While I was filming my new Instagram Reels Mini Course (join us HERE), I created 20 Reels in just one hour… yes, just one hour! Doing that made me realize that I haven’t shared some tips with you here about how to film Reels fast! So today, I’m sharing about how to actually film your Instagram Reels quickly so that you can get a ton done at once and have content for weeks at a time, without being stuck on your phone for hours. These tips will help you optimize your filming days so you can create a month’s worth of Reels in just one hour!

Batch film Instagram Reels.

This might seem pretty basic but hear me out! Batch work is the idea of doing a lot of something at once, in one sitting so that you can maximize your time. So, when we say “batch film” for Instagram Reels, all I mean is that if I’m going to go through the process of getting set up, doing my hair and makeup, cleaning up my office… I’m going to sit and film as many Reels as I possibly can in one sitting so I don’t have to do all of that again and again in order to have content for weeks on end. I find that if I batch film Instagram Reels once a month, it seems to work well for me. When the days come to post Reels on my account, it’s so easy because I already have a ton recorded. 

I want to be clear: I’m ONLY filming the video during these sessions. I don’t add text, captions, or anything like that during this filming window. Honestly, I don’t even know what the caption will be half the time when I’m filming them. Typically it takes me 1.5-2 hours to film 15-20 Reels. This means I have about a month’s worth of content because I usually post 4 Reels a week. 

Come up with ideas ahead of time. 

Knowing the ideas you want to use ahead of time makes your life SO much easier. There’s nothing worse than getting completely ready to go and then realizing you have no ideas for the Reels you want to create. If you need some ideas to get started, make sure you grab my 10 Free Instagram Reels ideas here! I probably spend 30 minutes to an hour coming up with a month’s worth of ideas. But, if I’m just on the Instagram app looking around or consuming content, I make a point to save the audio or the Reel I found that provided inspiration. This makes it super easy to pull the ideas and audio when it’s time to film! 

I also want to note that if there’s a Reel idea that I saw or plan to make but it doesn’t require me to be ON camera, I won’t create the whole thing during filming. I’ll only do what requires me to be on film – the rest will come together when I sit down when I go to edit the Reels. Remember, focus on what you can do in bulk at once. Take advantage of that time you’ve spent preparing and use it to the max! 

Prepare for your batch filming days effectively.

Besides just coming up with ideas, there’s a few things you can do to make things easier when you plan a batch filming day. Taking care of these prep items will make sure you can knock out all of your filming! Before I even do my hair and makeup, I will get my filming area setup. That means I’m going to tidy up, setup my tripod and ring light, open the windows, and gather all of my outfits (and props!) so they’re together. Remember, you probably want to mix up your outfits so that you aren’t wearing the same thing in every Reel. I’m okay with a few in the same outfits… but not all of them! 

You also want to eliminate distractions! A great tip is to put your phone on airplane mode! You won’t be tempted to go through a bunch of stuff or get a text/call while you’re filming. Just make it easy for yourself to be in a good zone for filming. 

I hope these quick tips were helpful so that you can plan ahead and create more Reels! If you want extra help when it comes to Instagram Reels, make sure to check out my NEW course all about Instagram Reels. We dive into how to create, plan, analyze, and use Reels to grow your brand and business online. It’s a great option for all types of business owners – no matter your niche. I hope you’ll join us!