Tips for Doing Video on the Go

I’ve been recording video conversations/interviews at conferences for several years, with many of those interviews being represented in this column. I’ve also been doing a couple of regular video shows like “CRM Playaz” with industry expert Paul Greenberg and “Watching Amazon” with ecommerce expert John “ColderIce” Lawson. So, when Technology for Business Sake reader recently asked what I’d recommend for a newbie videographer, I figured now might be a good time to share a few tips I’ve picked up over the years.

Mobile Video with Your Mobile Phone

It really doesn’t take much to get going with video, and you probably already have what you need in your mobile phone. I have an iPhone X and I use it to do quick videos when an unexpected opportunity to interview someone crops up. It can shoot 4K video at up to 60 frames per second which looks very professional. The sound quality recorded natively by the iPhone isn’t bad, but if I have lots of background noise and have multiple people I’m recording, I use my Shure MV88 iOS Digital Microphone that connects to my phone. It’s great for picking up voices speaking directly into the mic while dampening the background noises, although it’s a bit pricey at $139. If I’m doing one-on-one interviews, I use my $40 Movo Lavalier mic set that connects to my phone through headphone jack. Either way, I can do nice videos quickly while I’m on the go.

Doing More with My Mevo Plus Video Recorder

While I use my iPhone for when I have to move quickly to take advantage of unexpected opportunities, I use my Mevo Plus recorder when I’m out and about with more time to do things. The Mevo can create multiple views from its single lens that gives your video the appearance of having multiple cameras shooting your video from a number of angles. This gives a next-level look to your videos which I think sets them apart from the single-view look you get from phone video. The Mevo Plus costs anywhere from $399-$499, and I use it with the Mevo Boost accessory (an additional cost of $249) which gives the camera a 10-hour battery life (as opposed to the hour you get with just the camera), the ability to stream in 4K video, and also the ability to use an audio interface to add high quality audio to the mix. In fact, I’m able to have up to four people mic’d up using the Boost connected to my XOOM 4N Pro audio recorder. These are all additional costs, but they enhance the look and feel of my videos and make it possible for me to do all of this on my own while on the go.

LinkedIn as a Video Platform

Posting my videos natively to my LinkedIn profile has really helped from a visibility standpoint. This is different from uploading them to YouTube and then posting the YouTube link to LinkedIn. You can directly post videos up to 10 minutes long right to LinkedIn. When I started doing this on a consistent basis at the beginning of the year, the number of people viewing my videos really took off, with some getting over 6,000 views in a week’s time. And because the LinkedIn audience is more business-centric, the right kind of folks were seeing my videos, which led to some paid engagements to do interviews at the same kind of events that I was recording videos on my own for free.

These are just a few of the things I’ve picked up over the years doing video. You can get going with it inexpensively, and as you learn and get comfortable adding to your capabilities. But remember it’s all about quality, consistency and find-ability. And all these can be done inexpensively right out of the gate.