When I was in the Navy’s photo school many many years ago (think sailing ships! [(-D]) we had a few days on shooting movie film. Not much, just the basics and how to develop it. I had forgotten a lot of this but recently I came across the website “Desktop Video Guide.com” that reminded me of those lessons. Here are a few things to keep in mind to make a video more interesting…
Avoid Zooming In and Out Too Much
Many digital camcorders come with a super duper 1000X zoom in and zoom out feature. This is a good thing, but the problem is, many people get carried away. I’ve seen countless videos which keep zooming in and out during the shoot - they generally succeed in giving me a bad headache. Use the zoom in and out feature sparingly. Even if you must use it, do it slowly. A slow, well-controlled zoom is much more professional looking than a quick zoom. Another tip is to restrict the usage of the zoom in between scenes.
Steady Does It
The professionals always say “Keep It Steady”. There is no doubt that when we’re shooting videos, our hands tend to vibrate a little. If the vibration is too much, it will badly affect the quality of the video footage. There are two ways to overcome this. One way is to do it like the professionals - get a good tripod stand. These can be obtained rather cheaply. Another way is to brace yourself against something like a wall, or perhaps stoop down on your knee while filming.
Where Are You?
One tip that I’ve picked up while shooting family vacations is to always, always look for a landmark, a sign or natural monument that tells the audience where you are. Do you notice the professionals do this as well? For example, in the movies, you may see the camera zooming in on the Statue of Liberty first, before cutting to a scene that happens within. Or there is a shot of the White House before the director cuts into a scene within the Oval Room. Another tip is to make the people you’re film
Good tips, Jarrell for avoiding “The Blair Model Railroad Project”! And I too have been guilty of them. I have not done much with model RR videos but way back with family video and film going back to 8mm movies when in high school. But I can add a couple more…
Panning (turning the camera left or right): It works when following an object, like a locomotive as it goes down the track but when there’s nothing there it can get boring. I think a short pan is OK, but the long loving pan over a large area is a bit much. (“Here is my 20 foot staging yard, slowly from one end to the other…”). And, like the high speed zoom, a pan done too quickly will also cause headaches.
Keep the the camera level. A tripod helps here too. Nothing like watching the heavy freight climb the 15% grade next to the Leaning Tower of Grain Elevator.
Thanks for the great tips on improving one’s videoography. I couldn’t agree more about the zooming and panning.
A few years ago a MRRing friend of mine went to an open house of a fair-sized layout and videotaped the entire thing by following it trackside (with the camera pointed perpendicular to the track) from beginning to end. Although I was curious to see the layout, my friend pretty much violated every zooming and panning rule you could name; to the point of making me (and probably everyone else in the room) literally nauseated just watching it. It probably took me a good 5 - 10 minutes before my head and stomach settled down again. [+o(]
Boring material I can handle. Dizzy and nauseating techniques I can’t. So, yes - please! - zoom and pan s-s-s-l-l-l-o-o-o-o-o-owly. Your audience will greatly appreciate it. [Y][:D]
Excellent advice. Well worth reading twice. I’ve had a movie camera ever since my first 8 mm camera around 1965 or 1966. Because the rolls of film were very short I quickly learned to keep my shots short and to the point.
I’d like to offer a few hints of my own.
My current video camera pops up a 10 second countdown in the viewfinder whenever the recording starts. It counts from 1 to 10 seconds then disappears. I use that to time my shots. It tells me two things: 10 seconds is long enough for a fixed shot. Time to change the perspective. Also, if the scene has a lot of information in it, 10 seconds is the minimum it would take the viewer to absorb it all.
Using a tripod is a good idea, but it’s impractical for spontaneous shots. If you’re setting up trackside to record the next train that comes along, you’ve got the time to set up the tripod and preview your shots. If you’re driving along and spot a train coming up beside you, you barely have time to stop the car and grab the camera. Oh, BTW, if you’re using the car to support the camera or your arms, turn off the engine first. Cars vibrate. There are alternatives to a tripod. One of these is the monopod. It’s a single leg that you can leave attached to the bottom of your camera in the collapsed position and quickly extend it to the ground for additional support. Another version rests in a socket on a belt around your waist. All else failing, as the OP pointed out, brace yourself against a tree or a pole or the side of a building. If you can’t lean against something, at least spread your feet about 18" apart–it’s more stable than having your feet together.
It bugs me when I see people taking snapshots or videos and holding the camera at arm’s length so they can see the LCD screen. I’m sure they take decent pictures, but it looks so unstable to me. A camera should have three points of support–a hand on ea
Excellent points one and all, and very timely advice given the increase of posted videos here lately. I will certainly be sure to assimilate those into my next video. Now I just need to find a video recorder that doesn’t also make and receive phone calls… [B)]
All good points. Anyone remember the TV show “Extreme Trains” that was on a couple of years ago? That show had the most atrocious camera work I’d ever seen. The camera man could not resist zooming, panning, cutting from one camera to another and just gereral jumping around. Just as my eye started to take in the train, the camera would jump to a new location.
That seems to be the “norm” as far as how they shoot shows anymore. Just watch something on prime time and the camera doesn’t stay still longer than a second. Even if the shot is tight, the camera will “drift” around and between the focal point or points. Personally, I find this a VERY annoying technique. [banghead]
I took an audio visual production course many years ago and learned much of this. In my case, all I have for a tool is a four-year-old Canon point-and-shoot with movie mode. It has no controlling features except a live mike and the lens and aperture set to the instant you half-depressed the trigger button. No image stab, and as an operator in the middle of a track system going around me, it is very awkward. I need a weighted gimballed mount to help keep the camera steady. So, I have to try for run-pasts with the camera resting on something.
Videos shot trackside or during a open house may not always be under ideal conditions-no tripod,rough ground,hillside,background noise including talking etc and unlike Hollywood we don’t have the equipment to shot professional videos under those conditions.We need to understand where the photographer was at and his surroundings-even inside a club room may be less then ideal poor lighting,unable to setup for a proper shoot and is usually done under “grab and shoot” conditions.
When I view a video I take in a lot of considerations to include the camera.While many buys a $1500 video rig and professional light sets thousands of us uses a $200-250.00 rig and do the best we can under less then ideal conditions.
The best tip is(and the one I use) when in doubt don’t shoot.
Now,when you do shoot do your best ,edit the best you can and when you post your video never forget you’re not going to please everybody-even the professionals can’t do that.