Video Setup Made Simple: Film Confidently Without Fancy Tech

If you've ever thought about using video to market your HR consultancy… but felt like the tech might let you down then this episode is for you.

Because today, I’m breaking down exactly what you do and don't need to look and sound confident on camera.

No expensive equipment. No fancy editing. No Hollywood lighting.

Just simple, clear advice to help you finally start showing up in video — and attracting the leads and clients your consultancy deserves.

Here’s what we cover:

• Why your camera quality isn’t the reason people buy from you — and what is.
• The one recording-angle mistake that could be making your videos feel awful for viewers (and how to fix it in seconds).
• The simple swap that can instantly improve the sound of your videos — no mic needed.
• The truth about video perfection and why a few stumbles might actually help you win clients.
• How to use ChatGPT as an expert personal script editor — so you know if your video is good enough before posting.

By the end of this episode you'll have a no-fuss setup that helps you feel ready to press record — and finally put your face, voice, and message out there.

So tune in now.

Timestamps

00:00 – Why HR consultants need video content to get clients
00:23 – Common fears about filming marketing videos
01:01 – How to film business videos using just a phone
01:49 – Is iPhone or Android good enough for content creation?
02:27 – Why polished video can hurt your consultancy brand
03:06 – Best smartphones for creating HR marketing videos
03:51 – How to use natural light for professional-looking video
04:18 – Best places to record video content at home
04:56 – How to stabilise your phone without a tripod
06:26 – Simple upgrades to improve your video quality fast
06:39 – How to frame your videos to build trust with clients
07:12 – Fix bad lighting and shadows in DIY videos
09:00 – How to get great sound for videos without buying a mic
09:56 – Should you record horizontal or vertical videos for LinkedIn?
12:29 – Why posting on every platform can harm your reach
13:12 – How to use ChatGPT to write better video scripts
14:31 – What to say on camera if you're nervous or awkward
15:34 – How to stay consistent with your video marketing schedule

Want My Help to Build Your £70K+ HR Consultancy?

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Transcript

00:01 Hello there and welcome back to another episode of Marketing Made Easy for HR Consultants with me, Nick Poninski. Today's episode is the third episode in the series about using video to market yourself and your HR consultancy.
00:15 Now, we've talked about why you should be using video. We've talked about what might be holding you back. This week, we're going to dive a little bit deeper.
00:23 In fact, we're going to dive really deep into the tech and the setup. We're going to make it super simple so that there's not a lot of of those concerns are going to hold you back from creating that content that gets you in front of your clients, in front of your leads, and helps you build your 70K HR
00:41 consultancy. Now, the main message that I want you to take away from this episode is that if you can unlock your phone, you can film a client winning video.
00:53 It really is that simple. Let me share with you. No one's asking for Netflix quality that's what this episode is all about.
01:01 It's about stripping away those excuses that you might have and really simplifying the process. Now your phone, it likely shoots in 4k and that's more than good enough to create the content that you need to get League of Clans to sales and profits.
01:15 In fact, at the time of recording 28 years later is in the cinemas and a lot of that film was recorded with an iPhone.
01:23 Yes, you heard me correctly. A lot of that film was recorded with an iPhone. Now, obviously they used a hell of a lot of tech to make sure that the lighting was right and whatever else, because they're filming on location, it's actors, they've got a big budget, etc, etc.
01:39 But the camera that they used was on the iPhone. And so, if the iPhone was good enough for 28 years, 28 years later, it's definitely good enough for me and you.
01:49 Equally, and importantly, no prospects are saying to themselves, Oh, I would have hired her, but that video that she shared wasn't filmed with a DSLR.
01:59 You know, no one's saying fact, high production values can even work against you. It can reduce trust because it looks like an advert.
02:08 It looks too polished. It looks too professional. You know, a lot of people out there, a lot of the leads and the clients that you want, they're looking for real people.
02:16 They're people to work alongside. They're not, ah, looking Hollywood quality content. They accept that real people film with real cameras, real phones.
02:27 It's good enough for them. It's good enough for you. And at the end of the day, you're not filming a film.
02:32 You're not filming a promo. You're building a relationship. So what I want you to understand is it's not about how good the video looks.
02:41 It's about how good it feels. and useful it feels. It's about how you come across. It's about the message that you share.
02:48 Now, we will talk about the content that you need to create in next week's episode, but today is all about the tech.
02:56 So let's get into that essential kit. Let's get that checklist of all the stuff that you need to create the best looking content possible.
03:06 first up, you want to make sure that you've got an up-to-date phone. So for me, I've got a Google Pixel 8a.
03:13 It's more than good enough. For you, I mean, honestly, whatever you're packing, it's pretty good enough. If you've got an iPhone, it's probably good enough.
03:21 If you've got, I mean, doing a bit of research, I would say that iPhone 11 upwards, that's more than likely Google Pixel 5, Galaxy S20, these are all good enough to create 4k quality content.
03:43 So if you've got any of those phones, or better, then you're absolutely fine. Next thing you want to be thinking about is light.
03:51 Now, ideally, natural light is best. So, facing a window would be the best solution for this. I'll turn this off sky, go outside.
04:02 So rather than facing a window, you can just go outside into the, into the actual sunlight. The reason for this is that, well, obviously, you've got to be a piece of paper.
04:12 People have got to be able to see your face when you're filming content. And that's what natural light really helps with.
04:18 With a natural light, your face is much more easier to be seen. The next thing you want to think about is a quiet room.
04:26 Because, yeah, people be able to hear what you're saying. That background noise of plates being moved around or whatever, if you're in some sort of cafe, that's not great.
04:38 Alternatively, if you're at home and you've got kids shouting in the background, again, not great. But a nice, quiet room where it's just you and you on your that's absolutely perfect.
04:50 So absolutely fine. You don't need to think too much more about it. the next thing that you might be thinking about is a tripod.
04:56 Now, this is really useful. It's not essential, but it is really useful because it holds your camera in place. That you can adjust the height setting so that it is filming at the right height.
05:08 Now we're going to go into this in a little bit more detail shortly, but filming at the right height is really important if you haven't got a tripod or you just don't want to invest in one, get a stack of books, get some blue tech.
05:20 If just, yeah, the idea is you can make, you can men that's absolutely fine. The idea is that you should be filming at the right height though, and a tripod, yeah, that's the best and easiest solution.
05:33 Now the optional thing, Things that you could include would be a ring light, you know, if you haven't got a room facing a window or you don't want to go outside, then a ring light can work just as well.
05:45 But it's not as good as natural light. So, yeah, you can use a ring a good option. Don't try and use the flash on the back of a camera.
05:55 It just doesn't work as well. The ring light works really well because it creates light from every angle. If you were thinking about it, then you might want to include a lamp.
06:04 But it's not that important. Honestly, the microphone on your phone is absolutely fine. I guess the main thing that I want you to take away is, if you can make a video call, you can film a video.
06:26 in terms of the framing, the light, and the sound, these are your free second upgrades. These are the simple tweaks that you can make to make sure that the content you're creating looks, sounds, as good as possible.
06:39 Obviously, I alluded to this a second ago when I was talking about a tripod, but an eye-level lens is essential stuff.
06:47 People don't want to be looking up your nose. And people don't want to be, yeah, being looked down upon. So if you're looking down at the camera, that's essential stuff.
06:56 That makes people feel like they're looking up to you. Not a great relationship-building situation. So, eye-level lens is the ideal situation.
07:05 Just like you'd be talking to a normal person, it would be at eye-level. You want the exact same thing when you're creating your content.
07:12 Next up, you want to consider sitting and facing the window. Again, we've talked about this. The natural light is the best way for your face to be seen, and faces are important.
07:23 We trust people. As an aside, this is one of the key reasons why I talk about when I say about sharing testimonials on your website.
07:31 Make sure to have a picture of the person, because this builds trust. We like to see people's faces. It's the same reason why everyone tells you to put a picture, a selfie, on your LinkedIn posts when you're People like to be able to see people.
07:46 So, with going back to recording the content, when you sit facing the window, that is the best way possible for people to be able to see your face when you're creating your content.
07:57 Equally, you might want to consider turning off any overhead lights if it casts a shadow. This is especially important for those of us who are, uh, folically challenged.
08:08 Or, aka, for those of us who are bold. Because that overhead light, that is going to hit the top of our heads.
08:16 And that's going to shine onto the camera. Uhm, obviously not going to be blinding people, but it doesn't make the best, uh, looking videos.
08:25 And it's the same for you. You know, you might not be bold. You're probably not bold. Uhm, but it is good, that light.
08:31 It's going to bounce off your hair, and it, yeah, it just doesn't create the best looking content. Equally, as I say, it casts shadows.
08:39 So your nose will cast a shadow over your face, and, and whatever else. So no overhead lights. Equally, no under-headlights.
08:47 You know, you're not filming some sort of ghost story for, uhm, a bunch of As we talked about earlier, make sure to close doors, and you're on your own in a room, so that there's no one behind you, so noise.
09:00 That way, people can hear you, what you're saying, and I don't know if you know this tip, but soft furnishings help sound quality.
09:08 So, echo chambers, like kitchens or hallways, you know, with a tiled floor or whatever, that makes the sound feel What you want instead, uhm, would be, as I say, soft furnishings.
09:21 So maybe there's a sofa, maybe you want to put some towels down, whatever. You don't want the sound echoing around.
09:27 You want the sound clear and easy to understand. an easy solution for this would be something like the AirPods or, again, a lapel mic.
09:37 These can reduce background hiss, but they're really not As I say, if your phone is good enough for you to be able to make video it's absolutely good enough for you to be able to create content for your HR consultant.
09:52 Consultancy so that you can get more leads, clients and sales.
09:56 when it comes to actually recording your videos, I would suggest recording in a horizontal fashion. The reason for this is that you can then put these videos onto YouTube, because YouTube is set up on a horizontal.
10:10 sharing your content on LinkedIn prefers squares or horizontal. If you are thinking to do something for Reels or Shorts or TikTok for whatever reason, because your audience is there and that's the only reason why you should be on TikTok or Instagram or Facebook because that's where your audience hangs
10:30 out, then you might want to consider filming platforms are more geared for people scrolling using their phone. that's why you want to film in a vertical way, but again, unless your audience is on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, whatever, then I would question why you're actually creating content for those
10:51 platforms. Yeah, you might want to share all of your content all in one place, uhm, all in a few places, and I get that, that absolutely makes sense, you know, if you've got a social media of some form, then you can upload it, and then you can share it to all the platforms all at once.
11:11 I get that, that kind of makes sense, but again, you know, I would say, what is the point? If someone's going to stumble across your content, and on the other platforms, and no one likes it, no one engages with it, then you are going to look very unpopular, which damages your credibility.
11:30 that is not what we're looking for. That's the opposite. Equally, if you share your content all over these different social media platforms, that's somewhere where you then have to go and manage those social media, uhm, content, right?
11:45 So if somebody comments on something, for instance, it is your job to then make them go and engage with those people.
11:52 Now, if you are sharing your content all over the place, that's a lot of places for you to manage content.
11:58 To get around this, you can have a pinned post to the top of whatever platform it is. It's saying, listen, I share content here, but I never engage here.
12:10 if you ever want to get in touch with me, head over to website or whatever, or I'm more active on LinkedIn or YouTube or whatever.
12:18 But personally, again, I mean, for me, I would say just concentrate on one platform. If it's LinkedIn, great. Concentrate on that.
12:29 The next thing to consider is about how long you're actually going to spend recording your content, right? Because this can take so long if you let it, you know?
12:39 You're going to end up creating lots and lots of retakes. Now, mistakes are human, so if you're doing a few ums, a few ahs, etc, etc.
12:49 It's not great, but AI can take care of a lot of that and it can remove all that for you.
12:55 What I would suggest in terms of recording the content, the best thing that you might want to consider is saying to ChatGPT, hey, I want to create content around this topic.
13:06 These are the points that I want to discuss. Anything else that you could suggest? What would you suggest that I create?
13:12 What would you suggest that use? That I talk about? Please give me a list now. It will give you some bullet points.
13:18 Then you can then go and record that content using those bullet points. What you can do after that is take the transcript, throw it back at ChatGPT, this is something I do, and say, review this.
13:30 Is this content good enough, or should I rerecord with some points? Then LinkedIn, uh, LinkedIn, then ChatGPT will tell you whether or not that content was good enough, whether or not you need to rerecord it.
13:44 A lot of the times it will be good enough. If you need to rerecord it, then you've got an idea from ChatGPT what it is that you need to include, what it is that you need to skip out.
13:53 So that means that you don't need to do endless retakes. You just need to do a few bits of tweaking here and there.
14:00 One of the apps that you might want to consider using is something called CapCut, because this can make things really simple for you when it comes to editing.
14:08 Personally, I don't use that. I use Loom. Same, same, but a bit different. But Loom, for me, you know, I can record on my phone, I can upload it into Loom, and then make in all the- and then- make all the changes.
14:19 Alternatively, I can just record straight from my laptop using Loom, and then make the edits in When it comes to actually- recording the content, some people feel overwhelmed.
14:31 The simple solution that I've got for you is to imagine that you are speaking to one person. Imagine that person in your mind, whoever it is, your favorite client.
14:41 Imagine that you are talking to them, and talk to them as if they are in the room, and they're on the other side of the camera.
14:48 And that way, you'll come across natural, you'll come across friendly, because you will have that person in mind, you will talk to them as if they're writing from key point that I want you to take away is that content that's real, you know, and has a few mistakes here and there, that's always going to
15:03 beat content that's been retaken 12, 13, 14 times, and then never get to work, create that content, do your best, and honestly, the perfection will come with time.
15:17 The first few times that you do your videos, they might be a little bit ropey, but guess what? Where, you start?
15:22 is not where you end up. So, when you're creating your content and it doesn't feel awesome, post it anyway, get better over time.
15:30 No one's going to be judging you as much as you think they're going to be.
15:34 when it comes to actually recording your content, you won't be surprised to hear me say that you need to schedule some time in your diary.
15:41 If you've heard me on any podcast before, you'll know I talk about this, how it's so important to getting things out there.
15:48 Because if you say that you'll do it sometime, or at some point, then there's no definite plan there. There's no commitment.
15:56 And what will happen is, more than likely, you won't end up doing it. If instead, you schedule some time, let's say for an example, the world.
16:04 An hour on a, I don't know, let's say Monday afternoon. An hour when you know you're going to create your video content for the week, or for the next two weeks.
16:14 Whatever it is, because that time is in your diary, that means, you know, you're, you've scheduled some time for it.
16:20 And that means that you should turn up and create your content. It's way more likely that effectively, it's way more likely to happen that you are going to create your content, if you schedule when it's going to happen.
16:33 And especially if it's in every Monday at the exact same time, you know that you have an appointment called camera time, or whatever it is that you want to call it, where you are going to turn up and create the content to drive your business forward and get you leads, clients, sales, and The more that
16:51 you treat this appointment like a doctor's appointment, the more likely you are
17:04 And that's it. That's today's show. That's everything that you need to know about the tech and the setup to get yourself creative.
17:11 And we're the content to publicise your HR consultancy. to remind ourselves, here's what we've talked about. We've talked about the fact that your phone is more than likely good enough for you to be able to create content that's going to publicise and market.
17:25 Your HR consultancy so that you get more leads, clients, sales and profits. We've talked about the fact that you should be filming in front of a natural light, in a quiet room, where no one's going to be disturbing you and there's not any of that background noise affecting things.
17:39 We've talked about making sure that your eyelids are level with the camera. We've talked about filming in a horizontal style.
17:47 We've talked about using ChatGPT to help you create the content, but also to review the content that you've created and make sure that it's as good as it could possibly be, and whether or not you need to retake it.
17:59 then we finally, we've talked about scheduling time in your diary to make sure that you actually create the content that you need.
18:08 I go, I've talked about the fact in the last few episodes that I'll be embarking on my own video, 14-day video challenge.
18:15 I'll soon be sharing some information with you about how you can do your own 14-day video challenge. So stay tuned for that.
18:23 But in the meantime, as ever, thank you for taking the time to listen to this. And of course, get marketing, because without marketing, there's no sales.
18:31 And without sales, there's no business. So get marketing.