Tommy Productions: Successful Video Production Workshop
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How to avoid 10 of the most common mistakes videographers make when shooting video.

10 Tips for Better Video.
Overview

What's the difference between the work of a professional videographer and the work of an amateur videographer? A professional has either learned or been taught to avoid mistakes in his or her field.
When video taping, learn about: (or consider, or master):

1. The rule of thirds.
Imagine a tic-tac-toe board overlaid on your viewfinder or TV monitor. The lines intersect in four areas, and create 9 cubes. Your goal should be to frame the subject in the proper third of the screen, allowing for proper head room and lead room. Eyes should always be in the upper third. This is especially true if you're conducting an interview or shooting a close-up of someone talking. Of course, rules can be broken for the sake of creativity, but this is one guideline that you should master before you break it. – More about this later in class.

2. Steady Shots or Shaky Shots
Buy a good tripod and use It - Your camcorder may have built-in image stabilization, but it can only compensate for so much unstable motion. One of the best ways to improve the appearance of your videos is to invest in a quality tripod which will probably cost you no more than $450. While some camcorders come with complimentary “junk” tripods, give-away tripods tend not to provide a very stable
shooting base. Be sure to get a tripod with a head specifically designed for your video camera. – More about tripods later in class.

3. Battery management
There's just no excuse for running out of juice while you're filming. Also, remember that all rechargeable cells wear out over time. A battery may give you 90 minutes of power when it's brand-new, but after 12 to 18 months, it may last only 30 minutes. Pack an extra battery, and don’t forget to bring the camera’s power supply and
battery charger. If you're going to be shooting near an AC outlet, and you are running out of power, you'll be able to run your camcorder off electricity, and you can place your drained battery on the charger after you swap in the fresh one.

4. Loss of picture quality when taping in LP
Since the dawn of the VCR, people have been using the LP (long play) mode to fit more video on each tape -- at the expense of video quality. Always tape in the SP (standard play) mode, which is the quickest and best recording speed. If you really need to fit more video on each tape, try a little in-camera editing. In camera editing is a fancy phrase for pressing record and pause at just the right times to neatly follow
the story script in some type of chronological order. Bring as much extra videotape as you can comfortably carry. Use a second or third tape, but don’t sacrifice quality. Tape is cheap, shoot in SP.

5. Bad Zoom/Good Zoom
It's true for camcorders as well as still cameras: optical zoom is good and digital zoom is bad. You may have been fooled into buying a camera from some super video store sales rep who boasted about the astronomical digital-zoom features the camera has like (70X, 120X! 800X!), but unless you like grainy, pixilated video that’s
blurry, never use digital zoom. If you need to get closer to your subject, and you normal zoom feature can’t get you the shot you want, physically pick up the camera and its tripod, and move closer to the subject.

6. Internal camera special effects
Lots of digital camcorders offer special effects, everything from sepia to strobe to letterboxing. These can be fun to fool around with, but when the time comes to shoot your scene, turn off the glitz. Likewise, skip the camcorder's auto fade features as well; your editing software will give you far greater control over transitions than the ones that can be created inside the camera. – More on special effects in Class Day 2.

7. Poor sound quality
Most camcorders have tiny, low-power microphones. Your on-camera microphone cannot be placed any closer to the audio source than where the camera is set up. If you are too far away from your subject(s) when recording, unwanted sounds will be picked up. Sounds to the side and behind the camera as well like the hum of an
overhead air conditioning vent, a TV or radio playing in the background, or people talking will be captured along with the content audio you are intending to capture. If you're shooting a church service, an interview, or anything in which audio is crucial,
and it always is, you'll achieve far better results by moving the camera as close as possible to the subject(s) or by using external microphones.
In class, we will consider an after market add on device which allows you to connect up to 2 XLR balanced microphones. This product mounts on your camcorder's accessory shoe.

8. Poor Lighting/Simple Lighting
A lot of image quality problems can be solved by using some simple lighting techniques.What may look like enough light to your eyes is often not nearly enough light for some of the older, non digital mini DV camcorders. A 60-watt lamp may give the room a soft, romantic glow, but it will make your video muddy and grainy and could even cast harsh shadows. You may not want to invest in or have the desire to carry an expensive lighting kit with you where ever you go, but you can make the best of the natural or available lighting situations that you face. Whenever possible, shoot in a well-lit area. If you point your camera at a bright light source (such as the
sun or a bright window when you are indoors) the camera will adjust the aperture of the lens to compensate. You might be able to see the trees outside, but your subject in the foreground will probably be a dark silhouette without detail. If your subject is standing in a bad lighting situation, have them move into better light if possible. Later
in class we will show you how to create a high quality inexpensive lighting kit for under $75.

9. Thinking before you shoot, varying your shots and don’t over pan or zoom!
Let's say you're filming your pastor’s service. Convenience dictates that you put the camcorder on a tripod, frame and lock down the shot, and then go and sit down and enjoy the service with other congregation members. But the normal thing to do is to shoot the service from the center isle, from the rear of the building, in a head to waist shot, and don’t forget to pan and slow zoom slowly when following the speaker when he or she is moving about. Learn when to Pan, Zoom and move, and when not to…one of the most common mistakes videographers make is constant movements and adjustments while recording. Make your adjustments prior to shooting, and even rehearse your shots a few times prior to actually pushing the button to record.

10.Using different camera angles
The video you shoot of the pastor preaching, called the “A-roll” is the primary action and is the main focus of the movie. The extra footage you shoot to fill in the gaps or supportive shots that illustrate something that's being described is known as “B-roll”, or cut away footage. These shots could vary, as long as they are interesting and they support the program when editing. Some examples of B-roll could be a close-up of some one nodding their head, a person laughing or crying, a close up of a hand turning a page inside the Bible, or extreme wide shot to show the large amount of people who are in attendance. When the time comes to edit with a computer, you can enhance the presentation throughout the program, using a series of logical cut away shots that support an uninterrupted audio track.

EXTRA TIP - It matters less what the story is about than how well it's told. Take a church service for example. First, we get a shot of the outside of the church. Then, we get some good interior shots of the church to show what it looks like. During the service, we not only shoot the preacher at the pulpit, we also get shots of the
congregation and their reactions. And you don't have to narrate your videos while taping to tell a story, the moving pictures that are created inside your camera will do that for you

Summary
The best videographers know every function of their camcorder and could operate their camera with dark sun glasses on in a dark auditorium. You must know where your camera’s controls are without looking away to zoom, focus, or make other adjustments. More than just knowing how to set your camera to“auto” everything and hitting the start and stop button, you must know how to master
manual settings like white balance, f stops, backlight compensation, shutter speed and manual focus.When investing in any new or used equipment, there more to producing a quality program than standing behind a video camera.

Call 1-800-694-7770 to register for our classes and learn more.
May 12-13, Fri-Sat. | June 9-10, Fri.-Sat.