Tips for Shooting Better Videos

The Panasonic MiniDV PV-DV203 was my first camcorder. This unit works well for starters, but I don’t recommend buying one. I had problems with the tape head and now, my camcorder is intermittent. Anyway, days had passed and I learned how to interface my camcorder with my PC (using Adobe Premiere 6.5).

But before I took my passion in video capturing and editing into the next level, I made it a point that I learn the basics first.

Just want to share some tips I found in the Internet for shooting better videos. Hope these helps.

1. Use the Rule of Thirds for Well-Composed Shots
To get a better picture every time, use the Rule of Thirds. Mentally divide up your viewfinder's image like a tic-tac-toe board. Divide the picture into 3 equal parts vertically and horizontally. The most significant part of the picture should be where the lines intersect - you have four choices - top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right. See the far right picture, I chose a top-left framing.

(this tip comes with a picture to further explain it, kaso ndi ako marunong mag-upload. Hingin nyo na lang sa akin kung gusto nyo)

2. Look Out for the Light
Shoot away from windows and other forms of intense background light. If the background light is minimal, use your camera's backlight feature. The backlight feature allows your camera to compensate for overly bright light - it does not add in background light as many people may think.

3. Use Zoom-in and Zoom-out Features Sparingly
Fast zoom-in and zoom-outs are rarely used on network TV. The next time you shoot, try not to use the zoom feature once and see how much better the footage is.

4. Keep it Steady
Another mark of a bad videographer is shaky video images. Correct this by using a tripod whenever you can. If no tripod is available, look for fixed objects that you can lean on (or lean the camera on), that add stability to the camera's movements.

5. Make the Beginning the End
When you are shooting a video, make it fun and make it a story whenever you can. Often times in movies, we see a setting shot that is repeated at the end of the movie as a cap-off. This often works well in any video. Picture a baseball game. Setting Shot - Red Sox Logo, Picture of the Red Sox mascot running around like a madman, the game, shots of the mascot, Red Sox logo, the end. It sounds simplistic, but can be integrated into any video whether it is a home movie, wedding video, or other event.

6. Keep It Short
When you're trying to capture the attention of an audience, it's often easier to give them a lot of short video clips instead of attempt to appeal to their artsy side with long, drawn out shots of over 2 minutes long apiece. Shots of 5–10 seconds duration often work very well.

7. Mix It Up
When shooting video, get plenty of A-roll (the main event) and B-roll footage (other shots). If it were a child's football game, you might get the action (the A-roll footage) and also get some B-roll shots of the cheerleaders, the crowd, the coaching staff, and the child before and after the game.

8. Tell Us Where You Are
If this is a travel video, take some "establishing shots," which is are wide shots of a sign, natural monument, historical reference, or any indication showing where you are in the video. A shot of the Eiffel Tower says to the audience, "we're not in Kansas anymore."

9. Use Many Angles
Shoot your subjects from all angles — move around the subject, shoot from below and from the top. When you shoot from below it makes the subject seem larger than life (try this with a small child). When you shoot from above, it shows the person or subject as inferior.

10. Try Visual Surprises
Try shooting into mirrors or from a high viewpoint or put movement into your material by shooting from glass elevators or from moving escalators. This can make for a very fun and exciting video.

Happy shooting!!