell phone camera, as well as an outline of some of the common options for non-linear video editing.

Shooting video that isn’t terrible

It is easy enough to shoot footage with your cell phone – it is grafted to your person at all times after all. There’s a difference between shaky footage of your children playing in the backyard and an educational video to a patient with a good exam finding. Here are some tips to get the best video possible with the device you are most likely to have on hand:

  • Steady your hand
  • Assure that your image is framed properly
  • Plan your shot ahead of time
  • Good lighting
  • Don’t hold it vertically like a cellphone! Check out this humorous video for more information.

Editing on a budget

Your computer probably has video editing software already installed – the free Windows Movie Maker – or cheaply available as is the case of iMovie on Mac. There are many other options, but I’ll stick to those two since they are the most popular. It is beyond the scope of this website to provide a thorough walkthrough, but trust me when I say that these programs are very easy to learn, and the native tutorials are excellent. Nevertheless, here are a few links for each to get you started.

Windows Movie Maker
iMovie

Editing when money is no object

There are two ways to approach this fortunate scenario. If you have a background in video production and editing you can build your own studio and get a computer with at least 8 GB of RAM and dedicated video memory. Then, you can pick from the pro video editing options, which include, but are not limited to:

Or, you can leverage resources available at your institution and hire out. The benefit is that you’ll have dedicated personnel who will produce high quality content. The downside is that it’ll cost ‘ya. Video production can be expensive, and it includes more than just time spent behind the camera, but also for editing, processing and posting online. This can turn a one hour shoot into a 20-30 hour project that reaches a 4 digit price range (plus).