Chamber Creative Collection: Video and CapCut How To's

Welcome back to the third Chamber Creative Collective, our blog series packed with practical marketing and promotional tips for local businesses! Our goal is to give you simple, easy-to-implement ideas that help you feel more confident creating content, posting on social media and promoting your business.

This edition is all about video production, specifically using CapCut for editing.

We know creating video content can feel overwhelming, and as a busy business owner, it can seem like just another thing to add to your never-ending to-do list. We hope this blog shows you that creating engaging videos doesn't have to be complicated. With a few simple techniques and the right tools, you'll be creating content in no time.

We'll be honest. Reels and videos usually take more time than creating a static social media post. But in many cases, that extra effort is worth it. Video content typically receives more engagement, reaches a larger audience and allows you to share more information in a fun, dynamic way. Plus, platforms like Instagram and Facebook continue to prioritize video content in their algorithms.

We're breaking this blog into two sections:

• Video Production: Planning, filming and the equipment we use.
• CapCut Editing: Turning those clips into a polished, social media-ready video.

Video Production: Equipment

When it comes to filming, we keep it simple.

Most of our videos are shot entirely on our phones. Just like our advice for product photography, our biggest recommendation is to use the equipment you already have. Filming on your phone is quick, convenient and saves you the extra step of transferring footage from a camera to your computer before you can even start editing.

The only additional equipment we occasionally use includes:

• A full-size tripod for interviews or anyone speaking directly to the camera.
• A handheld tripod or grip for smoother moving shots.

You don't need expensive gear to create great content.

Video Production: Getting the Shot

Over time, you'll naturally develop your own filming style, but here are a few techniques we use regularly.

Food & Drink

Food always looks best with movement.

Try a slow pan from side to side (good lighting makes all the difference), or start with an overhead shot and slowly move closer to the item. If you're filming a drink, capture the action by recording the ice, milk or espresso being poured into the cup.

These little details make your videos much more engaging.

Events

When we created our Taste of Georgian Bay reel, we focused less on wide shots and more on the experience.

We captured:

• Business owners interacting with visitors.
• Close-ups of products.
• Conversations between vendors and customers.
• People laughing, smiling and exploring.
• Visitors approaching each Pop-Up.

We mixed stationary shots with movement by slowly panning the camera or walking while filming to create energy.

Your goal is to make viewers feel like they missed out just enough that they won't want to miss the next event.

Office Content

Don't overlook your everyday workplace.

Keep an eye out for social media trends that fit your team and your brand. One example is the popular "We listen and we don't judge" trend, where employees share funny workplace habits or harmless confessions.

These videos are incredibly easy to create because all you need is someone holding the camera (or a tripod) and one stationary shot.

Keep Your Clips Short

When filming, we recommend recording lots of clips but keeping each one only a couple of seconds long.

If you're filming someone speaking to the camera, these short clips become your B-roll, helping keep the video visually interesting while they talk.

Most of our finished videos are between 30 seconds and one minute, with the occasional longer video reaching about 90 seconds.

Shorter videos:

• Hold viewers' attention longer.
• Encourage you to only include your strongest clips.
• Make editing much easier.

We usually record far more footage than we actually use, which gives us plenty of options during editing.

Filming Someone Speaking?

Give them a countdown before they begin.

When you get to "1," ask them to pause for a second before they start talking. That small gap makes editing much easier because it gives you clean space to cut from your voice to theirs without the transition feeling abrupt.

Editing with CapCut

CapCut has become one of the most popular mobile editing apps for good reason. It's user-friendly, packed with features and makes creating polished videos much easier.

We use CapCut Pro, which costs approximately $25 per month. While the free version is still very capable, Pro gives us access to additional editing tools, templates and creative features that we use regularly.

Using CapCut Templates

For many of our videos, we start with one of CapCut's templates.

For example, when creating our 2026 Butter Tart Festival reel, we knew we'd have a lot of footage. Our first step was finding a template that supported a longer runtime and allowed enough clips.

Once we narrowed those down, we looked for one that already had transitions, fonts and an overall style we liked.

While most templates can be customized through the "Edit More" option, we usually spend a few extra minutes finding one that's already close to what we want. It saves time later.

Below, you'll see where to find:

• Video length
• Clip allowance
• The "Edit More" option

One of our favourite CapCut features is the ability to like and favourite templates.

Even if a template isn't right for your current project, save it! Over time you'll build your own library of templates for different moods, video lengths and styles, making future editing much faster.

Editing from Scratch

Templates aren't the only option.

Sometimes we want complete creative control, so we start from scratch.

Simply open CapCut, tap "New Video," and import your clips.

From there, you can:

• Choose your own transitions.
• Add text and fonts.
• Apply filters.
• Adjust timing.
• Build the video exactly the way you envision it.

AutoCut

If you're not sure where to begin, try AutoCut.

Simply select the clips you want to use and CapCut automatically creates a video by choosing the best moments, adding music, transitions, text and filters.

If the first version isn't quite your style, CapCut will generate several alternatives. You can then choose your favourite and continue editing it to make it your own.

It's a fantastic tool when you're short on time or simply looking for inspiration.

Final Thoughts

These are just a few of the tools and techniques we use every day, but CapCut has plenty more to explore.

Our biggest piece of advice?

Just start creating.

Don't wait until everything feels perfect. The more videos you make, the more confident you'll become. Looking back, the videos we create today are completely different from the ones we made just a few years ago. Like anything else, it gets easier with practice.

Most importantly, have fun with it. Social media is meant to be engaging, creative and authentic, and your audience wants to see the people behind your business.

Happy creating!