Shooting Better Home Video

How to shoot a home movie that won't leave your audience wanting to

stick a fork in their leg.

Usually when shooting video most people are taking random shots over

the course of an event.

They are trying to capture

everything desperately hoping that they will have enough

footage to make an interesting video.

The result is that they find themselves extremely restricted in the range of shots they have available for editing.

If you shoot the video as it happens then all you will have is endless

footage of “what you saw.”

You can make a three hour video of "what you saw" or you can cut out a

bunch of bad shots and make a shorter video of what you saw!

Either way it will most likely still be boring!

Creating a home movie of an event of any kind means you are

representing the event, you are not documenting it.

So identify and tell the story of the event.

Once you have imagined the event as a story you can then mentally break

it down into a sequence of small chunks or scenes.

Make a list of these scenes and use them to create either on paper or in

your mind, a storyboard of your intended final video.

Your storyboard does not have to be complicated.

It is simply a reminder to you as events unfold that you are heading

in a particular direction.

Modern video devices capture in high definition.

Small movements, jerkiness or shake on the part of the person holding the

camcorder can become wildly amplified in the resulting video.

To minimize it you must use some kind of support system when

shooting.

Unsteady footage is a major distraction to your audience.

OK, maybe that’s a little over the top!

You could use one of these.

A little better!

One of these.

Or you could try these tips:

Use a neck strap and keep tension on the strap as you shoot.

Place your elbows on a surface like a table to keep steady.

Tuck your elbows into your waist as you move and shoot.

Lean against a wall or similar structure.

Start with an understanding of the Rule of Thirds.

In the image above notice the boy’s eyes almost align perfectly with the top third

line.

His body and ball are positioned in the right third.

There is space in front of him in the direction he is looking called Lead Space.

There is space between the top of his head and the frame edge called Head Space.

There is a lot to learn about the rule of thirds as applied to video.

Learn those basics then practice!

Becoming proficient at taking good video requires a basic knowledge of the subjects

I have outlined here.

But above all it requires lots and lots of practice!

For more detailed information you can go to:

The D.I.Y Video Editor.com