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Mmm. Every videographer needs to go through the “Holy shit! My stuff looks great colour graded!” phase.
It should pass in a week or two. Most likely after you stumble upon dozens of color corrected test videos on Vimeo that feature endless shots of flowers, patio furniture, scrap lumber, passing cars and girlfriends wandering self-consciously down back alleys.
A few days later, you’ll start experimenting obsessively with manual focus and unusual shooting angles, followed by an almost uncontrollable desire to buy a handheld stabilizer and shuffle through the neighbourhood while pretending to re-shoot “Run, Lola, Run.” This too shall pass.
Then you’ll hit a lull. Your camera will stay in its bag, patiently waiting. Days will pass before you’re gripped by the need to tell a meaningful story on video.
Heh, I’ve taken plenty of heat in my day; Jamesey’s bitterness barely registered!
Arlo, I’m open to criticism, suggestions, and probably more than anything shortcuts. I’ve got a big video project ahead of me over the next few months and I’m more interested in absorbing as many quick tricks as others care to offer. When I have been learning other disciplines in the past, I’ve often been surprised at how little there is to actually learn compared how much there is to avoid learning, if you catch my drift.
No bitterness intended. It was just a failed attempt at snark. My apologies.
I’m excited to see how your wit and observational skills translate to the video world.
You ARE taking shortcuts by learning the technical aspects of shooting in bite-sized chunks before tackling your big project.
Snark-free shortcuts:
1. If you haven’t already, invest in a wide-angle lens. It’ll help you to avoid backing into walls when trying to frame shots in tight spaces. Doesn’t have to be expensive to work – I picked up a cheap one for my HV20 for under $50.
2. Good audio is more important than you think. You can color-correct video, but fixing bad sound is nearly impossible. Luckily, decent mics are cheap. Consider the camera-mount Rode VideoMic. It is also worth investing in a couple of clip-on lavalier mics. The Audio-Technica ATR-35S costs only $30 or so. Wireless is more convenient + expensive, but you can rent.
3. Learn how to use your camera’s manual audio controls. Figure out some sort of strain relief (I use short break-away cables duct taped to the tripod) so that if someone trips over a mic cable, they don’t damage the audio jack on your camcorder and send it crashing to the floor.
4. Lighting interiors takes a bit of practice. Get a gray-hair to show you how to set up a basic three-point lighting setup. It makes a massive difference, and renting/borrowing a simple lighting kit is often a smart idea, especially for interviews.
5. Invest in a decent fluid-head tripod (I suspect you’ve done this already). Make sure you can use it in your sleep.
6. UV and Skylight Filters are smart investments. They also provide physical protection to keep dirt, finger prints and weird slime off your lens.
I can’t argue with anything jamesey said (in his second comment. ;) In fact, I’ll reinforce some of his points:
1. Any time you pick your camera up off the tripod, ask yourself if you can use a wide angle lens. Not only is it good for composing your frame in tight rooms, it’s a godsend for smoothing out camera shake. Obviously, you’ll always have to factor in some barrel distortion or even some vignetting (up to a complete lack of focus) if you zoom in too far.
2. Good audio is more important than the video. It’s amazing how much viewers will let you get away with in your video, but just a small mistake or two with the audio and they’re suddenly much less forgiving.
4. Lighting, like color correction, is more art than science. That is to say, there isn’t a number or preset you can automatically dial in to get “good lighting.” (It took me a long time to realize this; lighting is still one of my week points.) 3-point lighting is a great place to start, but every room has it own characteristics. My best advice is to take a moment after you’ve set up, look at your shot, and consciously ask yourself, “Is anything wrong with this lighting? Can I improve it?”
5. Shots without a tripod need to be justified, IMO. Nothing screams “amateur!” (or, perhaps, “JJ Abrams!”) more than an unsteady shot. For run-and-gun shoots, consider a monopod.
6. Yes, yes, and yes. Protect that lens! Put a UV filter on and don’t take it off unless you need a different filter!
Likely you already know all that stuff. I get the impression that you’ve been reading and tinkering with video for some time now.
So, shortcuts?
1) Here’s a big one: Try to shoot only what you need. Having sufficient cover footage is great, but sorting through 3 hours of footage for a 3 minute video will kill you in post production.
The more you edit, the more you’ll develop a sort of sixth sense about gathering the footage you need. At the very least, practice keeping a mental tab on what you’re getting while filming. Better yet, plan ahead well enough to have a written checklist (or script) before turning the camera on.
2) Editing a large project can be an organizational nightmare. Everyone works differently with their NLE software, so it’s hard to give you specific pointers, but here’s something that has worked well for me:
Break the story down into its smallest elements and create a new sequence (or timeline) for each of them. It’s much less daunting to start editing “the 30 second intro” or “that 3 minute vignette” than trying to juggle every clip on a 30+ minute timeline. Once the individual sequences are finished, you can simply combine them together for the final output.
Hmmm, those two shortcuts were the only generalized ones I can think of, at the moment. Might spur some ideas if you told us some of the specifics. What camera/codecs are you using? What software?
For instance, are you shooting on tape or flash/HDD? (If it’s the former, I prefer to digitize entires tape with “scene detect” toggled on. This’ll split the resulting video into separate clips every time the record button was pressed on the camera. Yes, you end up capturing the whole tape, including takes you may not need, but I find it saves time to capture the whole tape and discard what I don’t need, rather than be tied to the computer while I shuttle through the tapes (bad!) looking for just the clips I DO need.)
–
Anyway. It’s great to see you embarking on this video path. My wife and I are planning a backpacking trip around the world next summer and we want to podcast the heck out of it. Until then, as we ramp up the website, I’m cutting my own teeth on some practice travel videos. I have to say, your “Week in the Woods” blogging and video were no small influence. Looking forward to seeing what you create — and hoping can continue to learn from each other!
jamesey
Mmm. Every videographer needs to go through the “Holy shit! My stuff looks great colour graded!” phase.
It should pass in a week or two. Most likely after you stumble upon dozens of color corrected test videos on Vimeo that feature endless shots of flowers, patio furniture, scrap lumber, passing cars and girlfriends wandering self-consciously down back alleys.
A few days later, you’ll start experimenting obsessively with manual focus and unusual shooting angles, followed by an almost uncontrollable desire to buy a handheld stabilizer and shuffle through the neighbourhood while pretending to re-shoot “Run, Lola, Run.” This too shall pass.
Then you’ll hit a lull. Your camera will stay in its bag, patiently waiting. Days will pass before you’re gripped by the need to tell a meaningful story on video.
That’s when things get truly interesting.
Jul 23, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
Arlo
Jesus, jamesey. What a way to say, “Hey, man. I looked forward to what you’re going to be able to do.”
Joel,
Hey, man. I look forward to what you’re going to be able to do.
Blog is going in my feeds. Are you looking for anything from your visitors? _Constructive_ criticism, say, or equipment/technique suggestions?
Jul 23, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
Joel
Heh, I’ve taken plenty of heat in my day; Jamesey’s bitterness barely registered!
Arlo, I’m open to criticism, suggestions, and probably more than anything shortcuts. I’ve got a big video project ahead of me over the next few months and I’m more interested in absorbing as many quick tricks as others care to offer. When I have been learning other disciplines in the past, I’ve often been surprised at how little there is to actually learn compared how much there is to avoid learning, if you catch my drift.
However it shakes out: Hi!
Jul 23, 2009 @ 10:07 pm
jamesey
No bitterness intended. It was just a failed attempt at snark. My apologies.
I’m excited to see how your wit and observational skills translate to the video world.
You ARE taking shortcuts by learning the technical aspects of shooting in bite-sized chunks before tackling your big project.
Snark-free shortcuts:
1. If you haven’t already, invest in a wide-angle lens. It’ll help you to avoid backing into walls when trying to frame shots in tight spaces. Doesn’t have to be expensive to work – I picked up a cheap one for my HV20 for under $50.
2. Good audio is more important than you think. You can color-correct video, but fixing bad sound is nearly impossible. Luckily, decent mics are cheap. Consider the camera-mount Rode VideoMic. It is also worth investing in a couple of clip-on lavalier mics. The Audio-Technica ATR-35S costs only $30 or so. Wireless is more convenient + expensive, but you can rent.
3. Learn how to use your camera’s manual audio controls. Figure out some sort of strain relief (I use short break-away cables duct taped to the tripod) so that if someone trips over a mic cable, they don’t damage the audio jack on your camcorder and send it crashing to the floor.
4. Lighting interiors takes a bit of practice. Get a gray-hair to show you how to set up a basic three-point lighting setup. It makes a massive difference, and renting/borrowing a simple lighting kit is often a smart idea, especially for interviews.
5. Invest in a decent fluid-head tripod (I suspect you’ve done this already). Make sure you can use it in your sleep.
6. UV and Skylight Filters are smart investments. They also provide physical protection to keep dirt, finger prints and weird slime off your lens.
Etc. Good luck!
Jul 24, 2009 @ 11:56 am
Arlo
I can’t argue with anything jamesey said (in his second comment. ;) In fact, I’ll reinforce some of his points:
1. Any time you pick your camera up off the tripod, ask yourself if you can use a wide angle lens. Not only is it good for composing your frame in tight rooms, it’s a godsend for smoothing out camera shake. Obviously, you’ll always have to factor in some barrel distortion or even some vignetting (up to a complete lack of focus) if you zoom in too far.
2. Good audio is more important than the video. It’s amazing how much viewers will let you get away with in your video, but just a small mistake or two with the audio and they’re suddenly much less forgiving.
4. Lighting, like color correction, is more art than science. That is to say, there isn’t a number or preset you can automatically dial in to get “good lighting.” (It took me a long time to realize this; lighting is still one of my week points.) 3-point lighting is a great place to start, but every room has it own characteristics. My best advice is to take a moment after you’ve set up, look at your shot, and consciously ask yourself, “Is anything wrong with this lighting? Can I improve it?”
5. Shots without a tripod need to be justified, IMO. Nothing screams “amateur!” (or, perhaps, “JJ Abrams!”) more than an unsteady shot. For run-and-gun shoots, consider a monopod.
6. Yes, yes, and yes. Protect that lens! Put a UV filter on and don’t take it off unless you need a different filter!
Likely you already know all that stuff. I get the impression that you’ve been reading and tinkering with video for some time now.
So, shortcuts?
1) Here’s a big one: Try to shoot only what you need. Having sufficient cover footage is great, but sorting through 3 hours of footage for a 3 minute video will kill you in post production.
The more you edit, the more you’ll develop a sort of sixth sense about gathering the footage you need. At the very least, practice keeping a mental tab on what you’re getting while filming. Better yet, plan ahead well enough to have a written checklist (or script) before turning the camera on.
2) Editing a large project can be an organizational nightmare. Everyone works differently with their NLE software, so it’s hard to give you specific pointers, but here’s something that has worked well for me:
Break the story down into its smallest elements and create a new sequence (or timeline) for each of them. It’s much less daunting to start editing “the 30 second intro” or “that 3 minute vignette” than trying to juggle every clip on a 30+ minute timeline. Once the individual sequences are finished, you can simply combine them together for the final output.
Hmmm, those two shortcuts were the only generalized ones I can think of, at the moment. Might spur some ideas if you told us some of the specifics. What camera/codecs are you using? What software?
For instance, are you shooting on tape or flash/HDD? (If it’s the former, I prefer to digitize entires tape with “scene detect” toggled on. This’ll split the resulting video into separate clips every time the record button was pressed on the camera. Yes, you end up capturing the whole tape, including takes you may not need, but I find it saves time to capture the whole tape and discard what I don’t need, rather than be tied to the computer while I shuttle through the tapes (bad!) looking for just the clips I DO need.)
–
Anyway. It’s great to see you embarking on this video path. My wife and I are planning a backpacking trip around the world next summer and we want to podcast the heck out of it. Until then, as we ramp up the website, I’m cutting my own teeth on some practice travel videos. I have to say, your “Week in the Woods” blogging and video were no small influence. Looking forward to seeing what you create — and hoping can continue to learn from each other!
-A.
Jul 24, 2009 @ 1:13 pm