Please learn how to shoot video
One of my biggest disappointments is watching a video I was lured into by a very interesting topic, but then annoyed by serious deficiencies in content, composure and quality. Please seek and accept a few pointers.
Stop zooming! You destroy the context and framing of your shot when you zoom in and out, not to mention drive your audience nuts!
Be smooth! You can't walk your camera around a subject with shaky hands and swift motions without making at least a few people nauseous.
Fix your audio! Cheap, crumby camcorders in the hands of competition shooters are acceptable because they get audo. Bad audio ruins video always. It's too faint, competes with background noise, it's overtaken by a music bed or otherwise muddy or shrill. You'll do better when you treat the internal camcorder microphone as a...that's right, microphone! That usually means the camcorder has to be within a foot or two of the subject in order for it to be effective.
Please by a cheap tripod! 90% of the amateur mistakes you could make will be masked if you drop the camcorder on a stable platform, frame the shot, and leave it alone! A bean bag on a dining room table or fireplace mantle is a good alternative to a tripod.
Did I mention background music? Please don't add it! You could have an amazing, killer video, but the second you choose a music bed, you seriously reduce your potential audience. It's fine in your bedroom or on your iPod headphones, but everyone else isn't crazy about it. I've never heard of most of the groups that put out rubbish, but for reasons unknown the producer of the bicycle video I recently saw thought it necessary to toss in some acid-punk-rap at 150% volume that made my ears bleed! I love bikes. I hated the music! If you want to limit channel subscriptions, then go ahead and keep slapping your favorite acid-punk-rap numbers on your videos. But know people will be clicking the 'X.'
Edit! The cheapest editing suite known to man is Windows Movie Maker. It has the ability to cut out boring scenes. Please use it! One of the most meaningless phrases known to man is, "next what we're gonna do is we're gonna..." Leave that out. Also, "...and I'm gonna pause it here and show you (whatever)...okay we're back with the..." Yeah, that's not exactly instrumental to your story. Delete.
Transitions. No! Just no! Just because your editing suite has a number of cool-seeming transitions doesn't mean you have to experiment with them all. A simple cut is perfect for almost all scene transitions and a basic crossfade will almost always be adequate between topic changes. Blocks, page turns, diamonds, curtains and nearly every other style of wipe is for amateurs trying to be cute. It takes away from the subject matter in a very obnoxious way and should not be used unless you truly understand video story telling and mood crafting.
Buy a mic. Understand audio is 80% of the art of shooting video. This could have been the first bit of advice, but it's so often not a an option for modern, of-the-shelf consumer camcorders that it's barely worth mentioning. But if your camcorder has an external mic input, or your video editing suite permits you to replace the camcorder's audio, then please consider using one of those options. The typical camcorder has the most horrible-sounding audio, so in almost every situation, it's better to find an alternate means of recording audio.
Hold still, for crying out loud! If you have to "run & gun," that is to shoot from the hip or in handheld mode, as opposed to shooting from a tripod or other stable platform, then please tuck your elbows in, find the shot quickly, and finally...hold that shot!
Does any of this help? I hope so. There's so much more to tell about shooting video, but heeding the advice you've just read will dramatically improve your chances of escaping notice by those who are happy with the ominous thumbs-down and the beloved composure hecklers.
Happy YouTubing!
Stop zooming! You destroy the context and framing of your shot when you zoom in and out, not to mention drive your audience nuts!
Be smooth! You can't walk your camera around a subject with shaky hands and swift motions without making at least a few people nauseous.
Fix your audio! Cheap, crumby camcorders in the hands of competition shooters are acceptable because they get audo. Bad audio ruins video always. It's too faint, competes with background noise, it's overtaken by a music bed or otherwise muddy or shrill. You'll do better when you treat the internal camcorder microphone as a...that's right, microphone! That usually means the camcorder has to be within a foot or two of the subject in order for it to be effective.
Please by a cheap tripod! 90% of the amateur mistakes you could make will be masked if you drop the camcorder on a stable platform, frame the shot, and leave it alone! A bean bag on a dining room table or fireplace mantle is a good alternative to a tripod.
Did I mention background music? Please don't add it! You could have an amazing, killer video, but the second you choose a music bed, you seriously reduce your potential audience. It's fine in your bedroom or on your iPod headphones, but everyone else isn't crazy about it. I've never heard of most of the groups that put out rubbish, but for reasons unknown the producer of the bicycle video I recently saw thought it necessary to toss in some acid-punk-rap at 150% volume that made my ears bleed! I love bikes. I hated the music! If you want to limit channel subscriptions, then go ahead and keep slapping your favorite acid-punk-rap numbers on your videos. But know people will be clicking the 'X.'
Edit! The cheapest editing suite known to man is Windows Movie Maker. It has the ability to cut out boring scenes. Please use it! One of the most meaningless phrases known to man is, "next what we're gonna do is we're gonna..." Leave that out. Also, "...and I'm gonna pause it here and show you (whatever)...okay we're back with the..." Yeah, that's not exactly instrumental to your story. Delete.
Transitions. No! Just no! Just because your editing suite has a number of cool-seeming transitions doesn't mean you have to experiment with them all. A simple cut is perfect for almost all scene transitions and a basic crossfade will almost always be adequate between topic changes. Blocks, page turns, diamonds, curtains and nearly every other style of wipe is for amateurs trying to be cute. It takes away from the subject matter in a very obnoxious way and should not be used unless you truly understand video story telling and mood crafting.
Buy a mic. Understand audio is 80% of the art of shooting video. This could have been the first bit of advice, but it's so often not a an option for modern, of-the-shelf consumer camcorders that it's barely worth mentioning. But if your camcorder has an external mic input, or your video editing suite permits you to replace the camcorder's audio, then please consider using one of those options. The typical camcorder has the most horrible-sounding audio, so in almost every situation, it's better to find an alternate means of recording audio.
Hold still, for crying out loud! If you have to "run & gun," that is to shoot from the hip or in handheld mode, as opposed to shooting from a tripod or other stable platform, then please tuck your elbows in, find the shot quickly, and finally...hold that shot!
Does any of this help? I hope so. There's so much more to tell about shooting video, but heeding the advice you've just read will dramatically improve your chances of escaping notice by those who are happy with the ominous thumbs-down and the beloved composure hecklers.
Happy YouTubing!
