Shooting and Helpful Tips

Shooting and Helpful Tips

The camera does not like holidays, which is why this is a perfect time to admit an ugly truth: you suck making home movies.

No, really. I'm sure you're a nice person and all, but there is more than just the camera out of the box, press record video.

Good video and photography, you need a little bit of know-how. Fortunately, I know how it is, so here is my list of ways to improve your home movies. You will not come to the other side of Soderbergh, nor even a singer, but your uncle Henry fall turkey Aunt Edna's first submission to America's Funniest home videos look a lot better.

1. RTFM

A good fisherman knows what was in his tackle box, and a good photographer knows his cameras. Boy took his first steps or a spaceship landed in the backyard of the moment, you should be able to adjust the shutter speed, turn off the auto-focus, or do something that is necessary in order to capture the best images. In other words, learn your internal and external cameras. Read manualâ's € "twice. Know how to access the menu, the menu contains what settings, and so on. Kept handy if necessary crib sheet (laminated 3x5 card, punch and attach it to the strap on) a little bit of research and preparation can help you shoot better video a long way now, the views, you might actually be followed.

2. Ready

Any time you go, your camera, here's what you should pack:

At least one spare battery fully charged.

At least two more blank tape than you think you need.

A lens-cleaning cloth. Matter how careful you are, the lens is going to get smudged. Has no postproduction software filters can be corrected in the world.

tripod. Threw it in the trunk, even if you do not think you'll need it.

Battery Charger / Power.

as a power strip, you will always need.

tape recording down an extension cord so that people will not be tripped over.

Lighting gear, lens filters, microphones, and you have any other accessories. You bought them for a reason, right? Them!

3. Use a tripod

This is a very difficult than it looks cool shaky camera look to pull off. Most families just end up looking shaky video, it is absolutely no fun to watch. You'll get $ 20 tripod mounted camera, rock steady picture. At the same time, you will release their own pan and zoom, and even in front of the camera. If you intend to rely on the camera's digital image stabilization, no. All, it is the center of the screen by cropping the video resolution is lower. Optical image stabilization is better, but it still can not beat a tripod.

Without a tripod? Against the wall. This will help keep to a minimum the shaking. No walls? Put your ass on the ground, bend your knees, elbows on the palm. Presto: instant tripod.

4. Improve light

Apply the old real estate adage is all about lighting, lighting, lighting, sound recording. Most of the cameras I have reviewed over the years to do really bad work in harsh lighting, producing grainy, washed-out video can not be improved in post-production. (Hey, there's only so much you can do video editing software). Overcome the lighting problem, the easiest way is to shoot outdoors, even on a cloudy produce enough ambient light, so that your video is clear and colorful. If it is sunny, try to shoot in the morning or evening, when the sun is low in the sky. When it's directly overhead, it casts unflattering shadows on the faces of the subjects.

When shooting outdoors is not an option, bringing as much light, you can enter the room. Open the luminaire and open blinds, let the outside light, if your camera has a built-in light, use it. At a minimum, this will help bring out the facial close-ups. Shoes fitted with an external light source may be helpful. Many cameras allow you to adjust the aperture, white balance, shutter speed and other settings for light, but these will get you only so far, unless it is a true high-end models. My suggestion is that when the lights dim, disable auto-focus, otherwise you risk to get, annoying impulsive effect from the lens attempts to lock to a theme.

5. ACE Audio

If the lighting is the most important element in the high-quality video, audio, running in second place. Unfortunately, this is an area, it may be difficult to achieve professional results. Most of the camera's built-in microphone is quite basic, record audio from any direction. If you want to shoot a busy street near someone's words, the flow may be drowned man's voice. Your best bet is to make your theme (Ci) close to the microphone as possible (without destroying the shot, of course).

Ideally, you should have a camera inserted into an external microphone jack. There are many varieties to choose from, including: shotgun shirts used to capture audio directly in front of the camera; lavalier (aka tie clip) to sit down and stand up interview reports; PZM type undershirt shirt, which is a full range of directional, so suitable for auditoriums, large conference room. We hope that any camcorder is equipped with a microphone jack, will also have a headset, which is essential to monitor your recorded audio level.

6. Set your lens

Smart photographers obedience "rule of thirds", you should do the same. Imagine a tic-tac-toe board in your viewfinder. Four lines intersect. Your goal should be to use those points in one or more frames of action. Or, put it another way, to keep the birthday girl's central square.

Of course, if you feel creative, you can always throw out the window of this rule. But do not go overboard: Many amateurs in love with their camera's built-in special effects, and then later regret "old movie" mode to shoot the entire birthday party. Although these effects can be fun to use sparinglyâ or nothing at all better, you should start with the original color video, and then use editing software to apply special effects. Likewise, skip the camcorder's automatic fade function; editing software will give you greater control over the conversion and greater variety, as well.

7. No digital zoom!

Optical zoom, yes. Digital zoom, yes. Very bad. Sorry if you were fooled into buying a particular camera, as it touts some of the astronomical number of digital zoom (240X! 300X 800X!), You should never use ITA € "unless you like grainy, Funny Video Digital Zoom practical is a big fake.: As you increase the zoom level of the camera crops further into the center of the image, enlarge, crop part, so it fills the screen, so your video looks awful. stick camera optical zoom (usually You can turn off the digital zoom, the camera's menu system), is entirely dependent on the lens zoom, if you need to get closer to your subject, according to the old photographer's adage: Enlarge your feet.

8. Shooting B-roll

B-roll is secondary to the main screen of your video editing flesh out the story. For example, if you are shooting a wedding, you might shoot church, invitations, cake on top of the little bride and groom. Then your final assembly of the film, in this screen, you can add a variety of mix.

What can be a B-roll. For example, in football warm-up before the game, get some shots just children's feet. Grab a close range shot, the ball hit the net. There early record blank fields, and then from the same position recorded in the course of the game, you can do a neat fade. It is planning approach: You should not only allow extra time to shoot B-roll, but also to determine in advance what kind of lens will best complement.