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Here is an article I've written previously about shooting good digital
videos. I hope it'll be useful to some of you in this forum.

Guidelines for Shooting Quality Videos
by Gary Hendricks

The best way of avoiding these problems is to learn some basic video
shooting skills. You need not learn complex cinematography or
directorial skills, of course. But you should have some fundamental
knowledge of what goes into a good video shoot and doesn't. Let's take
a look at these shooting tips in turn:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 filming talk or smile. This makes the whole video
much more lively and interesting.

4. The End or The Beginning?
Another good video shooting trick is to use the end of the story at the
start of the video. Again, experts do this all the time. If you're
filming a wedding video, you can start off with an interview of the
happily married couple on the wedding day before you cut off into
scenes of how they met, how they grew up, etc.

5. Keep Them Short and Simple
Never, ever, shoot long, drawn out video clips of more than two
minutes. It bores the audience to death! Using many short clips of 5 to
10 seconds duration is much more effective. It also brings variety to
the audience. Imagine if a television commercial lasted two minutes
focusing on the same video scene - wouldn't that be boring?

6. Lighting, Lighting, Lighting
Of all the factors listed here, nothing spoils a video shoot as much as
poor lighting. I've seen many innovative videos marred by poor
lighting. One important tip is to shoot video with the light source
behind you, shining on the subject. An example is an outdoor shot where
the sun is shining. Make sure the sun shines on your subject and not on
your camera lens! Another tip is to use the camera's backlight feature
if there is one. It allows you to compensate for overly bright light.

7. Change Your Perspective
Don't limit your shots to one angle only. Approach your subject from
all angles. Come from behind, come from the top, whatever. Perhaps you
can even film yourself walking up the steps and opening a bedroom door
before reaching your subject.

8. Learn from The Movies
You'd be surprised how much you can learn about shooting video from the
movies. Very often, we just sit down and let the movie scenes come at
us without considering what went through the director's mind. Try it -
for once, when you watch your next movie, consider how the director
framed that shot or scene. You will learn a lot and maybe even get
interested in directing films!

9. Conserve the Battery
I've seen or heard so many people forgetting about the battery that I
must emphasize it here. Please buy extra batteries! Preferably two
extra batteries. Nothing is worse than shooting a video outdoors and
having the battery die on you. Also, always bring the AC adapter too -
so that you can charge your current battery whenever time permits. You
can get camcorder batteries at great prices by following this link.

10. Check The Sound
This tip may not be important for the average home user. But if you're
a serious videographer, you'll have a microphone attached to your
camcorder. Microphones are an essential tool for sound focusing and
result in better audio quality during video shoots. You can find very
good prices on microphones at this website.

Conclusion
It's not tough picking up better shooting skills. Once you've learnt
the basics, I assure you it will come to you very naturally, almost
like riding a bicycle or swimming. If you're truly interested in
enhancing your shooting skills, I'd recommend you take a look at one of
the following books. They were a great resource for me when I was
started out in digital videography.


Best Regards,
Gary Hendricks
http://www.desktop-video-guide.com

[Brian]

gary.hendricks.user@gmail.com wrote:

[AnthonyR]

<gary.hendricks.user@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1127577911.129895.279070@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[AnthonyR]

"Brian" <bclark@es.co.nz> wrote in message
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[PTravel]

"AnthonyR" <nomail@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:rNrZe.907$Fc4.760@twister.nyc.rr.com...

[Ty Ford]

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 03:51:49 -0400, PTravel wrote
(in article <pGsZe.3853$Ba2.403@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net>):


Thanks guys. I trotted out my new XL2 this weekend for the community picnic
and after dumping everything into the laptop, I realized that that I had
overdone it with the zooming. No problem, though as I could pick a spot
during editing.

40 minutes of shooting ended up about 6 minutes finished; about a 7:1 ratio.
How's that?

Regards,

Ty Ford



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

[AnthonyR]

see comment in middle


"PTravel" <ptravel@travelersvideo.com> wrote in message
news:pGsZe.3853$Ba2.403@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net...

[David McCall]

I often wonder if it would make more sense to not edit
very much and just put it on DVDs with chapter points
to mark all of the important bits. Rather than sitting
down to watch a "movie" of that family reunion, you
could just jump to the parts that might be of particular
interest at the time.

I came up with this idea in an industrial context. Often a
company will get a new piece of complex equipment
and the manufacturer will send a guy out to train your
people on the use of that unit. Sometime this guy was
on the team that built and/or designed the equipment or
the instalation. He will pass on information that isn't in
the manual. It would be valuable if that visit is taped in
it's entirity while trying to get as much visual as you can
in real time. It isn't going to make a very interesting or
pretty movie, even if you do edit it, but you could just
break it into chapters, so that people in the future can
just view the parts that may have the clues they need.

David

[Richard Ragon]

gary.hendricks.user@gmail.com wrote:

[Brian]

"David McCall" <david.mccall@comcast.net> wrote:

[AnthonyR]

"Brian" <bclark@es.co.nz> wrote in message
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[Dan Wenz]

gary.hendricks.user@gmail.com wrote:

[Dan Wenz]

gary.hendricks.user@gmail.com wrote:

[Dan Wenz]

AnthonyR wrote:

[PTravel]

"Dan Wenz" <djwenz@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:yMadnZu2haISxqTeRVn-iA@comcast.com...