My costume videos are meant to show the costume and some movement but be short without being too short or too long.
I start the camera, walk into the target area, slowly turn around, sometimes do other movements depending on the character portrayed and then walk back.
- Lighting
Having proper lighting is important, but not everyone has the finance or space to set up proper lighting. Having lights behind the object in the video is a major problem. Whenever I try to film in my small space, I tend to get lights causing problems. - Background
Having a less colourful background helps to show a costume. Preferably a bright colour. In my case, I only have a dark sheet that I hang up and it does not cover the entire background. - Bumping into things
My filing space is small due to costumes and I cannot really film outside at night. Sometimes I bump into things while filming, especially with the big mascot costumes. Keeping the floor clear around the camera helps a lot when you wear a costume with big feet and head. - Cutting off body parts
It helps to take photos ahead of filming to test the camera zoom and aim. Even with the photo, there is a chance of cutting off body parts because of location change during movement in the target area. Sometimes, the head is just too close to the picture edge. - Retakes
If you need to retake the video, then do so. Last night, I filmed a mascot costume and ended up doing the filming six times. This was because of cutting off parts, bumping into things and messing up a bit during movement. Mascot costumes make this particularly difficult because of the size, heat and lack of sight. - Time required
It takes a lot longer to film than you would expect. Starting with setting up lighting, background, camera, test photos and then finally putting on a costume. Just simply switching between costumes takes time. After that, it is a matter of getting the correct zoom setting for the camera again. Editing, uploading and embedding the video also takes time. - Video editing
Get a video editor that allows you to mute the sound or replace the soundtrack. Do some of the early editing using your camera. The video quality output is also important. Some editors make it difficult to embed a logo in a corner. For embedded videos, you do not really want an intro or outro.
