Grow your audience and scale your revenue by creating content-rich food videos that captivate your audience.
First things first: More time creating does not = better quality video. Period.
You can put all the time in the world into creating your 2-minute food videos and making them shine like you’re trying to win the Grammy for Best Internet Video—but if you don’t have good content, no one will really care. Or worse, remember.
Content First. Pretty Later.
And how exactly are you going to make your on-the-go like a pro food video creation? Well, the short answer is simple — you likely have everything you need to get started. Maybe you just need some pro tips on how to make the best with what you’ve got now. And, when you’re ready to upgrade… we’ve got some suggestions for that too.
Use what you have and upgrade equipment, accessories, etc. as you can (whenever the budget allows!). You don’t need the latest and greatest iPhone to create meaningful content NOW! Click here to find out more on this.
Camera vs. Phone
Each has its place and purpose. Without going into too much detail here are the highlights for each: CAMERA: better in low light; blurry background; interchangeable lenses; dedicated storage. PHONE: already have it on you (likely); can edit & upload; smaller and lighter.
An Overview: 4 Key Filming Tips
1. Audio Is the Most Critical
Bad Video with Good Sound (thumbs up) / Good Video with Bad Sound (thumbs down)
Your built-in sound capabilities on, say, your iPhone or Android are fine for now. If you do decide to invest in outside equipment, audio should be your first go-to upgrade. This is the most critical part of creating any videos. If you have poor sound quality, no one will stick around to listen. If you have poor video quality, there are some tricks to getting around this like dubbing over glitches, turning it into a podcast, or overlay some graphics and text to get the job done. As long as you have a good sound, there’s always hope!
When you are ready to upgrade, consider using an external microphone source. There are many choices, and each has a specific purpose. Wired lapel mics are great because the closer you are to your audio source, the better. Even better, consider a wireless lapel mic—it’s wireless. …No explanation needed. Some people, myself included, cringe at the thought of bulky wires. Other options are a Shotgun video microphone, which is great for when you are going to be moving around.
Some other helpful audio tips:
The closer the microphone, the better the audio (see lapel mic above).
Monitor your environment for background noises like traffic, children, nagging couples, etc.
Try to eliminate or reduce wind noise by either changing locations or using a wind screen, like a Dead Cat. Seriously, that’s what the Pros call it. I can’t make this stuff up!
2. Lighting
When lighting, remember—it’s always most important to light yourself first. Or light whoever is going to appear on camera. If we are sticking to our original goal above…. “use what you have first and upgrade later.” It’s okay if you are not toting around lighting like you are setting the runway for New York Fashion Week. Use what you have: a simple table lamp or some other external lighting will do. Natural light is great and good for the soul (snd the complexion!). Whenever possible, if the time of day is appropriately lit for your location, sit by a window, a door, or even get outside.
If you are willing and ready to invest, there are some external traveling lighting options that you can explore. Shop around for the solution that best fits your needs and your budget. Sometimes a small traveling light is all it takes.
3. Tripod/Stabilizer
Try to minimize or even remove altogether ‘the shakes’. You know what I’m talking about. The goal here: get the phone out of your hands! At the very least, if you’re staying still, so should your phone. If you’re at a desk or near a stable surface, invest in a modest tabletop tripod. If you’re standing, there are also some great standing tripods to choose from. Some of these tripods may require an additional purchase of a phone holder, but it’s worth it not to have your videos look like you are filming live from an active fault line.
If you are ‘on the move,’ you can still do some things to alleviate ‘the shakes’. Items such as Switchpods or the Gimbal Stabilizer (for more advance filming) are great if you are moving right along and your subjects are too!
4. Camera Settings
Above all else… Clean. Your. Lens. Once you’ve mastered this critical (duh) task, you can move on to more detailed things such as: taking your camera out of auto-mode. I cannot speak to Android users, but on the iPhone, this is a simple as tapping on your camera screen and holding to bring up your Auto Exposure/Auto Focus feature. From here you can tell the camera where to focus, and adjust the brightness, etc. accordingly. If you are wanting to be more aggressive with your camera-editing capabilities, there are a number of advanced camera apps out there that you can explore and find the one that best suits you.
You too can create on-the-go-videos like a pro.
Just remember:
More time creating food videos does not = better quality food videos.
And, content first, pretty later.
To identify and isolate areas for improvement in shopper marketing program strategies and tactics to further your CPG brand growth against set KPIs:
Maximize the economic performance of your CPG brand shopper marketing investment
Increase velocity at retail and consumer brand affinity
This shopper marketing audit will detail and contrast your CPG brand shopper marketing and messaging versus that of industry standard competitive practices and will include, but not limited to:
Target market reach, integrated retail marketing support, promotional continuity & awareness, offers and incentives, and tactical execution timing
Go-to-market launch strategies, timing, and tactical execution
Deliverables
Marketing Communication Audit Report
The deliverable will be a white paper with NewPoint Marketing findings and recommendations related to marketing activities in one retail partnership or DMA/market as defined by the client.
Brant brings 20+ years of experience to NewPoint as chief brand communicator and marketing-plan contributor.
Brant’s specialty is bringing an outside, investigative perspective that can feel alternately “rigorous” or “exasperating” depending on your point of view. Yet, he never fails to uncover a business’s unique selling proposition—one which can serve as a brand foundation for marketing that is compelling, creative and “sticky.”
Throughout his career, Brant’s applied his skill set to a broad range of business applications along the food supply-and-service chain. His services have provided vital clarity for all types of operations, from the more conventional food and food equipment manufacturers to the adjacent enterprises that partner with them, such as the Purdue University College of Agriculture.
Stephanie Bossung
Food industry marketing expertise—from retail to food-service and food-service equipment— is a natural outcome of having deep knowledge in every facet of a business’ operation. With 10 years in branding and business development, preceded by 15 years in mass media and promotions, Stephanie is an FMI Emerge mentor, holds an executive-level expertise in sales, marketing, media, and production management.
This exceptionally diverse skill set adds value for NewPoint clients by providing a full complement of perspectives on food-industry brand management endeavors.
Wired for a hawkish attention to detail while also maintaining a high-resolution view of the big picture, Stephanie is uniquely able to provide astute branding direction and simultaneously apply the business principles necessary to squeeze more bang out of every marketing buck.
Patrick Nycz
A member of the Forbes Agency Council and quoted in the New York Times, USA Today and Adweek, Patrick Nycz is the author of Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain: Marketing Strategies to Grow Local and Regional Food Brands. He is an FMI Emerge mentor, an American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award winner, and the Founding President of NewPoint Marketing, a full-service food industry marketing firm focused on food industry brands On a mission to grow.
Patrick’s vision for NewPoint emerged from his team’s success using this proven model for food industry clients and is fueled by NewPoint-funded food buyers and food manufacturers research around tracking consumer, industry, and ongoing food trends.
Kristy Blair
Since starting her 20-year career in commercial graphic design at one of the foremost catalog retailers in the world, Kristy’s visual branding skills have organically narrowed into the food-industry niche.
In that time, she’s directed graphic identities for snack food and restaurant startups, print materials for multiple agricultural seed companies, display graphics and merchandiser signage for major food-equipment manufacturers and everything in between.
Today, as one of the key brand architects for NewPoint clients, she continues to lead our visual research & development team, always working to find the innovative median between the best practices worth honoring and the accepted rules worth breaking.