Did you know that 70% of people who buy cars watch YouTube videos before they even step into a dealership?
That’s why in this video, I’m going to show you how to take your average looking car dealership videos to epic Hollywood level proportions. I’ll go over my personal camera settings, how I prepare for a video shoot, and some tips and tricks to make your videos stand out from the competition.
Step one If you want to showcase the car better, it’s worth knowing the details. That’s why the first step is to know as much as you can about the car. I’ll spend a lot of time reading reviews of the car and create a storyboard in advance. A storyboard is a visual outline with illustrations or photos that represent each shot or scene of a video.
This saves you a ton of time when you eventually want to create your shot list, which we’ll talk about a little bit later in the video. Now, there are a lot of ways that you can create storyboards from a very simple pen and paper, a Photoshop, or even an online graphic design tool like Canva, which is what I use.
The location of your video should complement the vehicle. For example, if it’s a luxury car, then you’re probably going to want to film it in either a country road or an urban setting, like an industrial area. If it’s a 4×4 truck or SUV, then you might want to think about some off road locations with a dirt road. Exterior locations are best because they provide more opportunities for better shots.
But an interior location, like a car showroom or empty warehouse can be just as good, if done correctly. So you want to make sure you choose an area with plenty of room that was well-lit and lots of light. You’ll also need to make sure that there are no people in the background of your video. So after you’ve done with your storyboard and you’ve scoured out your location, it’s time to create your shot list.
A shot list is vital because it helps keep you organized. You won’t just keep your notes very short and to the point. List out shots, description what kind of shot it is, whether it’s a medium shot, wide shot, or a close up. For example, hand to right. Medium shot. Front of car. Ideally, the best camera for a car video is a DSLR or mirrorless camera.
My personal camera of choice is the Fuji X-t4. It’s a great all around camera that’s really easy to use and affordable and takes great photos and videos. If you don’t want to invest in a new camera just for this purpose, you can still get amazing results with just a smartphone as long as it has a 4K camera. With your camera settings, you want to make sure that you set to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.
The higher resolution will make your footage look sharper and more detailed because there are more pixels in the image. Another advantage is when you downscale the footage to 1080 hp in post-production. You can zoom in or crop in on the frame without losing any quality. 60 FP indicates that the cameras captured 60 frames per second of action. That means it captures 60 images per second.
The more frames per second, the better the motion in a video will be. The higher frame rate will make it easier for your footage to hold up to slow motion and fast cuts without losing quality. When you’re filming a car that is moving past quickly and you want to slow it down, you need to capture as many frames per second as possible.
You can record up to 240 FP but usually you are limited to recording at a lower resolution of ten ADP. That’s why I recommend sticking with 60 frames per second and you should be good so the video won’t look blurry. Make sure the shutter speed is double the frame rate, for example, of the frame rate is 60 frames per second.
The shutter speed should be set to 120. The last step in setting up your camera is setting up your white balance. Now, this is really important when it comes to car videos as the vehicle’s colors are very specific to the brand. You want to make sure that they are as accurate as possible. Set your white balance to match what you are visually seeing.
Another thing to consider are lens filters, which have made a significant improvement to the quality of my car videos and indeed filters like a pair of sunglasses for your lens without any change to the color tone. So this is really helpful for shots in really bright locations. CPO Filters. When you think about it, a car is like a giant mirror on wheels, and a CPO filter can be very useful because it will remove any annoying reflections.
If you want a real cinematic look with smooth, sweeping shots, you must have a gamble. A gamble is a device that keeps the camera steady and prevents shaky shots while filming. Most advanced cameras now come with built in image stabilization, but they’re not as effective as a handheld gimbal. My personal gimbal of choice is a zoo on as the last app before filming is car preparation.
You need to make sure that the car looks as good as possible before filming it. This includes washing it, or at least wiping it down, removing any obvious marks or dirt. Even when shooting in daylight. Make sure you have your headlights on at all times. Also, take note of the position of the car and how it’s parked relative to the background.
The most important thing to remember when filming is to use good lighting times to avoid shooting or midday when the light is at its strongest, as this will result in overexpose shots and harsh shadows. In situations where I have no choice, I’ll use a diffuser to soften the harsh light or a portable light for any dark areas.
Another way to give your footage a cinematic look is with a drone. Drones are used in just about every modern car video you can capture unique angles with the drones camera and have a more natural point of view than you would if you were just holding the camera yourself. My drone of choice is the Mavic air to the Gimbal does a really great job of keeping the camera steady while flying, and it’s really not that hard to get up and running.
If you are filming with a drone for commercial purposes, then you are required by law to have a part 107 remote pilot’s license. If you don’t want to invest in the upper equipment and training costs, then you can just hire a professional drone pilot varying your shot types When filming a car video, it is important to establish where the video is taking place in order to tell the story of the car or what is called an establishing shot.
The establishing shot helps to establish the geographical location before revealing the hero shot of the car. Also, make sure to capture important features of the vehicle with close ups as this will help keep your car visuals engaging. Things like emblems, brake calipers, exhaust tips. Of course, the interior is what people notice most about these cars. The key to a great car video, like any great video, is a unique story told through creative camerawork.
With the right equipment and a little planning, you can create some really impressive videos that will help sell your car. I hope you enjoyed this video and found these tips useful.