We’re inviting all small food businesses across Victoria to submit their top 3 products to us for free. We would love for you to include a video introducing each product.
We have tips for taking this video below, although really our only requirement is that the video is shot in landscape / horizontally. It would also be good to plan your video to go about 1-2 minutes. Other than that, feel free to keep it pretty ‘raw’ to match the social media style that customers are used to.
Suggestions on planning your video
People tend to sound most natural on their first ‘take’, unless they do lots of rehearsal. This means it could be easiest (and quicker) for you to come up with a few bullet points and stories you want to share for each product, then just start filming! Remember, ‘raw’ is good!
Here is an example structure you could use to loosely plan your videos:
- Hi, my name is [name] at [store], and this is one of my favourite products, the …
- The product’s great because…
- Behind me, you can see where the product is grown / product is made / the magic happens.
- Story or two about your business (different story per video). E.g. The product is special because… It’s inspired by… Customers love it because…
- Conclusion – so I bet you’re pretty eager to try it. We have recently set up an online store and are delivering to most areas in… It’s safe, secure and easy… just click on the button below…
Tips on taking great videos
Here are some handy ‘technical tips’ for shooting great videos, if you want them:
- Horizontal / landscape: please shoot the video horizontally / landscape, not as a vertical film
- Lighting: daylight is always best. Ideally, you (the video subject) should be approximately facing a naturally-lit window if you’re indoors, or where the sun is in the sky if you’re outdoors. You want the sun to light up your face nice and evenly. This may mean you might want to pick a time of day where the sun isn’t too glary, so you don’t have to squint too much.
- Sound: make sure you pick a position where you can be heard clearly, and there’s no loud noises nearby.
- Background: you want something interesting in the background behind you. Although do a last-minute check to make sure there are no details that might distract the viewer (e.g. a sign or electric pole that looks out of place in the scene)
- Height of camera: the camera should be eye level with you (not looking down or looking up to you)
- Space above head: Try to leave a little bit of space above the top of your head, but not too much. I.e., the top of your head should be around, or over, 2/3rds high in video screen.
Getting some professional help
While we love DIY videos, some of our stores do prefer to enlist the help of a professional videographer. The benefits of hiring a professional can include:
- Help with workshopping your story – simply discuss your story with the videographer while getting filmed, and they will use the best bits of what you said to make a video with impact.
- Get multiple professional videos – make the most of your video creation time to get additional videos that meet your online needs, such as for your social media channels and your Farmhouse Exchange store header (exclusive to our media partners).
- Get reusable ‘mini-footage’ of your products and store – get reusable short clips that feature your products in the best light (literally), which are very useful while growing your online presence.
If you’re interested in getting the help of a professional videographer, we can recommend REDfusion Studios. REDfusion studios do some of our own videos (including on our store submission page) and are currently offering special packages to Farmhouse Exchange stores. Contact them to find out more.
Editing the video
If you’re doing it yourself, try to get the video done all in one cut, and then you don’t have to edit the video at all! It’s our preference that most stores do their video all in one go, so we can encourage a low-key, friendly video style across all our stores. Remember that ‘natural’ is perfect for social media, so don’t worry if you stumble once or twice.
If you are really keen (and confident enough) to do light edits, we recommend trying to get your hands on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac so you can use the free iMovie app. You can also try the newly updated Windows Photo app, or the Adobe Rush (paid) mobile app.
Sending the video to us
There are many ways you can create a link for your product video, so that you include the video links when submitting your top 3 products:
- Create a share link from a free Google Drive or Google Photos account
- Share from Microsoft OneDrive
- Share from Dropbox
- Share from your Apple iCloud
- Most Android Phones will also come with an option for Link Sharing.
Otherwise, it may be easier to just submit the product form without the videos, then add your video files to a message to our Farmhouse Exchange Facebook page. Facebook can actually be a great way to send large files!
Please note that we cannot accept video files:
- as an attachment uploaded to our product form – we don’t have this option yet sorry!
- as Youtube links, Facebook links, Vimeo links, etc. These websites don’t let us download and use these videos on our site.
Want help and advice? We’d love to chat!
We’re happy to help with any aspect, including creating, editing or sending these videos. Just send an email to nathan @ farmhouse.exchange (without the spaces), or send a Facebook message to the Farmhouse Exchange Facebook page, and we’ll be happy to help you out!