Filming
A highly skilled video journalist can produce a film which appears to be shot with several cameras concurrently, when in fact it is simply a case of confident perception of action, good awareness of continuity breaks and a highly developed shooting instinct. It is vital to be able to grab the attention of the viewer, take them on a journey, and then leave them inspired, ready and able to respond. It is all very well shooting masses of film, but you must be constantly thinking of how this is going to translate efficiently into your editing workflow, and ultimately the story you want to tell.
“Shoot for the Edit”
Films don’t make themselves. You can’t think: more footage = a better film. You must always think: ‘Why have I got the camera rolling now? How could this shot fit into my editing timeline?’ It is said a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind, so it is with filming too. A cluttered shoot is a cluttered, complicated and – most importantly – inefficient use of time spent editing. The phrase used by pros here is ‘Shoot for the Edit’. Even if you have masses of tape or a nice large memory card, you’ll find you enjoy the shoot more if you think about what you’re trying to achieve. Try and picture in your mind what you’d like the style and feel of your final film to be; then set about harvesting the shots you need.
“Be Still!”
One of the worst times of stress in an edit suite is when you’re trying to cut together footage of shaky, zooming, or wandering shots. A good discipline is to try and count in your head to at least five when taking a shot, preferably longer. It may sound like a chore – and feel like it too – but you’ll be amazed how much easier it is to cut still shots together. Another nasty technique, which can often by dropped completely, is zooming during a shot. Yes, zoom to find a shot, but not many zoomed shots work well in an edit. For one it’s very hard to make a good steady zoom without a nice tripod, and two, by the time you’ve set up a shot you want to zoom into, the action may have gone out of frame. If you want to show a wide shot and a close up, then do that: take a wide shot then a close up – avoid combining the two into a potentially ropey zoom.
Come along to a Worldview Media video training day to find out more about the ins and outs of single crew filming and editing. Contact us for details or to arrange a session.
Choosing the right camera
You just need to look on any camcorder retailer’s website to know how much choice and price range there is, so where should you start?
There is a very important split in terms of camcorder suitability. Are you going to be shooting for broadcast on TV or not.
If you’re shooting is only for the web, you can be much more relaxed about what camera you go for – not ‘anything goes’, but more room to play with. Pretty much all TV broadcasters now require Full HD (as opposed to SD or even HDV). For the majority of its programming the BBC currently doesn’t accept anything less than the equivalent of a Canon XF 305, which retails at over £6,000. That’s before broadcast quality microphones, a top quality, light, and fluid tripod, memory cards, lights and a whole host of other accessories. Just for interest, a pro TV or film camera would set you back nearer £25,000. But, in all likelihood, you won’t be needing to think about that level of production – yet.
So now we look at the non-broadcast cameras. The real difference between them is in functionality – what you can adjust (e.g. focus and exposure), what you can attach (e.g. microphones and lighting). It really depends on your budget. You can get good HD pictures out of £1000 mini camcorders, but they often don’t allow good availability of manual functions which can help you get a better shot. A prosumer camera for around £1800 will probably have external mic connections and many manual functions, but these may be hidden in hard to get to menus, or not give you the full range of adjustment you desire. Then there’s the pro camcorders (up to around £12000), which are mostly very good indeed for web video and low budget indie flicks. There’s not much to choose between them, but – at the price of a decent car – be careful to do your research, and if possible get to test one out first, before opening the purse strings.
Worldview Media can give you fuller consultancy on purchasing cameras and other video equipment, as well as technical support, on enquiry.
