A few weeks ago I was in Bogota, Colombia, shooting cell phone videos of the 3’ gauge steam tourist train near the Usaquin station and was bit by the video bug. Long story short, last week I bought a Canon Vixia HF G20 and am looking for advice on taking RR videos. I’ve been to rail-videos.net which was helpful but I can’t find any articles in the Trains DVD or at this site… Any suggestions? I hope to acquire enough skills to return next year to more properly record the operations.
As an aside, hearing a 1947 Baldwin slip the drivers starting a 14 car train with 600 passengers in a urban setting stirs the soul!
As with all photography, it depends on what you are seeking to portray. If you are seeking “artsy” then one set of suggestions will work, but if you are seeking a more realistic display then “soft focus” and silhouette back lighting are out of place.
I do, however have a few complaints about 90% of the RR videography around these days on the web…
When recording a train passing a location, “Pan” with the engine not the blank side of the tender or any trailing cars! Aim at the valve gear on a steam engine or the trucks (or cab) of a Diseasal.
EDIT your videos to REMOVE all useless portions. If you start your camera 2 minutes before the train gets there and let it run for 2 minutes after it is long gone, then DELETE those parts BEFORE you unleash it on the masses via YouTube! If you have to reposition the camera on a dead run, delete the part where the scene is just a wild blur while you are running. i.e.: If a train is not visible, delete that part of the video. The only time that there might be a need to show video that has no train in it, is if it is whistling in the distance and the sound is VERY well recorded.
DO NOT ADD MUSIC to the video… Steam Engines sound best acappella. Even a Dismal sounds better without accompaniment.
Edit out all the sounds of the idiot bystander cussin’ and using the Lord’s name in vain. It really detracts from the enjoyment of the video to hear someone describing their feelings about the train using foul language, regardless of whether their feelings are pro or con.
Oh… and don’t rely on a fear stricken bystander to yank you off the tracks to keep you from being turned into “Soylent Green”! (like in that recent video of the Big Boy move.) STAY OFF THE TRACKS! DON’T TRESPASS!
Pick your location wisely. Don’t get right by the tracks unless you can
As SV points out, use the telephoto/zoom that’s built into the camera. If it’s optical, you’ll lose nothing in the way of resolution.
Using the zoom means you can stand back from the tracks. In most situations, there’s room. Doing so will mean that you’ll have the capability to zoom out and get the side of the locomotive, not an unintelligible blur. Sometimes that’s not possible, but unless you’re shooting in a very restricted space, or at a railfan event with hundreds of others trying to do the same, you’ll be better off for it.
If you want trackside sound, invest in a wireless mic system. Again, unless you’re shooting in a crowd situation, this shouldn’t be a problem. Invest in a second tripod for the mic (or some sort of stand). You’ll be able to adjust the sound volume to match your video, and will learn to shoot video that looks like it sounds. Don’t forget to place the mic outside the “envelope.”
Look for different “angles.” If there is an elevated place you can safely and legally use, do so.
As already suggested, edit the extraneous matter out of your final videos - invest in some decent video editing software. It will be worth it in the end.