Top 5 Video Blog No-Nos (with video)

Video blogging can be informative, entertaining and great for branding, but watch out: owning a digital camera doesn’t make you Steven Spielberg. Luckily, avoiding common video blog mistakes is easy, if you know what to watch out for.

1. Lighting - Dark rooms and sun-based back lighting might be cost-effective, but if you’re not careful you’ll get what you pay for.
2. Walking and Talking - If your video blog is only worth the weekly commute you devote to it, it will quickly join the ranks of the under-thought, low-quality Internet content that no one cares about.
3. Musing - Just because you can ramble on and on, draw out explanations, recount anecdotal stories, and reiterate the same points again and again, it doesn’t mean you should. Get to the point, make the point, move on!
4. Distance - Don’t position yourself too close, or too far away from your audience. Also, avoid the dreaded “Dutch angle” in your shots.
5. Sound Quality - Wind, traffic, echos, muffles, etc. – they all demonstrate neglect of detail and quality. Take the extra 2 seconds to do a quick sound check before you cut and press.