How To Create Effective Video Ads Within A Small Budget

When people think about creating effective video ads, they think about huge sets and big budgets and this is what demotivates them from going ahead and making one. Let’s change the perspective towards making a video ad!

Today we’re bombarded by video ads everywhere we go – physically or on social media. One can say it’s very tough to avoid them…and that’s the challenging bit! You don’t want to create videos or video ads that people want to avoid!

In this article, we’ll discuss how to make video ads that are engaging and effective, and all that within a small budget. We’ll trace the process from pre-production all the way to using an easy video editing app like Clipchamp, so read on.

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Getting Started – Making Video Ads

Let’s look at every step and how we can bring costs down without compromising on the basics.

Pre-Production

• Market Research – Do you know your audience well enough? Who do you want to target? Do you want to do a survey? Spend time getting your research right. Figure out a few insights that can be common among your customers. Doing so you will get clarity of the kind of video ad you want to create.
• Brainstorming – Once you have your target audience and insights in place, all you have to do is come up with the idea. List all the thoughts and ideas that come to you and then revisit them to segregate them based on the ones that seem inexpensive and easy to implement.
• Scripting – Write down the idea in the form of a script. The script forms the backbone of your ad. Once your final draft is ready head over to storyboarding.
• Storyboarding – A storyboard is a shot-by-shot breakdown and the sketch representation of what’s happening in a scene. This helps you cut down costs as you get to know what you need to shoot. This is only needed when you’re shooting a long video ad. It can be avoided if you’re aiming at micro-content for social media to reduce costs (and time spent!).

Ready, Set, Action – Producing A Video Ad

Production

Since you’ve planned your video ad well, things will be easier from here on. Most smartphones shoot video at 1080p HD so you should be able to capture good footage out of it.

• Lighting – You want to make sure the subject is well lit to avoid the footage from being grainy. We suggest you use LED lights and abide by the three-point lighting setup. The three-point lighting setup consists of a key light, which is the primary source of light, a fill light to fill up any shadows created by using the key light, and the backlight to separate your subject from the background.

You can make use of natural lighting as well. Doing this alone will make your video appear professional and the output will turn out to be high end. Do keep in mind to soften the lighting as harsh light often burns the subject in focus. For ease of compatibility across various mediums make sure your subject is in the center frame.

Bringing It Together – Post-production

Video Editing, Using Free Stock Footage And Templates

Post-production is probably the most expensive aspect of making an ad as it requires purchasing software or hiring a professional video editor. By using an easy video editor like Clipchamp, you can save big bucks, hours of effort and create professional-looking videos for free or at very low cost.

So much magic can happen when you edit. Here are some ways to here’s how-

• Video Ad Templates -If you’re having a tough time creating the introduction of your video, or getting the clips to flow after each other, Clipchamp’s Video Ad templates are a lifesaver! They are a great way to get your video editing started. Clipchamp’s video editor has hundreds of social media ad templates to choose from and the best part about them is that they’re fully customizable.
• Stock Library – Creativity is limitless and you don’t want your budget to curb your creativity. Stylize your video in seconds by checking Clipchamp’s stock footage library (of more than 800k+ video and audio assets) to fulfill all your video making needs. This makes the process inexpensive and quick and means you do not need to spend lots of money on shooting and re-shooting original footage.
• Green Screen – When we talk about green screens, we think of a huge expensive setup with a green cloth that takes a lot of money and is only meant for the movies… but that’s not the case. Clipchamp makes it super convenient by adding a green screen filter that enables you to use the green screen effects without any of the equipment. You can add all those unimaginable shots that you’ve always wanted to implement with just a click.
• Transitions – Transitions and effects make your video ad smooth and easy to watch. Have fun with transitions, but make sure to not overdo them as they can appear forced while viewing.
• Soundtracks- You should be looking at royalty-free audio content libraries that go in sync with your video shots. A royalty-free audio library can help you save a lot of money on sound production and overall production. Clipchamp video editor comes equipped with a wide range of audio tracks that work marvelously with the shots.

Choosing The Right Video Ad Format

Sometimes, you find that you’ve shot a video in horizontal instead of vertical, and think you can’t use it on social media. Well, no need to re-shoot it. Save money and easily convert the aspect ratio on Clipchamp.

With Clipchamp’s video editor, you can customize your frame based on all your social media requirements for different platforms and format it as Vertical Video Ad for Instagram Story or Facebook Ads.

Having such a variety of outputs will save you time, effort, and money for having a separate shoot for vertical formats. You can effortlessly edit your video ad as you have the option of all the formats within your reach.

Conclusion

Choosing the right video editor has its own perks and can help you create effective video ads within a small budget. Try the Clipchamp video editor and enjoy creating amazing video ads without burning a hole in your pocket.

If you are interested in even more social media-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.

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