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Filmmaking
7 things that make your videos look cheap
It's not your camera. Seven common mistakes that make footage look amateur, and every one of them is free to fix.
It's not your camera
I see expensive cameras make cheap-looking footage all the time. The difference between amateur and premium is usually habits, not gear. The good news is every fix here costs nothing.
The seven
Shaky walking shots. Auto white balance shifting mid-shot. Blown-out windows. On-camera audio. Overhead lighting. Shutter speed too fast, which makes motion look jittery. And one angle with no B-roll, which makes every edit feel flat.
The free fixes
Walk heel to toe or stay still. Lock white balance. Expose for the window or close the blinds. Use any external mic. Turn the overheads off and face a window. Keep shutter at double your frame rate. Shoot at least three angles and five detail shots.
Which ones matter most
If you only fix two, fix lighting and audio. Overhead lights put shadows under eyes and make skin look tired. On-camera audio sounds distant and echoey. Fix those two and your footage jumps a level overnight.
Why B-roll changes everything
A single locked-off angle forces you to show every stumble. B-roll lets you cut away, hide jump cuts and add texture. Hands, products, the space, people moving. Five detail shots per scene is my minimum.
Make it a checklist
Before you press record: overheads off, white balance locked, mic on, shutter at double frame rate, window exposed properly. Run that checklist on every shoot and cheap-looking footage becomes the exception, not the rule.
