Many new creators believe that cinematic video requires an expensive camera or drones, or at the very least high-end lenses, in order to be achieved. But in reality, much of the content that looks cinematic is produced with very little or simple gear, maybe even a smartphone. It is less about the equipment you use to record a video and more about how you record the video.
The first thing to consider is your framing. Cinematic videos are rarely just the camera being pointed at a random object. The subject needs to be framed in a way that includes depth, and the image should feel balanced in the frame. Including objects or elements in the foreground or using leading lines or simply framing subjects not in the centre of the frame can add depth to the image that makes a recording seem more cinematic and like a film.
Lighting is another major way you can make your videos look more professional. A video that looks cinematic is almost always shot intentionally with an eye towards the lighting, even when using natural light. The best natural light is often at “golden hour”, during sunrise or sunset, to create soft and pleasing light without needing to invest in any expensive lighting equipment. Lighting can be a huge way you can frame the scene and even subtle changes to the framing to account for lighting can have an enormous impact on the look of a video. Learning to look at the light that you have can be one of the quickest ways you can improve the look of your video.
Movement also helps give your video a cinematic feel. Beginners to cinematography often just hold their cameras very still or move the camera randomly which looks either like no one filmed anything or like a shaky video. Movement that is controlled or planned, like panning or even just a steady cam shot or even moving the handheld camera in a controlled way can add emotion and dynamism. Movement doesn’t need to be complex, it needs to be stable and intentional.
Story is the next part to focus on. Videos with a cinematic feel are rarely just a random series of videos. There is usually a sequence of events even though the video is short. There should be a narrative, there should be a beginning and end, or at least a goal of what is being filmed, even if there isn’t a full script or narrative being used to guide the film or video. The key to making a video appear cinematic is to know what you are making it. This will immediately feel more interesting to the viewer.
A last thing that is very important but that is rarely talked about and is easily forgotten or ignored is sound. Videos often sound professional because of the sound that the camera captured during filming. Audio that sounds clear can be as simple as adding background ambience sound or a track. Audio that sounds poor can immediately make a professional looking video feel like a low quality recording. Audio can be as simple as recording good quality sound and the video can easily go from a recording to a video. Sound is what makes a video feel like a movie or something you would be watching on YouTube.
Editing ties everything together and controls how a viewer is consuming a video. Editing is a very important part of the filmmaking process as it will impact how the pacing of the film is, how long each shot is, and where the shots fit together. A film that is fast paced and quickly edited will be experienced in the viewer as a fast paced video, while a slow video with more deliberate cuts and slower paced editing will be more relaxed. Understanding how long you hold a shot and when to cut it is another way to understand how to produce more cinematic videos.
To conclude the article on how to produce cinematic videos, it’s about intention. When you produce video content with an intention, when you think like a filmmaker instead of just holding the camera, your videos will feel more cinematic regardless of equipment used. If you think like a filmmaker then almost any video can be a cinematic video or even a film.