Are You Really Ready to Make Great Home Movies and Videos?  

Lessons learned from Real Life

By Mark Shapiro

Are you just starting out with your first camcorder and are looking to become the Steven Spielberg, Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino of your family and neighborhood? Maybe you have had a camcorder for a while but have been afraid to do much more than just pick it up and shoot some video around the house? Maybe you have been shooting videos for a while but they are not looking as good as you would like? Here are some tips, gathered over years of both professional and amateur videomaking, that may be of value to you. These tips are for general moviemaking and using a camcorder, not just for shooting video destined to be used on a web site or distributed digitally.

Know Your Equipment

It may sound odd but every camcorder is different. Each model has its particular quirks and techniques for optimal performance. In my years of reviewing camcorders and of using a diverse cornucopia of camcorders and video cameras to videotape family events, weddings, business meetings, music videos and concerts, I have noticed that it takes a while to figure out just where each camcorder’s buttons are and just how far I can move my thumb before I accidentally activate the wrong effect or transition.

There are many different things you should know about your camcorder before you decide to tape a one time event where a single mistake may earn you your family’s ire for years to come. Start first with the basics. Know where the start and stop recording button is and learn to recognize when your camera is rolling tape and when it is not. There is little worse then thinking you had captured your daughter’s first homerun and then looking at your camcorder with a sickening feeling and discovering that you have been in PAUSE the entire time. “Daddy, when can we see my video?”

If your camcorder supports it, turn on the start and stop beeps. Also, if your camcorder provides, make sure the time code or footage meter is displayed in the viewfinder or foldout LCD view screen. I get a very comfortable feeling as I see those numbers churning away, reminding me that yes indeed, the tape is actually moving past the video heads and is recording video and audio. 

Another good technique to practice with your new camcorder is zooming. Some zoom controls are very touchy while some are smooth as silk. Almost every camcorder now comes with variable touch zoom control. The harder you push, the faster the zoom goes. Practice with it so that you know just how much touch is needed to do a slow zoom  versus a crash zoom.

 Also play with focus. Even though auto focus works great most of the time, there are some moments when you will need to focus manually. Know how to find that focus ring in the dark; learn which way you need to turn the focus ring. 

What about manual overrides, transitions and special effects?  If you use controls like white balance, aperture, shutter speed, etc., practice with them before using them for the first time in the field. If your camcorder supports it, check out the various auto exposure modes and see how they affect your camcorder. Sometimes modes like Sports, Sun & Ski, Landscape, etc., can be very helpful. On other camcorders they may not do much at all.

Master your Backlight button

Backlight helps you save those situations where you are videotaping someone against a bright background and all you are getting is a silhouette. Obviously the best thing to do, if possible, is move the subject so they are properly lit. You can also re-compose your shot to eliminate the glaring background. Baring those solutions, the next best is the backlight control which opens up the camcorder aperture a few stops enabling your subject to be more properly exposed while letting the background burn out.

How light sensitive is your camcorder? How much light do you really need to make nice pictures? You need to know before you volunteer to shoot a wedding ceremony in a candlelit church how your camcorder is going to respond in that low lighting. Will you need to make special adjustments to the manual controls like aperture, shutter speed and gain? Do you even know where your aperture, shutter and gain controls are?

Some camcorders make it easy to access the manual controls…some force you to navigate an endless series of menus to turn on and control these effects. In some instances, these frustrating menus may actually be better because it makes it more difficult to accidentally engage an effect or control. If you are going to use overrides, make sure you can find them and control them in dimly lit situations.

If you have been reading this magazine or doing video for any length of time you know about the need for a good tripod. However, every tripod is different. Some pan and tilt smoother than others; some need extra muscle to lock and unlock them. Some have legs and extensions that are tricky to open up and use. It might sound silly but you need to practice setting up and using your tripod, just like your camcorder.  Tripods and heads vary in many ways.

When I was working a professional camera operator, one of the first things I would do whenever I got on a job with a new camera and tripod was to practice setting it up and adjusting it. Also, I would spend a lot of time panning and tilting with the camcorder mounted on the tripod head.  Which lock does what? Which control knob loosens what? A good exercise is to focus on a distant object and then practice zooming in and out while at the same time panning and tilting, trying to keep the entire process as smooth as possible.

Special Effects or Not –

I don’t like using special effects when shooting. If you apply a special effect to your video while you are shooting, you are stuck with it. If you decide to use an “old time movie” effect while shooting your video, you can not go back later and get rid of it.

That is why I recommend adding all your special effects later in the editing process.  That way the original footage stays pristine and perfect. Experiment with effects in the editing process. By the way, many new camcorders can now add these special effects during playback so that if you really want them, you can get them without affecting your original video.

The biggest problem I have noted with camcorder special effects is that sometimes they get accidentally turned on and you end up shooting your whole video without noticing that the image is stretched out to wide angle or that the image is tinted pink. In the rush of excitement when shooting a family event, it is easy to overlook the fact, especially in a dark hall, that something just doesn’t look right about the picture in the viewfinder.

However, there may be times when you have to use special effects. Maybe you hate to edit or don’t have time to add additional effects. I know professional wedding guys who prefer to do many of their effects in camera. They have pre-set up “wedding day” stills with a series of graphics that can be used to superimpose over the live video. They also use pre-made stills to act as chapters between the various sections of the event.

Be prepared – the videographer’s mantra

Maybe it is the Boy Scout motto or Murphy’s Law, but being ready for all that can go wrong is the best way to prepare for a video shoot. For example – do you have enough batteries in case the ceremony or event goes long? Are they fully charged?  If you do run out of charged batteries, did you remember to bring the AC power supply? OK, you got the power supply but did you bring power extension cords? How about some duct tape to tape down those cords so that people don’t trip over them?

How about videotape? Do you have enough? Do you have a good system for labeling and keeping track of your tapes? What about shooting outside events? Are you ready for all eventualities?  What if it starts to rain or snow? What are you going to do if the sun sets?

Speaking of the sun, where will it be? I remember a time when I decided to do a favor for some friends of mine who were getting married. At the last second they had called up and asked if I would videotape their wedding as the company they had hired fell through. It was a beautiful location – on a cliff overlooking the ocean at sunset. The only problem was that they wanted to have the setting sun behind them.  Oops. Because I rushed down there without any preparation, it was one of the most difficult jobs I ever had. Between trying to keep the couple and other members of the wedding party properly lit, and trying to capture the sounds of their vows, it turned out to be a nightmare. And it was a favor…

Shoot Too Much – Cover Your Scene

Unless you are planning to edit your entire production in the camera, on location, feel free to overshoot. Tape is cheap. As long as you have power and tape,  shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Make sure you get lots of close-ups. Close-ups of faces, of presents, of the cake, etc.  Get shots of any documentation like signs, cards and banners.  These kinds of shots, often referred to a b-roll in the professional world, often spell the difference between a boring chronological documentary of what happened at an event and a lively and exciting video production.

 You might want to hand off your camcorder to others and let them have a go. If you feel comfortable, bring some extra consumer camcorders, put them on full automatic, and hand them out. Let some of the other people at the event roam around and gather footage. Each video shooter has a personality.  There are certain kinds of shots you will prefer to grab. By letting other personalities participate in the shooting process, you will get a much wider range of shots to select from.  Of course, the negative is that you will have to watch and log these other tapes and unfortunately, much of it may simply be unusable. Bu that is the penalty for creativity.

Audio – Use a Good Mike

 If you want the audio to sound good you need to spend some time planning on how to capture interviews, music and other room sounds. If you are going to edit MOS (mitt out sound – an old film expression) and just lay in a music soundtrack, it obviously doesn’t matter.

 Unfortunately, the built-in microphones on most camcorders are not very good. DV camcorders have the “potential” to capture great CD quality sound but once again, their built-in microphones border on average to poor. On many camcorders, especially those tiny little DV camcorders, the microphone is on top, perfect for catching room noise and little else.

 You will need to use some kind of external microphone plugged into your camcorder’s audio in jack. Some camcorders, in particular, Sony, provide a mike power outlet as well. Either way, by using an external mike, you will be able to get much better quality audio.

 If you are working by yourself you can attach a shotgun mike to your camcorder and walk around the room, catching video and audio. Another option is to use a wireless microphone system. The receiver unit sits on your camcorder. You can then attach a wireless lavaliere mike to whoever is speaking or you can hold a mike in your hand. If you can recruit a helper, it is often helpful to have someone walk around the event conducting interviews with the guests and partygoers. I have done this before and recommend using several different interviewers as each will know different people and have different angles on doing interviews. By the way, it might be tempting to hand the mike to a drunk and boisterous volunteer but usually you end up regretting it…

 If you have a helper, you can have them do these interviews with a hand held mike, or by using a mike on a boom, actually move in close enough to mike the various guests. Whatever option you choose, make sure you hook up your mike system before you go to the event and try it out. Play with it a while and make sure the connections are secure.  Of course, if these are powered mikes, brings lots of extra batteries.

The Lone Videographer
Record professional sound without a dedicated sound engineer How to record audio using a boompole and a shotgun microphone with a video camera when you are working alone.

 Have a Plan – All Parties tell a story and all events are epics

 Every video you shoot tells a story. It has a beginning, middle and end. Whether you are simply documenting your kid’s birthday party, a little league game or a wedding, every event has a structure. Obviously the easiest structure to follow is chronological. First this happened, then this, then this.

 You don’t have to shoot in this order but your finished production should have a pattern and structure. For example, lets take a typical children’s birthday party.  You might want to start with interviewing your kid when he or she wakes up the morning of the party. You may then want to cut to a close-up of the invitation. This could serve as a great title section for the movie. Your next shots might be preparing for the party and getting everything ready. Your next shots could be a series of the guests arriving, then a montage of various party games cut to some cool rock and roll, and finally ending with everyone singing happy birthday, and opening up the presents. Document the guests leaving, the big mess in the house, and maybe then end with a still shot of your 5 year old napping after the big event. You get the idea. Create a story.

 Write down the shots you will need. Create a checklist to make sure you get all the shots you need. Of course, be open to “found” shots. Things just happen and you should be open to catching the unexpected.

 Depending on your computer and editing gear, you might want to edit all this in the camcorder, carefully shooting one scene after another. You can also connect two DV camcorders together via their 1394/FireWire ports and assemble edit between them, building your final presentation. And of course, if you have nonlinear editing software on your computer, you can edit your final production together and add sophisticated titles, effects and transitions.

 It is up to you.

 Whether you are creating a one minute short video about a family event, or a one hour documentary about a pressing special issue, just remember these basic points – tell a story with your production, make sure you are comfortable with your equipment, including the camcorder, audio and tripod, and expect things to go wrong and have a work around plan and gear just in case.

Of course, if you are planning to put your video on the web, you will also have to deal with compression, bandwidth restraints and the other issues associated with streaming and web based video.

Go to MakeMovies for more details regarding editing, compression and posting your videos on the web

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"All Parties Tell A Story"

DV versus High 8 versus Digital 8

Secrets of Low Budget Lighting

Guide to the Best Consumer Camcorders

How to Shoot Your Kids, Pets and other little squirmy, moving and unhelpful creatures

Are you a master of your zoom? Do you find yourself watching back your videos and thinking - huh, what was I thinking? That easy to use zoom control button is the most commonly abused control on your camcorder. 35x zoom can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Here is a fun little tutorial about how to take control of your zoom more

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