Get the right shots
1. Plan out your shoot
Talk with your partner about the story you want to capture. PROJECT PROPOSAL / SHOT SHEET
Create a shot sheet so you won't forget shots
2. Don't just get video, get good shots
3. Remember Wide, Medium, Tight - Get a wide, medium, tight of everything you shoot
4. Get different angles to add variety and interest - Try setting the camera on the floor or get close to your subject.
5. Don't "cross the plane"
When you are shooting a subject, create an imaginary line down the center of what you are shooting and stay on
one side of it. If you shoot someone from the left, then from the right, you'll end up with jump cuts while editing.
6. White balance with each new location. White balancing ensures that your video will have the right color.
Always take a white piece of paper with you on a shoot.
Example: If your camera is set for shooting outdoors and you move inside without re-white balancing, your video will be blue.
To white balance on your camera:
7. BE ON THE LOOKOUT:
8. How do you know what to capture?
9. Get the right framing
10. Think about depth
Talk with your partner about the story you want to capture. PROJECT PROPOSAL / SHOT SHEET
Create a shot sheet so you won't forget shots
2. Don't just get video, get good shots
- Frame the shot, then push record. After 10 seconds, stop recording, THEN move on to framing the next shot. Starting and stopping on shots will give you better clips to work with when you go to edit, and it will speed up your edit time. (Why 10 seconds? While an edited shot is only 3-5 seconds, you want to make sure you have "pad" on either side in case you want to add an effect or need it longer to fill time.)
- If you plan to zoom or pan, practice once or twice before pushing Record. This will give you a better shot, and fewer "takes" on what you want to capture, and make editing easier.
3. Remember Wide, Medium, Tight - Get a wide, medium, tight of everything you shoot
4. Get different angles to add variety and interest - Try setting the camera on the floor or get close to your subject.
5. Don't "cross the plane"
When you are shooting a subject, create an imaginary line down the center of what you are shooting and stay on
one side of it. If you shoot someone from the left, then from the right, you'll end up with jump cuts while editing.
6. White balance with each new location. White balancing ensures that your video will have the right color.
Always take a white piece of paper with you on a shoot.
Example: If your camera is set for shooting outdoors and you move inside without re-white balancing, your video will be blue.
To white balance on your camera:
- Hit “FUNC” key on the video camera screen
- Hit “WB”
- Hit “Custom
- Zoom in on something white and hit “set WB"
- Wait for the color to correct, then you can move the camera.
7. BE ON THE LOOKOUT:
- For natural sound opportunities - get up close to the sound to fully capture it (don't try to get sound of a typing from across the room.)
- For good close-ups / unique shots
- For your beginning and ending shots
8. How do you know what to capture?
- Think of how you would describe what you are shooting, and capture those details.
- What are the steps involved in your story? Capture each of those individually. If you are shooting a student in class, get a wide shot of them at the desk, a closeup of their face thinking, a closeup of their hand writing and a wider shot to include the classroom context.
- Look for "unique" shots. Extreme closeups.
- What tells the story?
- Where are the details of the story?
9. Get the right framing
- Rule of thirds - don't put your subject right in the center of the video, think about creating thirds and capture your video on the cross lines EXAMPLE
10. Think about depth
- Try to set up shots that have foreground, middle ground and background EXAMPLE
Framing an interview
- Frame them off to the side: When framing an interview, they should be off to one side or another, leaving "look off" space on the side they are facing. This creates a natural look. If they were looking to the right and there was no empty space, it would look like they were getting cut off.
- Create depth in the framing - Do not put a subject right against a wall. The camera will make it look like they are literally "backed against the wall" and it makes the shot uncomfortable.
- Keep the background appropriate to the story, but not too busy. If your eyes are getting distracted by the background, choose something else.
- Keep the interview in a natural setting and the background with the tone of the story.
- During the interview, get a wider shot, medium shot and tight shot. Only move the camera when the person is NOT talking.