Tip #3860 - Basic Video Shooting Tips Printer Friendly Version | E-Mail This Tip
Basic
Video Shooting Tips
It’s a much
loved pastime now. You know, picking up a video camera and shooting some
footage albeit family videos or even an attempt at a movie script. The
short movie industry has seen a proliferation of movies from kindred enthusiasts,
as well as, them being hosted on sites like YouTube and Atom Films.
Whether it’s
a family shoot, a college project or a short fictional movie, anyone can
learn some very basic techniques to ensure a smoothly shot piece of video.
Once you've shot your video, you'll probably want to put it on the Web,
but I’ll tackle that in another article. For today, my intention
is to show you how to keep your video recording sharp. If the video is
to be hosted online, some fine tuning during shooting is required. A little
attention will ensure sharp detail and a great video clip for showing
to friends, family or unsuspecting producers. Here we go!
- Use a storyboard
to plan the shots if it is a short fiction or non-fiction movie intended
to promote your skills. There's no need to be Picasso!
- Absorb the surrounds
initially by looking at the scene. If you need to pan suddenly, it causes
blurry footage to be recorded. Where are the subjects being filmed?
Is anything blocking the angle? Are you panning in front of a lamp post
or a brick wall?
- Avoid panning
and zooming too much if the video is to be hosted online at YouTube,
for example. The resulting video will carry some distortion even on
faster broadband connections.
- Use pans and zooms
to introduce the filmed subjects, such as each family member or parts
of a location. Avoid using them for dramatic effects.
- Be aware of latency
if you plan to host the video on the Web. Latency is the slow connection
time due to data hitting a busy network while traveling from the server
(where the video sits) to the PC. Motion blur will be very noticeable
during this period.
- Use lighting when
shooting indoors. Don’t worry, you do not need to bug the home
owner for any lighting equipment as you already have it in your home.
A three minute movie I shot a few years ago looked very gloomy before
I made the necessary lighting adjustments. This is extremely important
when filming indoors. Use ceiling lamps (100 watts if possible) to shed
some soft lighting on the room and head lamps to fill in light (in the
same way as a camera flash) during the filming.
- Avoid shooting
against direct sunlight. Also, your footage will look burnt out if the
background is white or if there is direct sunlight behind you when filming.
The image recorded may also look smeared, so take notice of that.
- If you are shooting
a short fictional movie, avoid cluttering the background against your
main character. This advice fairs well for family shoots too, particularly
if you are standing at a distance or you are in a very busy restaurant,
for example.
- Try to focus on
the main subject, such as the married couple or birthday boy as much
as possible. Don’t be concerned with depth of field (objects that
are in focus between the camera lens and most distant objects). Just
ensure the main subject is crisp. Badly focused shots will look terrible
across a broadband connection.
- Use a tripod if
camera shake is inevitable and the subjects being filmed are stationary.
If you are mobile (walking around an exotic location, for instance),
press the camera firmly against your shoulder.
Now, preparing video
for the Web requires compression and as I said earlier, I will cover that
in another article. For this article, I hope I have helped to offer up
some useful tips on shooting video for the Web. Filming invites great
enjoyment and even more of a buzz when you can showcase the movie to friends
and family over the Internet. Most importantly, have fun with it!
~ Stephen Davies
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