Easy Video Production: Using Still Images
By Internet Video Gal in Business Marketing with Video, Featured Video, Video Production Tips
One of the easiest ways to make a video is to use still images as your visual elements instead of moving video. Still images are almost always easier to obtain than “real” video and certainly still images are a lot cheaper.
For example, if you are buying off istock.com, a still picture will cost you about a buck whereas a video clip will run about $30. Huge difference! If you need ten images/clips to make a video, that boils down to ten dollars compared to $300.
If you want to take your own, most people feel more comfortable using a digital still camera than a digital video camera.
As an example of a video using still images, here is a video I did for a client using nothing but still images. We did it this way because it was the fastest, easiest and least expensive way to do it. She simply emailed me some zipped jpegs. I imported those jpegs into my video editing software.
Shooting moving video in this case would have been quite difficult since she lives in India and I live in the U.S. She would have had to mail me the product, then I would have had to hire a model. Any product shot I took would have been a still image anyway since the product is make up, not a car or something else that moves.
So using still images saved about two weeks time and probably about $500. Using still images also makes editing time less since they are easier to work with.
Of course the problem with using still images in a video is that stills are not quite as entertaining as moving video. In order to spice it up, I added other visual elements and put more than one still on the screen at a time.
As you can see by watching the video, I put colorful borders on each still. This is done by adding the border filter. I also added a soft, transparent drop shadow.
I also put a colored shape under some of the pictures in order to increase the visual appeal. This shape was made by first creating a full screen matte. I changed the color to something that matched the photographs and I shrank it down to about 60% full size.
Next, I used the distort tool to make it a shape other than a 3 x 4 rectangle. (That is the default shape of a full-screen image when doing a standard 3 x 4 video.) I added a border filter and made the border a darker color than the actual matte. I added a soft, semi-transparent drop shadow. Then I rotated the matte to make it lay across the screen diagonally.
I then placed the still images of the product on top of this matte in the time line. Remember, in any video editing software, whatever visual is on top in the time line will also be on top in the actual video too.
Using still images is one of the easiest ways to create a video. If you want to produce a video of a product you sell, chances are high that the manufacturer would be happy to provide you with high quality still images for free. A jpeg file will slide into any video editing software with no compatibility issues.
Thanks for reading Video Production Tips
Lorraine Grula
Internet Video Gal
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4 Comment(s)
By Rich Day on | Reply
That was excellent! If I were someone who wore makeup, I’d buy your product.
Seriously, this is very professionally done. I liked the way you created the idea or feeling of video by simply bringing in different images . . . you even faded them in.
The voice over was soft and soothing, too.
I made a video months ago showing how real estate agents could go through their still pictures of the houses they have on the market and create a video promoting the property.
It is easy to add zoom and different cuts during editing to create the “video effect”.
I know you have a million other tasks involved in keeping your blog interesting, but I have a suggestion. You might make a screen capture showing only the basics of how you brought in the different parts of this video.
More advanced video aficionados would find it very interesting.
Rich Days last blog post..Website Video Marketing Third Video in the Series – EasyVideoProducer
By Internet Video Gal on | Reply
Hi Richard.
Glad if you liked the video. Using still pictures can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to make a video. Still pictures are very easy to obtain and use. If people want to make a video without going to lots of expense or trouble, then using still pictures can be a great idea.
Thanks for reading video production tips
Lorraine
By Anne on | Reply
Great video – very convincing example of how to use stills for a very effective video presentation
By website hosting on | Reply
I agree 100%