TIM'S TIPS FOR VIVACIOUS VIDEO DR. TIM BAJKIEWICZ SCHOOL OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
Last update March 13, 2010
The Pro-Sumer Version I. Remember 1. Be respectful, not afraid: Cameras are meant to be used. You'd be amazed at what cameras can do when you get them performing at their best. 2. All digital is not created equal: Don't be impressed with something being digital— everything's digital these days. Find out specifics and if it'll do what you need. 3. Be a control freak: Most cameras have auto settings, and most of the time we don't want to use them. Control is the key to great video. 4. This stuff is complicated and time-consuming: Keep your expectations reasonable. For example, five minutes of well-shot, well-edited video is A LOT of work. Ken Burns didn't produce "The Civil War" his first time out. 5. Shoot now, edit later: After you shoot video you'll be digitizing Goading) it into a non-linear digital video editor, where you'll edit and move sound and video around as you want them. This means don't worry about shooting in the same order as in the final program. When you're in the field worry about shooting technically solid and content-compelling video. 6. Get it right the first time: Even the best video editing software isn't "Photoshop for Video" and you often can't "fix it in post (production)." If it's too dark or too bright it's possible to adjust it later, but it doesn't look quite right. If it's out of focus—forget about it. If the audio is too quiet you can turn it up, but you're also turning up noise, which sounds bad. If the audio is too loud and over-modulated—forget about it.
II. Picking up the camera 1. Check and know your gear: A few minutes checking your camera and other equipment before you head out in the field can save hours later (and maybe the entire shoot). Spend some time getting to know your gear before you really need to use it. Do some test recordings to check your gear and your shooting expertise. 2. Power it up: Load up the battery. Make sure it's charged up. Grab one more, at least.
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Load your media: Tape, memory card, whatever. Don't go cheap on tape—more expensive tape records better pictures and better supports all the back and forth of editing. Have extra media in the field. 4-
Check the lens: If the lens is dirty you need to clean it using a professional lens cleaning kit. Don't use your shirt, no matter how soft you think it is—it'll scratch the lens. Don't use the cheap lens cleaning wipes for eye glasses—it leaves a sheen.
5- FIBA: There are a few things that you MUST do to get any camera ready to shoot. Without attending to these your camera will be "fibbing" to you—lying about how it sees and records the world. a. FOter (higher-end cameras have one): You change this based on lighting /oy\
conditions, esp. inside or outside. The wrong filter results in strangely colored video.
Iris: Just like your eye, this controls the amount of light into the camera. Find 4VV€
out how you can adjust it, if needed. Most of the time leaving this in auto is OK.
White Balance: By setting this you tell the camera what color white is, so it can then set all the other colors. IMPORTANT: Reset the white balance EVERY time you change lighting conditions, esp. from inside to outside or vice-versa. Failure causes discolored video (blue or orange). Leaving this on auto can have unpredictable results, especially in mixed light conditions such as near a window. Find out how to manually set this. To white balance: i. Fill the frame with white (zoom on a sheet of paper, someone's t-shirt, just something that's fairly white) ii. There'll be a button or something to tell the camera to white balance on that iii. There's often some indication that the white balance was accepted by the camera. iv. Note: if it's too dark or too bright then the camera won't white balance, d. Audio: Figure out what is recording audio and how you control it. All cameras have on-board mics, but these aren't good for interviews—see if the camera has any way to attach an external mic. Higher-end cameras have audio controls right on the camera, while many consumer cameras either have them buried in some menu setting or may not allow you to control audio at all. Most consumer
Tim's Tips for Vivacious Video - Page 3 of 6 (and all pro) cameras have a headphone jack—wear headphones if possible, since this lets you "hear" what the camera is hearing. 6. Eyeball other settings: You may not know every setting on your camera, but look for anything that looks out of place.
III. Composing your shots 1. Think light: How much light is there? From what direction is it coming? What's its source—daylight, florescent, candles? Don't shoot your subject against something bright—this forces you into two bad choices regarding exposure: 1) the background is correctly exposed but your subject is dark, or 2) your subject is correctly exposed but the background is too bright (or "blown out"). 2. Focus up: To focus most shots: a. Zoom all the way in. b. Turn the focus ring on the lens to focus the shot. c. Zoom out and compose your shot. As long as the camera and the subject don't move, any shot in that zoom range will be in focus. It gets tougher to focus when you and/or the subject is moving and in lowlight conditions. 3. Fill the frame: Detach yourself from the camera and learn to look and analyze at the viewfinder and frame as you would a picture. Think like a still photographer. How is the shot composed? What is your eye drawn to in the frame? What would make this an interesting shot? What angle? With what in it? 4. Rule of Thirds: Off-center is much more interesting than centered Divide the frame into thirds going both ways. Put something interesting at one (maybe two) of the intersections. Whenever you
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videotape someone put their eyes on the top-third line. 5. Lead your subject: Put people off-center (using the rule-ofthirds) and put space in front of them("looking room").
Television screen image from http:/Avww.animatedbuzz.com /tutorials/camerangles.html
6. Level it up: Unless you're doing something more creative your shots need to be level. Use existing horizontal and vertical references, like the horizon or the top and/or edge of a building, and align it to the top or side of the viewfinder.
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Interviews/shooting people 7. Always think: a. Lighting b. Background (make it relevant; not a window) c. Sound environment 8. Focus in on their eyes (make them nice and shiny), then pull out and frame shot. 9. Use a lavaliere mic for all interviews...audio from the camera mic sounds horrible for an interview. 10. Use the rule of thirds...eyes should be on the line of the top third of the frame. 11. IMPORTANT: Also get B-roll of this person doing whatever they do (esp. with a wireless mic on them, if possible—great sound!) 12. Get cutaways during the interview: tights of hands moving, lapel pin, etc. You may need this to edit two cuts together without "leaving" the interview 13. For lighting: See if natural lighting will do (it depends). If you use one light, or use a natural light source, the interviewer should be between the camera and the light (Shadow-side to camera; I like to think "interviewer sandwich"); shadows are interesting and give the shot depth; a back light provides definition. Subject
Shadow is over here! Camera
Interviewer
IV. Shooting 1. Not right? Do something: If something doesn't look or seem right with the camera then do something about it. It won't get better on its own. Don't waste time shooting unusable footage with a camera that needs attention. 2. Try a tripod: Shaky video is usually amateur video. If you don't have one/it can't fit, "the world is your tripod:" steady the camera on a flat surface, etc. If you have to go hand-held...
Tim's Tips for Vivacious Video - Page 5 of 6 3. Leave the lens "wide" for hand-held: If you have to hold the camera don't zoom in—that's when it gets shaky. Instead, zoom with your feet (move the camera toward the subject)—that's how the movies do it. 4. The eye doesn't zoom: (unless you're the Terminator.) Lots of great TV (and all TV drama) have no camera zooms in or out. Frame up your shot and roll. 5. Shoot sequences: By editing different types of shots of the same action together we focus on what's interesting. Sequences of shots look logical when edited. For every shot sequence, shoot: a. Wide b. Medium c. Tight d. Plus extra wide and super tight (if possible). 6. Get close: TVs power is taking us where viewers can't go—up close and personal. Shoot LOTS of tight shots. In editing these are very important, since they can act as a transition to almost anything without continuity or location problems. Don't shoot close-ups from across the room...the shot gets shaky. Don't be afraid to get close with your camera—but watch too close (closer than a foot) where the camera can't focus any more. 7. Sit on your shots: Spend at least 10 seconds on every shot (count slowly to 10). 8. Sit on both ends: If you do a camera move (zoom, pan, etc.) sit on it on both ends and do it both ways. Say you want to pan across a room. Start at one end, wait 10 seconds, do the pan, wait 10 seconds when you've finished the pan, pan back the other way, then wait 10 seconds again. This gives you something to edit to. 9. Shoot and move: Don't shoot everything from the same place—move around for the best angles and shots. However, be aware of not "crossing the axis:" moving subjects shouldn't be shot from both sides, because then it looks like they're going in two different directions. Think "reverse angle" in football coverage. 10. Get a variety of b-roll: B-roll shots are those that support your story. Look around for the different kinds of relevant action going on. If you've already shot sequences of someone painting a wall don't get someone else painting, too. Shoot something else. 11. Audio is life's soundtrack: Always get natural (nat) sound—you can choose to not use it later. Put your mic where the sound is—you can edit the audio separately. Don't talk while the camera's rolling.
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V. Thinking about vivacious video 1. Focus your story: Effective TV stor5i:elling has to be very direct, with clear connections among any elements (some would say oversimplified). Before you think of anj^ing else substitute the words of "Who does what?" a. Who: Tell stories about people, not things. Even if the story is about a thing, the best focus is how that thing affects people. b. Does: This person or people are doing something. It's action, and moving pictures are all about action. c. What: This focuses us on something specific this person or people are doing. If we wanted to do a story abouf the new semester, it may be "Students return to campus" or "Faculty teach spring classes." Note that these have a different "who," so they have a different focus and are different stones. 2. Flan your shoot and shoot your plan: Considering story focus has the added benefit of guiding us on what to shoot (and what not to shoot). With the "faculty" story, I know I need shots of faculty actually teaching (not just talking about it), among other things. This brings up issues of access, etc. Anticipate the kinds of shots you could get. 3. Show, don't tell: The best TV visually tells stories, ideas, and information. Great sound bites are important, but they become compelling when coupled with powerful pictures. 4. This isn't a detective show: Very directly show me what ideas you want me to walk away with. If your story is about the difficult life of a single mom, I need to see her struggle with getting her kids to bed after a long day's work, or her anguish in balancing her meager checkbook. Have fun and do great work.
THINKF-I-W-A
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DR. TIM BAJKIEWICZ
SCHOOL OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
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Think F I W A ; F i l t e r - I r i s - W h i t e b a l a n c e - A u d i o You must check i) the light filter, 2) the iris setting and 3) re-white balance every time you first use the camera and whenever you change lighting conditions Checking 4) audio all the time is important.
1. Filter a. The light filter is on the left, front side of the camera. Set it based on the following: i. 3200 K - indoors (also sunrise and sunset) ii. 5600 K + 1/8 ND - outdoors: clear skies iii. 5600 K - outdoors: cloudy or raining iv. 5600 K + 1/64 ND - outdoors: very bright conditions iO»
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Set the iris to manual: it's the switch on the top front ofthe lens controls, "M/A". Set to
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though the iris is set to manual, you can take a quick auto iris setting—do this. Point
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camera at object under the lighting conditions and hit the button next to "A." You will hear the iris move. Wait for it to stop moving before removing your finger from button. c. You can adjust the iris yourself by turning the iris ring at the back of the lens assemblylook for the F^stops: 16,11, 8,5.6, etc. Hitting the auto iris button usually does a very good job, so be careful about big adjustments after that. d. Look for the zebra bars—they tell you that bright portions are properly exposed. You want zebra bars on the brightest parts of the image. (Zebra bar switch is on the front of the viewfinder.)
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3. White Balance aJfo C3US '
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Point at something white and zoom in until the viewfinder is filled with it. (This can be anything white...someone's t-shirt, a wall, etc. Just make sure it's fairly white and not pink or some other off-white.)
b. Turn the focus ring so that it's completely out of focus. Yes, out of focus. This softens up the light a bit, making for a better white balance. c. At the front bottom of the camera find the "Auto White" switch. Looking in the viewfinder, push it up. If the white balance takes, you'll see "Auto White (A or B) OK."
Let it spring back to the middle position. If the iris is open too much (image "too hot") or the lighting is too low it will tell you. (It says A or B because you can preset the camera for two different white balances. Which you're on is set by the "Wht. Bal" switch to the right of the "Output" switch on the camera left, front bottom.)
4. Audio ^<piscW'3
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Both "Audio Selects" in "Manual" Ch-i is interview audio, so gets the lav mic you'll hook up - SET TO REAR INPUT Ch-2 is nat sound - SET TO FRONT INPUT
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d. Don't care where the audio input knob is—only care what the audio meters are doing. If possible, check with the audio you'll actually be using. (For an interview you'll wait until
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they are mic-ed up, then set it while they're speaking before the actual interview.) The
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audio bars should peak just over -20! This is really important, because bad audio will ruin an otherwise good piece of video. There is another Ch-i audio setting on the front of the camera, to make it easy to adjust during an interview. Make sure that's set to 10. (It may be disabled anyway.) f.
You can set the heads-up display in the viewfinder to show audio levels...highly recommended.
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USE HEADPHONES! It's the only way to truly monitor what your audio sounds like.
Compose your shots and record 1.
The best way to make sure you have focus is to zoom all the way in, focus, then pull out to compose your shot. If neither the camera nor the object moves, it'll be in focus for any zoom, pan, or tilt.
2. For people FOCUS ON THEIR EYES. Zoom in, focus up, then pull out and compose. 3. Try to set the iris correctly when you begin shooting a particular scene—you don't want to change it too often while you're shooting because the brightness differences will be noticeable in editing. 4. Remember: You must check the light filter and iris setting and re-white balance whenever you change lighting conditions or when you shut the camera off! 5. Press the VTR button to start and stop recording. This is on the handle with the W-T rocker, on the side closest to the camera. 6. Don't have anv shots less than lo-i^; seconds. You'll need this when editing. Hold on shots for 10 seconds on both ends of any camera move, like a pan. It's a good idea to do the shot both ways, holding on each end. (Shooting A, wait 10 sec. -> pan to B, wait -> pan back to A, wait.)
7. You should tiy and use the battery until it dies and the camera shuts off. BUT, replace batteiy before interview—you don't want the battery dying then.
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TIM'S TIPS FOR VIVACIOUS VIDEO DR. TIM BAJKIEWICZ SCHOOL OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
After you shoot video you'll be digitizing it into a non-linear digital video editor, where you'll edit and move sound and video around as you want them. This means don't worry about shooting in the same order as in the final program (but see "Edit in the camera" below). Worry about shooting technically solid and content-compelling video. t>^t
General shooting ^ S/ioiy me what ideas you want me to walk away with.
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^ Ask yourself: What is my eye drawn to in this frame? ^ Ask yourself: What would make this an interesting shot? What angle? With what in it? ^ Use a tripod whenever possible! If you don't have one/it can't fit, "the world is your tripod." ^ Technical issues: filter, iris, white balance- are these acceptable? (If it looks bad in your viewfinder, do something.) «Wi.tsuy\,| 6^ DON'T pan and zoom, zoom and pan. Sit on your shots! Spend at least lo seconds on every shot (count slowly to lo)
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^ Get close with your camera. Don't shoot close-ups from across the room...the shot gets shaky.Shootandmoue. -
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"Edit in the camera" by shooting in sequences—these look great (and logical) when edited. For every shot sequence, shoot: i / , • o Wide Uor1~^o Medium tje.-H-er-'f o Tight -
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Tight shots are very important...they can act as a transition to almost anything without continuity or location problems ^ Shoot a variety of B-roll...not lots of the same thing.
If you do a camera move (zoom, pan, etc.) sit on it on both ends and do it both ways o
Example: You want to pan across a room. Start at one end, wait lo seconds, do,the pan, wait lo seconds when you've finished the pan, pan back the other way, then wait 10 seconds again.
Lead the subject whichever way he or she is looking (don't just center the person in the frame); see example below ^ Don't talk while the camera's rolling...natural (nat) sound shouldn't include your chatter ^ Speaking of...always get nat sound. Put your microphone where the sound is. ^ Pay attention to how the frame is filled...think like a still photographer! Fill the frame.
Interviews/shooting people ^ Always think: o
Lighting
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Background (relevant, not a window)
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Sound environment
Focus in on eyes, then pull out and frame sh^
Television screen image from http:/Avww.animatedbuzz.com /tutorials/camerangles.html
^ Use a lavaliere mic for all interviews...>aiImo from the camera mic sounds horrible for^n interview
Use the rule of thirds...eyes should be on the line of the top third of the frame and something interesting should be at the intersections IMPORTANT: Get B-roll of this person doing whatever they do (esp. with a mic on them, if possibleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;great sound!) Get cutaways during the interview: tights of hands moving, lapel pin, etc. You may need this to edit two cuts together without "leaving" the interview ^ For lighting: See if natural lighting will do (it depends). o
If you use one light, or use a natural light source, the interviewer should be between the camera and the light (Shadow-side to camera; I think "interviewer sandwich); shadows are interesting and give the shot depth; a back light provides definition. Subject
Shadow is over here!
Camera
Interviewer
Light