6 video background mistakes to avoid

If you’re creating your own videos, whether you’re filming indoors or out, you need to minimise the number of distractions on the screen so your viewers concentrate on you and what you’re doing or saying. You also need to make sure that your background is appropriate for you and your brand values so anyone watching with the sound off can easily determine whether they’re interested in your topic. That’s particularly important now as videos on Facebook start playing automatically with the sound off as you scroll through your newsfeed. But it’s easy to get it wrong, so here are my tips on common video background mistakes to avoid.

6 video background mistakes

1. Using colours or styles that don’t fit in with your brand –  I saw a video by a high-end lettings agent a while back. What he had to say seemed to be really sound advice for letting your expensive property but he’d filmed it in front of a wall covered in woodchip paper painted magnolia, which didn’t visually say “high end” to me at all! He’d have been better off getting permission from one of his landlords to film in one of their beautifully decorated properties. So think carefully about whether the background conveys a message that fits your brand values and what you do and whether it will appeal to your ideal client.  E.g. Internet marketing expert, Marie Forleo currently uses a loft studio style set that will appeal to her target market of creative women wanting to make a better life.
2. Having a background that’s too busy –  Less is more. A completely plain background is not visually interesting, but with lots of items visible, your audience will be trying to work out what everything is instead of listening to what you’re saying.  Use props that are relevant and attractive to your target audience but don’t get carried away with too many.
3. Having text visible – Lots of people use their popup banners as a backdrop. It’s a simple way of getting your visual branding and contact details on screen but if you’ve got a lot of text on your banner, your viewers are going to be tempted to read that rather than pay attention to you, particularly if not all of it is visible as viewers will be trying to solve the puzzle of what the rest of it says. Certificates on the wall behind you can be just as bad. Watch out for text on white boards, computer screens or paperwork on desks that may visible. As well as being distracting, you don’t want to give away confidential information about clients, potential clients or passwords!
4. Having other faces visible –  We’re naturally drawn to faces so the only face on the screen should be yours or the person you’re interviewing.  If your service or products are about people, and you’ve got images on the wall behind you, try to use ones that show details and not faces.  If you’re filming outdoors, avoid locations with other people close by in the background.
5. Things growing out of your head –  Plants, coat stands, etc can all be quite distracting if they’re immediately behind you.
6. Movement in the background – Our brains are wired to immediately pay attention to anything moving in the background because, back in cavemen days, it could be something about to kill you. So avoid anything moving. For example, I watched an interview ages ago which was really informative but I ended up listening to it with the visuals minimised in the background because one of the participants had hung his jacket up on the curtain rail behind him. The gentle way it moved in the breeze from the window was so mesmerising I wasn’t listening to what they were saying.  If you’re filming outside, movement is harder to avoid but do your best to minimise the amount of moving things in shot.

How to check your background

As we often filter out things that we see that we’re familiar with, the best way to check all these is to make a quick test video and watch it back on screen. Getting someone else to watch it back is even better as they may spot distractions that you hadn’t noticed.

Once you’ve got a background that works, take a quick photo of your setup so you can refer back to it for next time you want to record a video.

I cover this and a lot more on my “Video marketing with your phone” course. Find out more here.

And if you’ve got any stories to share or questions about what would work for your videos, do leave a comment below.