Learn How To Shoot A Dope Drumming Video For Auditions, Video Assignments or Drum Lessons!

After years of creating content, I realized that I needed to write a blog about a very necessary skill that you should know how to do: Recording dope, and great-looking drumming videos!

If you’re either a student, educator, or even a photographer/videographer, These are all need-to-know skills in this day and age.

This is especially true with how Covid-19 has led to fewer ensemble performance opportunities over the last year. Hopefully, we’ll get back to everyone doing more in-person practices and performances by the end of 2021! 2020 really taught the true value of video which still holds true to this day.

So what I wanted to do today is share with you all some very simple and easy steps on how to shoot dope drumming/teaching videos for social media! I hope these are helpful for you in your creation of content :)

Tip #1: Camera. You don’t need a fancy camera to create content, most cell phone cameras are already pretty good :) Unless you have a fancy camera and know how to use it, a phone camera will work just fine! Keep in mind that portrait mode is great for Instagram. Landscape is good for YouTube/desktop viewing. 

Tip #2: Framing. This has to do with what is shown within the camera view. Make sure we can see your face because it helps make things more personal! Make sure the framing is wide enough to cover any full-body movement. This is a big one: try to avoid clutter in the background of your videos!! This can be a big distraction for your video viewers.

Tip #3: Lighting. This is extremely important and makes a huge difference in your videos. Make sure the lighting is in front of you and not behind you so that you are easier to see on camera and there is no glare or harsh shadow. Think of the lighting as a spotlight on stage because it’s the same thing! For outdoor shooting, try to shoot at either dusk or dawn because the lighting is much softer for videos :)

Tip #4: Selfie Life (shooting by yourself). If you have a monitor or screen, have it pointing towards you so that you can monitor your framing, lighting, etc. If you don’t have a monitor, do a test run before the recording to make sure everything looks good before recording! 

Tip #5: Practice! Practice makes perfect for the rep that you want on camera, so get some practice reps in before you record! My suggestion is, after you practice, record 3 reps, and then choose the best reps to post out of the 3 you just recorded. 

Tip # 6: Simple Edits. This is of course done after the recording process! The main rule to follow is to Keep. It. Simple. It’s as simple as that haha! Trim the edges! This means trimming the beginning and end of the video where you turn on and off the camera.

I hope you found these tips helpful for your social media posts. Click the video below for more information!