| BELOW ARE SOME TIPS FOR SHOOTING BETTER FILM! |
| GENERAL TIPS... 1. PRACTICE, practice, and more practice. Practice makes perfect! 2. KNOW YOUR CAMERA and all its features. 3. USE A TRIPOD OR STABLIZING DEVICE! Great film starts with a camera that isn't constantly moving and shaking! If you�ve watched any large-production-sized movie, you�ll notice that when their camera is moving it is perfectly steady. There are usually two methods to get this smooth motion. You either have a dolly which is the camera mounted on a track, and then the camera is moved over this track. If you don�t have a large budget this one is most likely out. The other way is to have a SteadiCam, which is a big apparatus that has weights and counterweights and other things that will allow a moving cameraman to keep the camera perfectly steady and clean. For the indie movie makers, there are ways to get these really nice shots without having to drop a fortune. If you want to dolly, try skateboards, we even used a car as our dolly. Just be creative here. If you want to do moving shots but need the freedom of a handheld shot, there are ways to emulate SteadiCams. What we used on our film was we attached the camera to a tripod. We then let the tripod�s three legs dangle freely. Our cameraman would then hold the side handle and walk with the camera. What this seems to do is counter a lot of the left and right movement from walking. Having those legs hang free worked very well. Having a SteadiCam (or a cheap replacement) requires a lot of work still to make steady shots. Industry experts describe how to walk as to simply �glide.� Here�s my try at an explanation. Separate the camera from you as much as possible. The farther the camera is from you, the less your movement will affect its. How I walk when I do steady hand held shots is to bend at the knees and crouch down a bit. I stick the Camera-Tripod out far in front of my body and sort of quickly walk in the direction of motion. This will be a very useful skill and gives a lot of professionalism to your work. 4. BE YOUR OWN STAR! Trying to get a group of 8 people together much less 4 people together is really hard. Especially if you need to do it multiple times a week. If you aren�t paying people, it�s even more difficult. Basically the tip I have here is you are, for sure, going to have trouble getting people to show up. The easiest way to cut out one required person is to be an actor in your film. If you have a major role that is going to need to be there every time, and you�re not a half bad actor, then play that role (unless you really need someone else). Being an actor in your film assures that you will be on set whenever you�re part is needed. It also cuts one slot on the need-to-be-there list. On a related note, do make sure your main staff (e.g., you�re DP, you�re cameraman/sound recorder) are reliable people you know are interested in the film. Having people that want to be there as much as or more than you makes getting together and staying organized a lot easier. 5.CONSIDER GETTING FINAL CUT AS YOUR EDITOR!! This tip isn�t actually about trying to get editors to use FinalCut over your current editor, but this is as good as time as any to say just that. If you seriously want to make a professional movie, you need to switch over to a professional application. One of the things that I�ve used a lot in iMovie is how you can import (or capture) video and have it auto detect where you started and stopped the camera. This is really useful to help narrow down where the scene your looking for is. When I transitioned over to FinalCut, I was always looking for how to do this. I�ve finally found out how. The way I did this was by first taking all of my video that I�d recorded and use the capture now feature in FinalCut, so basically I just go have it capture, and I play my entire video. Once that�s done, I select this newly imported clip and click on the �Mark� menu and then click �DV Start/Stop Detection.� This will create markers throughout your clip separating where you started and stopped. Hopefully, this will help you in your editing process as it did me. NATE SHOWS YOU SOME EDITING TIPS ... 6. LIGHTING IS KEY! Whenever possible get AS MUCH light as possible!! There is nothing like the natural light the sun gives off. If you are shooting outside, always film with your camera away from the sun, and your subject facing the sun. It's a good idea to have some flouresents, like these, for any inside filming. They are generally inexpensive and can be obtained at Wal Mart. (Average price $8.95 for one, or $30.00 with the stand.) 7. HAVE FUN! You can never go wrong with experimentation!! Shooting a room from an angle, makes the room look bigger than it actually is! Green screens are a blast too!! Many uses! Remember EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT!:) |
Shooting checklist: Battery power White balance Sound check Talent release Lighting check Tape check Tripod lock-down Time/date stamp on/off Image stabilization on/off Zoom in/Focus/Zoom out Compose image Rehearse Shoot! The Seven Deadly Camcorder Sins 1. Headhunting--placing every subject in the center of your frame. 2. Motorzooming--overuse of on-screen zooms. 3. Rooting--staying in one spot instead of looking for interesting angles. 4. Firehosing--panning all over the scene. 5. Upstanding--shooting everything from standing eye-level. 6. Snapshooting--taping only two or three seconds per shot. 7. Backlighting--too much light falling on the background instead of on the subject. Twelve Helpful Tips for Shooting Great Video 1. Use manual focus if your camcorder has it. 2. Set white balance at every location. 3. When shooting outdoors, keep the sun behind you. 4. Plan your shoot. 5. Use a tripod or other image stabilization device. 6. For handheld stability, imagine that your camcorder is a very full cup of hot coffee. 7. Use the zoom to compose your shot. Avoid zooming while the tape is rolling. 8. Move the camcorder only when necessary. 9. Shoot to edit. 10. Keep your average shot length between 5 and 10 seconds. 11. Keep the shot steady (no zoom or pan) for at least 10 seconds 12. While shooting, be as inconspicuous as possible to best capture the true behavior of your subject If you have any questions, or want specific advice, just CONTACT Nate!:) |
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