Blog #18 Making a TikTok
I’ve been big into making short form vertical content recently. It’s been interesting for me to get to know more about this type of content because I’ve shied away from it for a long time, thanks to my purist roots. Surprisingly, I’ve enjoyed making this kind of content and looking at video in a completely different way: 9 by 16 aspect ratio.
I’m going to share a few tips on making a Tiktok and things I’ve learned from making a few. It’s a unique style of content creation and worlds away from the traditional world of filmmaking.
Tip: Film in an aspect ratio other than 16 by 9.
Like most people, I film in traditional 16 by 9, because it’s been that way forever. But, on Tiktok and other similar platforms, you produce in 9 by 16. This leaves tons of information in your shot left out in the cold because you can’t fit it all in the frame without leaving black bars on the top and bottom of your clip. To combat this, I have started utilising the 3 by 2 aspect ratio on my camera’s settings. This means I lose far less of the information in my shots and I often don’t have to reframe my image at all in post-production.
Tip: Make the first few seconds count.
If there’s one thing I learned from looking at the analytics in my account, it’s that most people swipe off my videos in the first few seconds. The average watch time on my videos is between 2 and 9 seconds and my videos are generally 1 to 2 minutes long. The lesson I’ve learned from this is not to wait, put the money shots up front to entice the viewer so you grab their attention and then get into the nitty-gritty.
Tip: Share your experience.
I created a video about my “Favourite free software for filmmakers“. It was one of the easier videos to make because I just shared a list of my favourite free software to use and my experience using each of them. The video is my best performing video, in terms of likes, even though I feel I have “better“ videos. What people resonated with in the video was that I had experience trying out the different software and could tell them what to expect from them, having already gone through the trial and error myself. This resonated with people because not only were they free, but I also said that were suitable for professional use, which created a value for them.
Tip: Tell a story.
Even though your video may only be 30 seconds long, you should still tell a story: with a beginning, middle and end. Instead of creating a video on your love for apples, why not make the video into a story like:
1.Apples are great 2. but they’re not sold as much these days in the shops 3. so, I grew my own.
This is more interesting than a video on simply growing your own apples.
Tip: Check your analytics!
Your audience may not be from where you think! For example, I have more viewers in Germany than I do in Ireland, according to my analytics. My top country is “UK“ by far. So, me catering to just Ireland might not do well because I also have a lot of viewers from Poland and the Netherlands, who may not be familiar with the culture here. It’s up to you to decide how to best make your TikToks but I was surprised to learn at just where people are watching from.
Tiktok logo
Those are a few tips I wanted to share with you today. It’s been an interesting experiment diving into Tiktok and a new form of content: vertical video. I’m still learning about the platform and the unique traits of it. I hope to share more on the blog in the future, when I have more experience.
Thanks for reading and if you’ve any comments, let me know down below.
Good luck out there.
-D.C.