3 Ways to Make Reels
Reels are a 60-90 second video clips that play conveniently on mobile devices through platforms that allow creators to shoot, design, edit and post them. Each platform calls these short-vertical videos something unique. Facebook and Instagram call them “Reels.” Youtube calls them “Shorts.” For the purpose of simplicity we’ll just call any video that is under 90 seconds and formatted vertically a “reel.”
Method 1: The Simplest Way to Make a Reel
You can shoot a reel on your phone simply by pointing your phone camera at something and recording. You don’t have to turn your phone on its side.
Tools Needed: Your phone camera
Procedure: Keep the phone oriented straight up and down. And then you simply point and shoot. You can usually do this through a camera function directly on the platform you will post through. It’s just like the original cameras, that allowed you to shoot, develop and screen films all through one device.
Posting: Platforms have gotten incredibly complex and allow editing multiple clips together or pausing the recording and restarting it to form different shots. Users can add stickers, compose on-screen text and use AI to make this process very easy.
Anybody can make reels this way if they own a phone. If they have connection to the internet and are of age they can share them too.
As a result to this open access of videography, a variety of content has blossomed. It’s natural to pick up a camera and point it at something. And it’s possible to have that video become very popular because of a trending topic or important event.
Make Short Reels into Full-Length Youtube Content
If you ONLY MAKE SHORT REELS, you will want to consider mashing them up into a longer video where your loyal subscribers can binge thematically grouped reels. In this case, your reel isn’t born from longer content, but your reels form your longer content. In any case, you always want to give an option for longer content and visits to your profile. Lots of posts will be a great way to make this possible.
Method 2: Can You Make a “Reel” with a DSLR Camera?
Just like you can turn your phone camera sideways to get a wide video instead of a tall one, you can turn your regular camera on its side too and it will film the world in that 90-degree direction.
The camera doesn’t care about the horizon, unless you have a GoPro. GoPros will automatically keep the image straight up and down, even if the camera turns over; however, this is not common. Usually, as the camera rotates, the horizon stays put and this creates a totally different frame size which the photographer must account for.
Formatted Vertically
Calling a reel a “Reel” really gets to the heart of what a short-vertical is. It’s a highlight “reel.” So this means, your “reel” is born from longer content and should always lead to longer content.
In this context, we are using reels to promote something. Not to just share our daily moments. Don’t get me wrong you can do that too! However, if you’re reading this, it’s because you want to use reels effectively to sell something or build a following.
Can Reels be used as Advertisements?
Your longer content is where you should do the selling. Ads which attempt to sell directly to you through short targeted reels are difficult to plan and execute on a budget. You can trial and error this process cheaply, but the real pros will have a reason for you to spend much more…and rightly so. There are a lot of levers to pull and buttons to push to advertise effectively with short videos. That’s why people go to school for this and the entire world at times seems to revolve around it.
But, you don’t have to be super clever to make a reel. And you don’t have to be more than proficient to make a full-length video that sells your true thing. Your true thing may be subscriptions. Your thing might be something that you can hold. Something that you can deliver. Something all encompassing.
Techniques and Strategies to Try Now
If you’re looking to string short video clips together into longer content and you want some help making a branded message that tells a complete story of your family, your product/service or your brand, you should reach out and let’s talk about how to make the videos you want to make.
