Whether you’re videoing a horse to sell it, to show off how fast it’s last barrel time was, to highlight it’s beautiful self-carriage at the last show, or just to make a how-to video about polo wraps, here are some tips for shooting and editing some on-point equine videography.
Equipment
Whether you’re using an iPhone or a camera, please, heed my words when I say: use a tripod. Without one, your video will be shaky and hard to watch. No matter how steady your hands are, nothing beats the stability a tripod provides.
If you really can’t get a tripod (check Walmart), avoid zooming in as this will cause shakiness. Make sure the tripod is level, some of them come with a tiny construction-type level so you can tell if it’s straight or not.
Where is the Sun?
Just like with photography, always shoot with the sun behind you. Shooting videos midday is often best because the light covers your horse more evenly, showing his movement and conformation better than early in the morning or late at night. Bright, midday light can also help you capture high-quality action shots on video.
Types of Shots
Side-shots and coming-at-you shots are great, dramatic angles to use. If you’re showing off a horse’s conformation, make sure to take shots of him at all angles, including walking away from you. Cool and smooth zoom actions can be added through editing, so no need to do it now.
Editing Equine Videography
If you don’t have an editing program, or can’t edit the video yourself, you may need to pay someone else to do it. Some good and free editing apps you can put on your phone include iMovie and InShot.
The main thing with editing is to have fun and produce a visually appealing video. Only use shots that are good quality and non-shaky.
You can also enhance the video to have a certain feel. For instance, if it’s a barrel racing video, utilize the pan/crop feature, freeze frames, black and white filters, and exciting music to aid in the fast-paced vibe.
If it’s a video showing off a horse you’re selling, maybe slow down some of the shots, open with a blurred screen and your farm’s logo, add some lens flares (if you can) and pair it with beautiful but not distracting music. Have some frames overlap and fade in/ fade out to give this video a relaxed, aesthetic feel.
With editing videos, the more you mess around with it, the better you get.
Music Matters!
Music truly sets the scene of your video. You could put two different types of music to the same video and make people feel completely different while watching each one. However, with music, there are copyright considerations. It’s illegal and considered theft to use copyrighted music without permission.
There are websites where you can find stock music to go with your video though. If you’re posting it on YouTube, take advantage of their creator studio audio library. Everything in it has a Creative Commons copyright so you can use it in your video.
There is a process for getting the rights to use copyrighted music in your project, but it will cost money. Ask yourself how badly you want this particular track and if it’s worth it for the type of equine videography you’re producing.
Distribution
Since video is one of the most wide-reaching types of content online, you can share it almost everywhere: YouTube, Facebook Videos, IGTV (Instagram), Vimeo, Pinterest, and Linkedin.
If you’re particularly proud of a video, put it on your website to showcase your awesome horses/ training program/ breeding program, etc..
I hope these tips will give you the confidence to go out there and shoot the best horse videos possible to promote your horse or business! If you’d like to work with a professional video editor to create something spectacular, contact Catherine for a free 30-minute consultation where we can talk about your vision for a stunning horse video.
