Quick Video Shooting Tips

Professional videographers use certain techniques to get shots with consistent quality. It takes knowledge, time, and practice to be a true professional, but there are some easy-to-learn tips that can make your shots look much better than amateur shots, and it only takes as long as, well, it takes to read this page. If you're going out to shoot something print this page out, and look at it a few times as you shoot.

Quick Video Shooting Tips


Disable Auto Iris - Use Manual Iris (if possible)

Professional shooters usually set the iris for each shot. The Iris is the part of the camera that opens up or closes down to limit the amount of light that comes into the camera (just like your eyeball). If you do a pan (see Camera Moves below) with the Auto Iris on, and the amount of light is different from one part of the pan to the other, the Iris will automatically change, but it won't look professional. It's better to pick the part of the pan that's most important - manually set the Iris for that, and then do the pan. It's okay if part of the pan is a little too bright or dark. What if the lighting change is extreme in the pan, like bright window to dark interior? Answer - don't do it. Shoot the window and the interior separately, and set Iris for each. Artsy tip - It might be okay to set light for interior, and then pan to bright window (which will look blown out) if the intent is to use bright window for transition to something else.

Focusing

Always zoom in (see Camera Moves below) as tight as possible, set the focus, and then pull back to the desired shot. If the shot goes out of focus when you widen the shot it indicates something is wrong with the camera (back focus is out of adjustment). In such a case the above procedure won't work.

Steady the Camera

A tripod is the preferred method, but there are ways to improve the steadiness without a tripod. One way is to set the camera on something solid, or hold the side of it against something (like a telephone pole). One can also hand hold the camera but steady themself by leaning against something. If a tripod or way of steadying the camera is unavailable just try to keep the shots steady and avoid jerky motion. Wide shots are easier to keep steady than tight (zoomed in) shots. Artsy tip - it's not unusual to see hand held wiggly shots in professional presentations, but they're usually done for effect - to give the shot a documentary feel. I don't recommend them for most presentations. Think about it. When you look at something do you let your eyes or head jump around?

Camera Moves

A pan  pan  is moving the camera to look from left to right or right to left, just as if you were turning your head. A tilt  tilt  is moving the camera so you look up or down. A zoom  zoom  is going from a wide shot to a tight shot (close-up) or visa-versa.

Get More Than One Shot of the Same Subject

Take a static shot (no camera movement or zoom). Then take a few shots of the same subject with zooms, tilts, or pans.

Draw the Viewer in

This tip applies both to shooting and editing, but it starts with the shoot. Begin with wide shots of your subject. Then get medium and close shots of the same subject. So if you're shooting Billy's birthday party ... get a shot of the roomfull of kids, get a shot of the table with kids around the cake, get a tight shot of Billy blowing out the candles. Apply the same idea to anything. If it's an informational piece about a hospital ... get a couple exterior shots, take the viewer into the waiting areas, get some Doctor and patient shots (frequently called a 2 shot), get some close shots (x-rays, machines, procedures). If you want more examples just watch your favorite TV show. TV and video don't do a great job of conveying large areas to the viewer, but those shots are often necessary to establish where we are and what we're talking about. Video is a good close-up medium. So shoot in such a way that you draw the viewer from the big picture to the small. Just remember this - start wide - end tight.

Links


Video Shooting Tips for Non-Professionals

Final Cut Pro Tips & Tricks for Experienced Editors

 I encourage questions and/or comments?

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