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
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