After a stressful day from work one of the activities Nigerian engage in to relief themselves of stress is to visit a bar and drink to stupor or to watch comedy video.
Overtime the later have proved to be better since it is less costly and does not bring shame.
The purpose of this article is to show you how to start comedy video in Nigeria
Comedy video started thriving 4 years ago, before it was standup comedy that will all look forward to but it is expensive such that everybody cannot afford it but thanks to twitter, YouTube and Facebook people can now access to comedy video wherever they are and it is also a win to the comedy producer because they can now reach a lot of people therefore making a lot of money.
Comedy video skit does not only rely on talent or ability to make people laugh, you need to know how to set it up and strategy to have a lot of viewer which is the exact purpose of this article; to show you step by step guide of starting YouTube video; what you need to start it; cost of starting it; it profitability and how to market your video.
Before we go into it I will like to change your mind set about comedy skit; comedy skit is beyond skill or talent, it is a business and if you treat it as such you will make a lot of money from it.
Equipment needed to start comedy video in Nigeria
Below are what you will need to start comedy video skit in Nigeria
1) Character
This is the person that will be doing the comedy; the character you will portray in your comedy video.
According to our research we find out that comedy that is center on African character go viral and stand the test of time. Africa character like African parents, African mother, African girlfriend, African friend etc. whatever character you want to portray make sure you can play it or find someone who can.
Also instead of hiring people to play different characters, one person or you yourself can play it; you can become a father and also a son or mother, as long as there is costume and video editor.
2) Script
Script is the blood of comedy, if you are not good with comedy script writing finds someone who does. Your script should be short, funny and contain dialogue with no vein repetition. To get inspiration you can watch video of top comedian in your niche.
Read more: How to stat nylon Business in Nigeria
3) Costume
Costume will make you become whatever you want to. Your costume should befit every character role.
Do not wear a father costume for mothers character nobody will find it appealing. Most comedy video producer or actors do not change their costume it is like a uniform to them, but you can change this; have different costume for your characters.
4) Setting
This is where and when your video will be shot. It should complement your comedy story and it should be where your audience can relate with.
Timing is one of the thing comedy producer are getting wrong in Nigeria, you can come in and set another pace, time your comedy to when it is appropriate, for instance you can’t shoot a video about NEPA in the evening it is bad no NEPA go out at that time, though you might think it is funny video where everything goes, viewers want something real as much as possible while still funny, that is why people prefer Jackie Chan to Jet Li.
Equipment you will need are
1) Video camera
You can’t do anything without video camera so you need buy it. For a start you can buy camera of #150,000, you can later upgrade when you become big or you can rent it since it is not every day you will be shooting video but I tell you the rentage fee is also costly.
2) Microphone
Microphone is not important; it will only make your character voice clearer. If you will use microphone buy mobile one that won’t show when acting.
3)Tripod
Tripod is where you will place your video camera, it is important therefore you need to buy it.
How to start comedy video skit and script in Nigeria
1) Choose your niche
Comedy video production is broad; you need to choose a niche that goes well with your goal.
The secret of choosing niche is to center it on what you like and that can make people laugh. Some of the niches in comedy video production are
- Cartoon/animation comedy
- Christian related comedy video
- Politics comedy video (Do not cross your limit in this niche)
- Parents’ comedy video
- Mimicking comedy video
Search for top artist in one of this niche and follow them. Do not copy their video or style instead let their video give you inspiration that will make you create your own style.
2) Buy equipment
Equipment you need are written above, buy or rent them and set them up.
3) Shoot your video
You will need at least one person to handle video camera if you want to act all the characters, but if not get your characters (people) ready and start to shoot your video. Utilize all the point listed above in what you need section.
Your video should be clean and free of noise and this will take us to the next step
4) Editing your video
You will need to download video editing software that will cut and join your video together.
Remember I stated above that you can act all the character in your video this is made possible by editing software. It is this software that will help you cut and join your video together which will make it look like there is many character.
There a lot of free editing software like Filmmora out there find them or you can buy editing software with more functions.
5) Marketing
You can’t just make a video and expect people to watch it. You need to build viewers and follower from scratch and fortunately you can do this on social media with no fee but you will work.
Below is the advertisement medium you can use to market your video.
Facebook
There a lot of people on Facebook and also there is chance that you will have many people on your friend list; this are the people that will be your first viewer.
Whenever you make a video post it there and if it is funny people will surely share it to their friends therefore making your video go viral
Less I forget
Marketing is all about good product and good advertisement medium. You need to make funny video for you to go big. If your video is not funny or have good quality but have a good ad campaign it will result to less viewer, so create a quality video that can go viral.
Twitter
Twitter is another social media that can take your video to another level. To make your video go viral on twitter make use of hash tag and write short description of the video.
Tictok
You can also use Tictok to advertise your video, but you need to reduce the length such that you only post the funniest part and put the link that will direct them to the lengthy video or to your YouTube channel.
YouTube
YouTube is the first place you will post your comedy video, I list it as third because YouTube is like a platform where you will lead your follower to, all the other social media will not pay you anything, so you need to lead them to your YouTube channel.
YouTube can also serve as a marketing channel provided that you embrace SEO.
To do that let your video topic/title have a keyword that people are searching for on google such as cartoon comedy video, Girlfriend comedy video and others.
WhatsApp
You can use this medium too if you have a lot of loyal people on your contact list. Loyal friends will download your video and share it to their friends therefore making your video go viral.
Instagram
Instagram is like Facebook and YouTube combine, you can post thumbnail (pictures) of your comedy as well as video. Not only that people will get to know you, follow you and relate with your brand.
You can drop an update about your next video shoot which will make people anticipate it therefore making it go viral even before posting it.
How to make money with comedy video in Nigeria
1) YouTube
YouTube is the first place to monetize your video, once you have 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hour, you can submit it to YouTube for monetization. It is one of the easy ways to monetize your video.
2) Promotion
Another way to monetize your comedy video is to promote other people business, in fact once your video start going viral people will start coming to you for promotion.
3) Affiliate marketing
This is not common. Affiliate marketing is all about selling others people product while receiving a commission. I will not advice this because it might take your focus away from making video.
4) Shutout
Another way to make money from your comedy video is to sell shutout. As your videos go viral people will start coming to you to help announce their relation’s birthdays or any greetings.
Conclusion
This article contain information you need to start your short comedy video, if you do not act on it, you have just waste your time reading it.
It is time for you to move away from wantrepreneur and move to startuppreneur.
Thanks for reading
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