Ready?

Get up.

No.  Not right now.  I mean when you’re shooting.

Don’t sit in one spot while your kid opens every birthday gift.  Get up and change your perspective with the camera.

In fact, every time you press the stop button- get up and…

• Change the distance between the camera and the subject
• Change the angle your viewing the subject from (move left or right at least 5 feet)

There.  That wasn’t so hard.

The part is now you’ll have a video that’s already watchable- no editing necessary.

(Unless you rolled camera on every blessed second that your three year old spent unwrapping her gifts.  You may still want to edit that down.)

• Do you want crappy audio, kids?

Of course you don’t.  I’ll tell you right now how to dramatically improve your audio- without having to spend a dime!

Pay attention.

We’ll Begin With Audio Acquisition Tips- Record Better Audio To Begin With.

1. Put a homemade windscreen on your camera’s microphone.  This will prevent those annoying wind “pops” from ever being recorded.
   • cut a patch from an old cotton sock that’s the size of your camera’s microphone.
   • Do likewise with an old pair of pantyhose.
   • Layer the sock and then the pantyhose on top of your microphone and adhere to camera with gaffers tape. (You can use duct tape as well-but it may leaf adhesive on your camera body.)
2. Pay attention to the sound levels of your camera while recording.
   • If your camera has audio meters- turn them on.  Adjust the mic level input accordingly.
   • Many cameras don’t have this feature.  That’s ok.  Get a pair of headphones, and plug them into the camera.
     • Put the headphones on and start shooting the way you normally do- except this time you’ll hear what is getting recorded adequately- and what’s not.
       • Adjust your shooting style accordingly.
         • If you self narrate a lot- then you’ll know if you have to speak softer or louder.
         • If your shooting subject can’t be heard, ask them to speak up.
3. Avoid noisy shooting locations
   • Seems obvious, but sometimes you don’t realize just how noisy a place is because your brain will try to filter noise out automagically for you.
   • If you have to shoot your BFF at the food court next to the wishing fountain- make sure they either shout to camera- or they have a hand-held microphone.

Well Done.  Next, We Have Tricks For Better Audio in Edits.

4. Do An Audio Pass- for cryin’ out loud.

• • Once your done editing the picture- Your still not done-done.
    • Go back and use the audio gain tools to level out all the audio.
      • Adjust everything so each audio clip is the same perceived audio level when playing it back.  (Turn off the music tracks until all the spoken words are level.  Then, go back and adjust the music so it sounds good with the spoken word.)

5.  Double The Audio Track

• • If you’re using editing software, like Final Cut Express or Sony Vegas, then it will allow you to double up the audio segments.
    • Very useful for when you have cranked up the audio gain already to the maximum, but it’s not enough.

Do these 5 things for your next video, and people may actually watch it.

Now, get out there, and make an awesome home movie!

Here’s how to compose better shots immediately!

Next time you want to shoot something, pay attention to what’s in the background of your viewfinder.

Here’s a composition ruined by stuff in the background, and how to fix it.

It's a crab. Wait... It's a guy with a huge gut!

This shot could be about a horseshoe crab.  Or it may be about the dude in the background sporting a very well developed beer-belly.  If you can’t easily tell, then the composition is just not working too well.

How to Correct Bad Compositions. (Simplified)

If there’s something that looks weird in your background, then  change your shooting perspective.

• Move the camera a few feet over, and check again.
• Ask the subject to move over a few steps.
• Give the father next to you a lollipop to switch seats at the school dance recital  that nobody’s going to watch anyway…  So I’m not sure why you even bothered to bring your video camera.  Hey, look.  Every other parent has brought their cameras too.  WHO is going to have to watch this video?  The Mom’s parents.  That’s who.  Will they WANT to watch?  I doubt it.  They’ll watch it all right- just to be polite.  Then, they’ll look at me with those… those eyes…

(Woa.  I digress.)

This shot is definitely about the horseshoe crab

The above problem was fixed by taking a few steps to my right.

Now, I can happily shoot away without having to subject my audience to unwanted guttage.

If my wife is still reading…  Go out there, and frame up some awesome looking shots!

(Makes you want to see Scar Face again, doesn’t it?)

Make sure there’s enough light on your subjects.

Many camera manufacturers claim that their camcorders perform well in low light.

Don’t let your camera’s tech specs fool you into ignoring your environments lighting.

If you’re shooting inside, and it’s dark, then you should try to light your scene.

I bought an inexpensive work light at the Home Depot to handle this task.

Halogen Workshop Light.

Don’t let your camera’s tech specs fool you into ignoring your environments lighting.

• If you’re shooting inside, and it’s dark, then you should try to light your scene.

This sort of Halogen Light can be found in home centers and department stores.  They’re pretty cheap, and they throw A LOT of light.

Indirect Light is Right.

To use a light like this:

• Bounce it off of a wall or ceiling.
• 2 of these lights bouncing off the ceiling in opposite corners of the room are even better!

Check out the difference lighting can make.

This video shot with room's overhead light.

OK, class.  Notice the graininess when using only the light from an overhead fixture…  I’ll wait.

Now, LET THERE BE LIGHT!

This is the same scene with one Work Light Bouncing off of the ceiling.

You can see that there’s much less of a grainy effect.

The subject is brighter, and the colors are allowed to really come out.

Very good, class.  Now go out there and shoot!

We all know that watching a video shot using poor camera work is hard to watch.

You know it.  I know it.  Your father-in-law… needs to read this.

As you recall, telling a story is the most important thing to do when making a video.

The next most critical thing is to use good, solid, time-tested camera techniques.

If the mere mention of watching your videos make people scatter like cock roaches in light, you may suffer from what I call HMD.

6 Easy ways to practice good camera technique

1. Hold your camera steady while shooting - Keep your elbows close to your body.
2. Don’t pan and tilt all the darn time!! - There’s nothing wrong with slowly panning across your scene… once.  After you get your wide sweeping (slow) pan, then concentrate on tighter, and again, steady shots.
3. Hold your Shot – Hold your shots for at least 5 seconds.  I usually shoot between 8 and 15 second long clips.
4. Frame your Shots – Try to make the things your shooting look nice in the image frame.
5. Get Close Ups – Your viewers want to see the details of the who and what your showing them.
6. Get Sound – If it’s a video of your kids, your audience WANTS to hear them SAY cute things.  If it’s a video of your friends, then you want to HEAR them say something clever or funny.

• • To get any decent audio of your subjects’ speech, your camera will have to be within 4 feet of the person speaking.  (Unless you have a shotgun mic or a lavaliere mic.)

Stay tuned, class, for more detailed discussions of all of the above!

Wrangle your home movie acquisition media before it gets out of control.

Of course you do.

Using the appropriate amount of Head Room for your subject will do the trick.

Head Room describes the amount of space there is in your video/photo composition between the top of your picture and the top of your subject’s head.

First, some bad Head Room compositions:

This Head Room is too Big.

This is not a terrible composition, but it could be better if the kid in the shot was higher in the frame’s composition.

This Head Room is just right!

This picture is more nicely composed.  Why?

• You, the viewer, feel like you’re sharing the same perspective as the subject.  This LOOKS like what you would SEE if you were there, with the child.

Another example of poor Head Room:

This Head Room was Too Small.

Again, this is not an awful picture.  It could, however,  be a better shot if the girl filled the frame more naturally.

This Head Room is just right. And it's still there!

This framing looks better.

So, let’s review…

Don’t be a schlep!   Use good composition practices”

• Keep your subject’s head in the frame of your shot.
• Allow some space above your subject’s head.  Roughly between 1/5 to 1/8 the height of the frame.

If we’re clear on all that, then you may go out, and shoot some awesome video!

Close Ups are important to see details of a scene

If movies were a language, then the different types of shots would be the vocabulary.

Today, we’ll learn about the Close Up.  Start thinking about what the above picture is “Saying” to the audience.

What is the Close Up?

In film, television, still photography a close up tightly frames a person or an object (or subject).

Close Ups display a great deal of detail in your subject, but they exclude information about the broader scene.

So… eager movie-maker…

You should use Close Ups to feed your audience the specific information that you want them to know about your scene.

There should be Wide Shots to give your audience a broader idea of what your scene is about.

Some classic uses of the Close Up:

• Display a character’s emotions by showing their facial expressions.
• Introduction to main characters.  We often see a close up of someone when the story first mentions them.
• To show intricate activity of someone’s hands.  (Think about a TV chef talking about butterflying shrimp.)

The EXCLUSION of showing a character’s Close Up will produce an emotional distance to that character.  That’s why villains are often shown in a Medium Shot. (and they’re likely petting a cat.)

Television is often referred to as the “Close Up Medium” because the Close Up is used more often on TV shows than in movies.  This is especially true of Soap Operas- where the audience is asked to make strong emotional connections to the characters of the show.

Finally, my student, what’s the above close up say?

Perhaps the boy in the picture  wants to investigate what he sees at the bottom of the pool.

Very good.  You’re a wise and powerful Creative Home Movie student.

Long Shots Show your Location

If movies were a language, then the different types of shots would be the vocabulary.

To really be good at telling your stories visually, you’ll need to learn the language of movies.

OK, students.  Let’s begin with some basic vocabulary.

The Long Shot.

• An image made with the camera positioned to observe the most action or scenery possible.

The purpose of the long shot is to convey information about a location.  It shows your audience where the heck your action is supposed to be taking place.  In the above example, you would expect an audience to understand that the following scene will take place just beyond this sand dune- at the beach most likely.

Ok, class.  What else would you use a Long Shot for?   Sally… you haven’t answered in awhile.

A long shot can be used to denote a change in location.  It can also be used to bring into view what a particular character is seeing at a particular time in a story.

Very Good, Sally.

A long shot is meant to give a viewer a general sense of what’s happening.  So to keep your long Shots effective, remember to omit great amounts of detail.

This means…

• Your Long Shots shouldn’t show a detailed item in frame that you WANT your audience to key in on.  Because they WON’T see it.

A classic use of the Long Shot is to end your story.

It’s very common to see a movie end in a very wide Long Shot.

This helps key the audience into recognizing that’s it’s now time to let the characters to themselves.

End of Lesson.  Now go out, and shoot a Long Shot for your next video!

Stay tuned for more Camera Shot School from Creative Home Movie.com