12 Tips for Shooting Digital Video

Christopher Essex

 

1. Be aware of the time. Most digital video batteries last for less than 2 hours. And even less if you use the video monitor screen.

 

2. Start shooting before the action begins, and afterwards. Editing will be a lot easier if you have extra footage before and after the event you are trying to capture.

 

3. Look at what you’re shooting through the video monitor at least in the beginning. And make sure your view is exactly straight-on—looking at the screen at an angle can distort colors and color levels.

 

4. Use an external microphone if at all possible. Your actions (and your breathing) are louder than you think. Wear headphones so that you can ensure that the microphone is working. Make sure you turn off the microphone when it’s not being used, so that the battery doesn’t run down.

 

5. Use a tripod if possible. Practice with the tripod beforehand. If you can’t use a tripod, lean against something or place the camera on something.

 

6. Don’t “spray paint” or “yo-yo” your shots. Don’t pan over here to something interesting, then pan over there to something else. Similarly, don’t zoom in and out. Think instead of a series of still shots.

 

7. Think about your end product when choosing shots. If you are creating a streaming video, panning and zooming will pixelate badly and cause eyestrain. Full-figure shots will render your subject too tiny to be identifiable—choose close-ups and medium shots. Stay on one side of the people you’re shooting.

 

8. Instead of using the digital effects on your camera, save them for editing, where they are undoable if you don’t like the end result.

 

9. Be careful to avoid backlighting whenever possible. Pushing the backlight button to compensate often leaves you with a washed-out background and a generally unpleasant image.

 

10. If you have a long dialogue to shoot, shoot it all first from a medium two-shot to ensure the whole thing is covered. Then have them repeat the dialogue and shoot close-ups. (This is only if you only have 1 camera. If you have two, make sure they are both the same medium and quality. Don’t try to mix Hi8 and MiniDV shots in the same video, for instance.)

 

11. Simplify your background. Less detail in the background means less information for the video software to keep track of. And the details of the background will be too small, if you’re streaming the video, to make out anyway. Choose a simple background for your shots.

 

12. Get close. With online video, closer shots will seem sharper, since more pixels will be devoted to them. It will also tend to blur the background, meaning less data to keep track of there.