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How to Make High-Quality Videos on a Small Budget (and how AI helps)
Posted on date: 8 Jan, 2024
Visual content is thriving on the internet. It’s because video content is effective in helping businesses across industries reach their goals.
Whether marketing a product, explaining a concept, or simply showcasing creativity, nothing brings engagement as high as videos.
However, it can be quite challenging for you to create high-quality videos if you don’t want to break the bank. Did you know that the average cost of professional video production can be as high as $1,000 to $5,000 per finished minute?
But don’t worry.
In this post, we are going to share the new way of making videos online - AI video generation - and how it can help you not just just costs on video making, but also save a lot of time!
But if you do choose to take the traditional approach to making videos (which we’re sure you wouldn’t after trying Videomagic), we have also included other tips you can follow to keep your costs in control marginally.
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Best way to make videos on a budget: AI video generation
So the best way to reduce the costs of creating a high quality video is to generate it using AI.
In our previous guide, we discussed how while the traditional approach to making videos was no less than 10 extensive steps and took almost 3 weeks to complete (with hundreds of dollars being spent), AI cut the process to just 3-4 steps.
What’s more?
With a video generation tool like Videomagic, you can generate videos for as little as $5, giving you more resources to make more videos for different campaigns.
Here’s how it works:
- Enter a URL you want to make a video around
- Choose the industry you are in and pick a type from the suggestions
- Select the sample and the dimensions based on the channel you want to share it on
- Let AI generate a high-quality video for you in less than 3 minutes!
As you can see, AI takes care of everything from storyboarding, copywriting, music, editing and other aspects of the video so that you don’t have to spend on those resources at all!
Here are some of the benefits of generating videos with Videomagic:
- Swift Video Generation: With Videomagic, witness the transformation of a single product URL into captivating animated videos within minutes.
- Cost-Efficient Solution: Say goodbye to exorbitant costs associated with traditional video production. Videomagic offers a budget-friendly alternative without compromising quality.
- Diverse Video Outputs: Generate multiple types of videos, from product showcases to customer testimonials, swiftly and seamlessly.
- Effortless Marketing: Videomagic empowers marketers to swiftly generate high-quality videos without the need for extensive resources, saving time and effort.
Don’t believe us? Generate a video now and see for yourself.
Other tips to reduce your video making costs
Here are some tips we gathered from creators and brands making videos at scale to keep your costs in check - before we introduced them to generating videos with AI, of course!
- Create a strategy for the video-making process
- Shoot with your smartphone
- Invest in basic video gear
- Digital camera: Ensures your videos maintain a high-quality visual appeal.
- Microphone: Built-in microphones often fall short; investing in a dedicated one ensures clear and crisp audio for your brand videos.
- Tripod: Stabilize your camera to eliminate shaky footage, lending a professional touch to your visuals.
- Lighting kit: Ensure optimal lighting for your videos, a crucial element in achieving a polished and professional look.
- Repurpose existing photos & videos
- Internal talent over hiring someone
- Use affordable licensed music
- Learn DIY video techniques
Creating a budget-friendly video doesn't mean compromising the quality. It requires you to follow a strategic approach.
Start by outlining a video-making strategy to streamline the process and cut down on potential overspending. A well-thought-out strategy keeps you focused and enhances the professionalism of your videos.
Consider crucial elements like your allocated budget, target audience, sharing goals, frequency of content, and the specific types of videos aligned with your goals. This strategic foundation will help you maintain a consistent brand voice and also ensure a clear focus, preventing unnecessary expenditures.
Remember, even on a budget, with precision and planning, you can make impactful and high-quality videos online.
Having a high-end camera doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have a good final video. So if there’s no guarantee and you’re on a budget, your smartphone should be powerful enough to get you your desired shots.
Start by ensuring that you have sufficient storage space and battery life before shooting. It helps avoid interruptions. You should also use a tripod or stabilizer to eliminate shaky footage, maintaining a professional touch.
Moreover, familiarize yourself with your phone's settings, adjusting them to suit varying lighting conditions and subjects. If you don’t necessarily need to see yourself while shooting, go for the back camera for superior quality. You should also refrain from excessive zooming, as it compromises the digital quality.
Experimentation is key – play with different angles, perspectives, and compositions to find out what works best for your content. If you can wisely use the mobile phone camera, there’s no reason why you can have a good quality video.
Shooting videos with your smartphone camera is a good start. But if you can, you should invest in basic video gear as they significantly increase video quality. If you're diving into regular video content creation, these essential tools are worth the investment:
This investment is a long-term commitment, particularly beneficial if you plan to be hands-on with your video production. While your smartphone serves as a handy alternative, having these tools in your kit significantly increases video quality.
Maximize your budget by repurposing photos and videos you already have. Whether sourced from your business website, Facebook page, or brochures, chances are you have enough visuals waiting to be used.
Look for images of your products, storefront or workspace, yourself and/or your employees, satisfied customers, and your logo. These assets can be strategically compiled with titles and captions to craft a compelling video that tells your brand's story.
Not only does this approach save on production costs, but it also gives new life to familiar visuals, which helps you create a budget-friendly video.
If you’re using a video generation tool like Videomagic, it gets even simpler. All you need to do is input the URL of the page you want to create a video for; the AI automatically pulls the photos and videos available on the page to generate videos for different purposes.
Why hire external actors when your internal talent can shine in your videos? Leveraging your own team as the stars adds authenticity and injects your videos with company personality.
Imagine creating a recruitment video – instead of hiring actors to portray a thriving work environment, feature your employees sharing their genuine experiences. This boosts the connection of the video with potential candidates and showcases the real faces and voices behind your company.
Internal talent brings a unique perspective and genuine enthusiasm to your videos, making them more relatable and resonant with your audience. So, let your team take the spotlight to make your videos more authentic while saving money.
While music plays a crucial role in conveying the right message in your videos, licensing it for commercial use can be pricey.
Luckily, there are budget-friendly options for licensed music. Platforms like Videomagic offer templates that come with an audio to make them more engaging.
Videomagic’s templates are designed to ensure that the music complements the type of video and the intent for which it is being made.
How to make high-quality videos on a very low budget? Becoming a decently skilled videographer yourself is the simplest solution.
Even if you have an inexpensive consumer camera or your smartphone, you can create high-quality videos with a DIY approach.
Pay attention to lighting – shoot in natural light or a well-lit room for optimal results. Stabilize your device to avoid shaky footage, using your body, an affordable tripod, or improvised support like books. Opt for landscape mode for wider video playback compatibility.
By mastering these DIY techniques, you can ensure your videos maintain a professional appearance without the hefty cost of hiring a professional videographer.
Generate high quality videos on a budget VideoMagic
Creating impactful videos on a budget in no time is now simpler than ever with VideoMagic. We know how vital video creation is across different industries. That's why our platform is designed to leverage AI and automation to generate videos at scale instead of taking the long route to creating content.
Now all it takes is to input a website URL to generate videos and let AI do the heavy lifting for you!
Experience the ease of video generation for free – Get started now!