CREATIVE VIDEO PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Reading any advice on improving your video production skills, one quickly learns that using a tripod is a top priority.

Tripods assure you steady, clean looking video.  Nothing screams AMATEUR in video production as quickly as a wildly moving camera. Spastic-cam I used to call it.

Something about a video camera in their hands makes people want to pan, tilt and zoom with the enthusiasm of a two-year-old at Christmas.

Slow and steady marks professional video.  Tripod shots locked down, rock solid.

Problem is, tripods can be a pain in the bazookie.

Heavy, huge and cumbersome.

Tripod substitutes to the rescue.

It's amazing what objects can function as a tripod in a pinch.  Counter tops of all kinds.  Stack of books.  A laundry hamper.  Trees, rocks, banisters.

I've used every one of those.  My all-time favorite is my own lap.  I carry that everywhere!  I sit down cross-legged, all hunched over, hugging my camera, and prop it up on my feet and ankles.  This gives you a cool low-angle bug's-eye view-of-the-world shot.  Flexible ankles give you as good of control as a medium-quality fluid head tripod.  Of course the older I got, the quality of my ankle-pod more resembled a $25 tripod from Wal Mart, but hey, what the heck.

Not only is the practice of using tripod substitutes efficient and functional, it also gives a naturally artistic quality to your videoography. Because the best shots are often ones coming from an odd perspective that people do not normally see.   Those out-of-the-way perspectives usually are not large enough to accommodate a tripod either, so a pile of rocks might be your only option.

So the next time you are shooting video and a tripod is not feasible, look around for something to use as a tripod substitute.

Thanks for visiting Video Production Tips!

Lorraine Grula

Internet Video Gal

Technorati Tags: Create Better Home Movies, Internet Video Gal, shooting video, video production

One of the largest and best places to buy video production equipment is B&H Photo. B&H has long been a favorite among video professionals.  They sell home equipment too.   They carry all kinds of video equipment as well as still photo equipment.  Computers.  Accessories.  You name it they sell it.

I've worked in the video business for 30 years and whenever it was that I first became cognizant of video equipment retailers, B&H was the one.  It still is.

WHY IS B&H PHOTO SO POPULAR?

Two reasons.

1. They have everything.
2. Their prices beat most others.

B&H is HUGE.  They carry absolutely everything.  If B&H does not carry it, then it probably does not exist.  Their catalogue weighs about 10 pounds and could easily be mistaken for paperback version of War and Peace.

Their prices are great too.  Every TV station I ever worked for approached spending money like Scrooge.  B&H Photo made them smile.  OK, I can't go that far.  B&H made them grumble less.

When I worked as a high school TV production teacher, they were even stingier.  I had to PROVE (in triplicate) that I was buying the least expensive equipment available.  I bought almost everything from B&H.  It was the easiest thing to do since they carry everything and that was the only way I could keep the paperwork manageable.

If I am in the mood to research video equipment, I immediately head over to the B&H Photo website.  Since they carry everything on the planet, it is an absolute wealth of information.  I can spend hours clicking through their website, drooling the entire time.  Hey-I'm a nerd that way!

So if you are in the mood to research or buy any video production equipment, check out B&H Photo.   It is a fun time guaranteed!  Right now, they are offering free shipping on Apple computer products.

Thanks for visiting Video Production Tips.

Lorraine Grula

Internet Video Gal

Technorati Tags: Internet Video Gal, video equipment, video production, video production equipment

My answer is always the same.

It depends.

Frustrating answer for some, but there are so many marvelous digital video cameras on the market today with so many features, precisely which one is best for you depends entirely on your budget and which features are important to you.

In order to help you chose the right video camera, I made this short video tutorial that explains some of the basics about video cameras. You can watch it in less than three minutes and then the sales guy at the store won't be able to fool you into wasting money on worthless features.

Enjoy this video and thanks for being a subscriber to Video Production Tips.

Lorraine Grula
Internet Video Gal

Technorati Tags: digital video, Internet Video Gal, Lorraine Grula

He was wanting to buy a relatively inexpensive camcorder, a consumer model like what you would find at Best Buy or Circuit City.
He wondered whether he should get one that came with a separate battery charger or one where the camera WAS the battery charger.

I told him… no doubt about it, get one with a separate charger, (all other things being equal.)

Here's why.

• First, if you can only charge a battery up with the camera, you obviously cannot shoot while your battery is charging.
• Two, if the charger function should poop out, your entire camera will probably be worthless. You might be able to find a compatible charger, but I guarantee that will be a royal pain in the whazoo.

I have an inexpensive Cannon Mini-DV camcorder. I love it. I have two batteries with it so I can charge one battery up and not have to stop shooting. There's nothing worse than running out of battery power when there is video to be shot!
To me, an extra battery is worth the $40-$80 or so bucks it will cost. Combining the two functions in one unit really limits you.
As with all gadgets, if you get a video camera with all kinds of multiple purposes, sometimes you end up regretting it. My can opener opens cans. It doesn't unclog the sink.
When I worked as a TV Production Teacher, the school bought cameras that also functioned as chargers. For the reasons listed above, I didn't like it, but why would they listen to me?
The bean counters saved a few bucks, but other than that, I can not think of a single advantage to having your camera be the charger.

Here's to your video dreams coming true!

Lorraine Grula

Internet Video Gal

Chroma-key technique is a way to put you on the planet Mars if that’s what your video script calls for.

Chroma-key is cheap and easy.
It can transport you from Mars to the American Revolution in the punch of a button.

Chroma means color.

In video, key means to put one image on top of another.
Chroma key means you remove any one color from your image and replace it with something else. Anything else you want. A still shot of the planet Mars downloaded from NASA. Or a video with gruesome battle scenes on the Potomac.

WHAT COLORS ARE USED?
Bright lime green and bright turquoise blue are the most commonly used colors for chroma-key, hence the name green screen. If you stand a person in front of a green screen, all of the green can be removed and replaced with whatever image you want.
Any color will work with chroma key. Blue and green are chosen often because they are furthest away on the color spectrum from face tones.

YOUR WEATHERCASTER USES GREEN SCREEN
One of the main uses for chroma-key in television that you’re no doubt familiar with is the weather report. Next time you watch a TV weather report, you'll know that the different maps, satellite and radar images appear behind the weathercaster because of chroma-key technique.

The image of the weathercaster is captured with one camera and in that shot, you can see the green screen. If you were to stand in the studio, you would easily see the weathercaster standing in front of the green screen, perhaps the walls and floor are painted green and he’s walking right on top of the green.

The weather radar, satellite or other maps are all separate video inputs that the director will insert to replace the solid green behind the weathercaster. The weathercaster is watching where he is by looking at a monitor that's placed slightly off camera and shows the blending of the two images. The viewer never sees this monitor.

A good weather caster will shift his head toward the green screen but his eyes toward the monitor. This way, it looks he’s looking intently at his map but he’s really checking to see if he needs to take baby steps or big daddy steps.

Lots of weathercasters doze and think they’re talking about snow in Milwaukee when the viewer is seeing them on top of a radar image of Miami. The weathercaster never knows the difference but the viewers think he flunked geography.

You'd be amazed at how often chroma key is used. When taking a tour of the ABC studios in New York with my high school students after we won our Emmy, we watched a news update go live. The anchor person was actually in a TINY green screen room, smashed up against the wall. But on the air, they looked like they were in a HUGE, elaborate studio. It was seamless. There was NO indication in the final shot that it was a chroma key. (You can tell by looking at the edges of the person against the background.) I was blown away by how realistic it looked and I'm not easily impressed.

HOW DO YOU DO GREEN SCREEN?
In a studio, most green screen is done live through a video switcher. But green screen can also be done with advanced computer editing programs. Most advanced programs have the capacity to use any color, not just green. You can use brown if that's what works for you.

Lime green and bright blue are the preferred colors because they're on the opposite side of the light spectrum from skin tones. You don't want someone's face being replaced with the weather map! But if you want to chroma key a green alien onto Mars, a brown screen instead of a green screen may be the way to go.

Whatever color you decide, videotape your subject in front of a flat wall that's solid with that color. Light your video so there are no shadows. Any variation of the color behind your subject will be difficult to work with. Any shadow creates a slightly darker color which might confuse your edit system.

Once you get a solid even colored background, your switcher or edit computer completely remove that color and you supply a substitute. The precise mechanism by which to accomplish this will vary from system to system.

Words written on the screen run a close second.
Graphics, as they’re called in this instance, are an old trick. Early Hollywood directors relied on the cliché shot of the sign; modern internet video producers rely on their computers to add words and logos of all types to their video productions.

USE GRAPHICS WHEN:

• Add words to the screen to complement your narration, or even replace it.
• Emphasize special points to your viewer.
• List product specs
• Show that sporty car you're selling on eBay and super "Low Mileage" over a close-up of the odometer, (being careful not to obscure the actual odometer reading, of course.)
• Names can be added to identify someone visually so if you want, your narration can skip that detail.

Fred E. Bumdoodle, PhD
Small Town Mayor, (Republican)

Putting someone’s name up on the screen is called a super, short for superimposed.

Usually a name super is put in the lower-third of the screen. In fact that placement is so common that supers are also called lower-thirds.

TIPS FOR QUALITY GRAPHICS:

Make sure any graphics you use are readable. Fancy fonts tend to not work well with video because they're hard to read, especially on a small screen.

Choose a font that's a little bit "plump," skinny lines get lost.

Try not to cover up important parts of your shot with your graphics. I get so blasted irritated watching the news when their huge lower-thirds cover the best part of the shot!
Lower thirds are also good for identifying the date or location. Adding eight seconds of “Boston Massachusetts, 1777”, tells your audience a whole lot very quickly.

NEVER cover someone's face with any sort of graphics unless you're intentionally trying to be rude.

Better graphics generators also provide backgrounds, symbols, shapes, banners, textual crawls and scrolls. Add them for visual variety.

Consider a background under your letters to make them more readable. As you watch professional TV, notice how fancy the backgrounds for graphics get!

If you use a background, make sure it doesn't make the letters unreadable. Fuzzy, out of focus backgrounds work best. Solid colors bars look nice for lower-third supers.

One of my tricks was to freeze a shot, take it out of focus with a filter, and then freeze my rolling video, dissolve into the out of focus version, then dissolve in graphics.
Drop shadows on your letters also add to their readability.

BRAND YOUR WEBSITE WITH GRAPHICS

Consider this, a graphic of your logo is invaluable for branding your product or web site. The best graphic themes are consistent for maximum customer's recognition. Stick with one look for greatest viewer brand recognition.

What works for the cable TV channels will work for you. Because there're so many channels today, they've developed the technique of using a graphic "bug," or little identifying logo supered in the lower right hand corner of the screen. No doubt you see this all the time, if not, take special notice next time you're watching the tube.
The bug is left on 24/7. So no matter when a viewer punches his remote, this bug will immediately identify what channel he's flipped to.

• TIP! Use your logo as an ever-present bug! Shrink it down to about 1/20th of the screen and if you can, raise the transparency, also called lowering the opacity. (only fancier video editing software can do this.)

EMULATE MY COMIC HERO

Use graphics boldly and go for the ironic effect. Put words up that completely contradict what's being said. Steven Colbert does that on The Word segment of his show and it’s a total hoot!

That guy is an absolute comic genius in my opinion and deserves the medal of freedom for his White House correspondent's kiss-up-to-the-power-circus, I mean the White House correspondent's dinner routine.

Dialogue is whenever the characters speak to one another to move the plot along in a work of fiction. Dialogue is usually written out and rehearsed long before the cameras roll. Dialogue is primarily used in relatively big-budget stuff since typically, dialogue has to be written, memorized and recited.

SHOULD I USE DIALOGUE?

If your project is less staged than the big-budget stuff, natural dialogue can be captured and used. People who can ad lib and say something usable are a low-budget producer’s best friend! Find someone with great conversation skills and let ‘em go.

Most people will be “better” hosts if you edit out the irrelevant stuff that’s bound to occur.

RECORDING "NATURAL SOUND" DIALOGUE

To shoot decent natural dialogue, you need:

• Attentive camera operators
• Attentive sound operators
• Blabber-mouthed on-camera people

As you shoot, listen to what people are saying and keep the camera rolling during the good parts. When they stray off subject, take that opportunity to move to a new shot, then prod them to resume the conversation that you felt was good for your story.

THINK AHEAD

While you're shooting, think about how their unscripted dialogue will fit into your overall story-telling. Are they describing something relevant to your message? If so, go in for a close-up. (Remember, walk closer, and don’t rely on your zoom unless you're on a secure tripod, other wise your shot will be shaky.)

Make sure you have adequate sound recording. This will probably take more than just relying on the microphone attached to your camcorder. One of the best ways for a low-budget situation to get good sound is to have your main subject wear a lavaliere microphone.

WHAT'S A LAVALIERE MICROPHONE?

A lavalier microphone is a tiny mic that clips to your collar or lapel so it’s easy to hide. I got a decent lav for my high school students at Radio Shack for $25. It make a huge difference in their sound quality. Buy an expensive mic like this, it will undoubtably come with a short cable. Spend five bucks and get an extension cable for it so the umbilical cord isn’t too short.

GO WIRELESS
If you can afford it, a wireless lav will allow for greater freedom of movement while shooting. A wireless microphone consists of two parts. One part is the microphone/transmitter, the other part is like a radio receiver and it plugs into your camera , which puts the audio signal on your tape.

NEXT TIME YOU'RE WATCHING TV

Many professional shows will use multiple wireless lavs for each person. Next time you watch a show like the ones where they remodel houses, or anything else that captures people in off-the-cuff situations, notice they’re all wearing small black boxes, about the size of a big deck of cards, stuffed into the back of their pants. This is the wireless microphone transmitter.

They hook that onto their back belt loops, run the wires under their clothes and the microphone itself, which is smaller than the tip of your pinky, is penned onto the outside of their collar.

Tip! Never put the mic itself underneath clothing or you’ll get lots of rustling sounds. Hide the wires under clothes. Use scotch tape if necessary.

Multiple wireless mics get pricy and complicated. Wireless signals can cross. Each one needs its own input into the camera, which would probably take a portable mixer. One decent wireless will cost at least $200, an adequate one could be found for $75. Great ones are at least $500 and up.

I ONLY GOT ONE MIC

If you only have one mic, let the person who is doing the majority of the speaking wear it. If other people stand fairly close, they’ll pick up well enough and you can boost their level during editing.

Listen to everybody talk and determine who has the most powerful voice. This person probably SHOULDN’T wear the mic since a truly powerful voice can be picked up well from several feet.

Lavaliere microphones pick up incredibly well for their tiny size.

USING BOOM MICROPHONES
If you have a large enough crew, you can have one person operate a boom microphone (one that picks up sound from a distance). A boom mic used by a large crew is usually on a long pole and the operator constantly moves the pole around in order to pick up whoever starts speaking. Gotta be careful about bashing people in the head though.

ON-BOARD CAMERA MICROPHONES

One-man crews use a boom mic attached to the camera, similar to how home movie cameras are set up, the mics are just better quality.

Adequate sound for dialogue can be picked up just using the on-board camera mic, but that’s not recommended. If this is your only option, going in close has the advantage of ensuring better quality sound. If someone is speaking loudly and there's no distracting background noise, a distance of about five feet from the on-board camera microphone is optimal. Using your camera mic is easy, but unless you have the conditions just described, relying on your on-board mic probably will result in poor quality sound, perhaps even sound that is too bad to use.

AUDIO QUALITY HIGHLY IMPORTANT
When evaluating the quality of your audio, remember that poor quality audio is bound to make your viewer say, “forget it!” and quit watching long before poor quality video will. No viewer is going to strain to hear your video, they’ll simply walk away. Viewers are much more forgiving of poor quality video than crappy sound.

Evaluating the “hear-ability” of your audio is often difficult because you know what’s being said. Your viewer doesn’t. So it’s much harder for a viewer to understand the mumbled audio than it is for you to understand it. If you don’t think your viewer can understand it, either don’t use it or add subtitles.