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123: Shine Through Video: Holly Gillen’s Lessons to Make Your Business Light Up

Author

Lisa Buyer
March 16, 2021

Being on camera is scary. Yet, most small businesses would benefit from strong video content. But where do you start? Is there necessary equipment? As a business owner, do you need to be filmed? Former producer, editor, and camera operator Holly Gillen understands the struggle – and is here to help. 

In this episode of the Social PR Secrets Podcast, host Lisa Buyer listens to Holly Gillen’s top tips for creating business videos. Holly runs Holly G Studios, where she helps with strategic video content development to increase her customers’ impact and income. If you’re making videos but want to do better, or have never touched a camera in your life, this episode is for you! As Holly says, “videos that are fun, fast, and easy to make increase your impact and income.”

You Need Good Videos

Holly Gillen started her career in New York City, as a professional videographer. She worked on important projects with big-name celebrities. But after a while in the industry, she realized she didn’t want to work for huge corporations anymore. She knew video could be a game-changer for small businesses, so she set herself to help them. She started a company to work with business owners and entrepreneurs and make videos for them.

But quickly, she found out they all had the same questions. What should my strategy be? Do I really have to be on camera? Do I have to spend that much money on a video? So she started Holly G Studios to prepare business owners so they could make their videos themselves. Holly leads live video challenges tailored to each business owner. 

The Professional Triangle

According to Holly Gillen, when it comes to videos, it’s all about the professional triangle: light, audio, and graphics. 

Light

You don’t need much to have good lighting. A window and daylight will suffice. If that’s not something you can use, invest in a simple ring light, a softbox, or any led light you can adjust and dim. Then, simply point the light source at your face.

Audio

What you’re saying is the value of your video. If the audio is terrible, nothing else will matter and your audience will not keep watching. So upgrade your audio source. Instead of using your headphones or a phone mic, by a Yeti mic or any type of USB microphone, it’ll make a world of difference!

Graphics

Make sure your graphics fit your brand, whether they be lower thirds, titles, emojis, or anything else

Staying Organized

We all know computers get messy very fast. But it gets worse when you start working with video. To make sure that doesn’t happen, Holly has a plan.

  1. Always use an external hard drive, and back it up on a second one.

  2. Don’t sleep on pre-production. Preparation should be 60 to 65% of your production process.

  3. Only record what you need.

  4. Don’t save the bad takes, delete them directly on your camera.

  5. Name your files (date, year, video number, and quick description), and make note of the good files

  6. Have the main folder divided into 5 subfolders:

    1. Raw videos

    2. Graphics

    3. Thumbnails

    4. Final videos

    5. Social media clips

So where do you start? We recommend joining Holly’s challenge, From Start to Start 15 days in video confidence. Adapted for all levels, it allows you to make the challenge your own. Remember, the key is embracing video in your business and using it in a powerful way. You can do it!

“Remember you are someone’s reason to smile, so don’t give up.” – Holly Gillen

Some topics discussed in this episode include:

  • Filming

  • Video for PR

  • Lighting

  • Audio

  • Thumbnails

Contact Holly Gillen