Hey ___
Welcome to the fourth issue of the CTS’s Newsletter
I just shot 5 reels. Took me 3 hours.
3 months back this used to take me 5-6 hours.
How did I manage to save this time? By setting SOP’s for literally everything that we are doing.
Before you google what SOP is, let me save you some time. It’s the abbreviation for Standard Operating Procedure.
Basically, it means that we are standardising everything possible. Making checklists, making KPI’s, making processes, and accountability chains.
So, we did the same thing for reels. Made a checklist to make sure that we deliver the best quality without having to think twice before shooting and posting.
So, you know what today’s newsletter is going to be about.
Checklist before you shoot any reel/video:
- Shoot your video in 1080p HD vs 4k and TURN OFF HDR.
- Make sure you have “high-quality uploads” turned on! You can find this setting on the last page before you share a reel, under “advanced options”.
- When shooting, move SLOWLY and make sure you’re using the telephoto lens if you’re zoomed in! Don’t start filming and then zoom in, otherwise, your iPhone won’t switch to the correct lens mid-capture.
- Try to keep your main light sources (you can use a ring light) behind you so that whatever you’re filming has the light directly (or indirectly) on it.
- If you’re using older clips, always make sure you have the highest-res version downloaded from the cloud. When your phone is low on storage, it will replace local copies of photos and videos with a compressed version that Instagram REALLY doesn’t like.
- Set the frame you want in the video. Arrange the background and props.
- Mark the frame if you are going to shoot a transition reel to show a smoother transition.
- Always make sure you leave enough space in the frame for cropping it/zooming in while editing and uploading.
- 15% top and bottom get cropped out when the reel is shown in the newsfeed. Keep the captions and your face inside to this ratio.
- Consider the positioning of the displayed caption in the video.
- Shoot with a back camera so that you don’t get distracted while watching your own self.
- Keep the audio playing in the background if you are using one. While uploading you can mute the video sound and apply the original audio.
- Wear a mic while you speak for clear noise. Comica CVM-WM100 is considered the best microphone for shooting.
- Avoid any background noises of a fan, anybody else speaking in between, etc.
- Use a filter! there’s plenty that you can find if you search for “4K” that will sharpen your videos before you post.
With this list, you’re honestly sorted forever.
But, we’re human and we could have missed something.
If you have anything more to add, reply back to us and we’ll give you a shoutout in our next newsletter!