Copyright © 2012 by Ryan Video Productions Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Contact us at (973) 625-5804 or email us for more information
4 Ways to improve your videos
With the wide availability of video cameras and other video enabled devices such as cellphones, just about everyone in the country has
access to a video camera. While many people record hours of video, most of the video recorded is never watched or shared. The reason is
that most of it is awful!
For example, when there’s a new baby in the family, people have the tendency to go wild with their cameras, recording hours and hours of footage of that little darling cooing and smiling in his basinet. Aside from the question of who’s going to spend hours and hours watching that video, there are four common mistakes that “regular people,” that is people who don’t create videos for a living, often make.
Lighting
You would think with an old cliché like “Lights, camera, action” that everyone would know one of the most important elements in a video. Even with advertisements about “low lux,” without good light aimed at the subject you are recording, you won’t get a good picture.
Another common mistake is the light being in the wrong place. Typically, if the subject you are videotaping is IN FRONT of the light, that subject will be silhouetted to the point that the picture may be un-viewable. Some examples of that are when you have your subject standing in front of a window, or if you have a lamp in the picture behind them.
The lesson: you need illumination aimed at the subject you are recording. The easiest rule to remember is that the light should be behind the back of the videographer.
Microphones
It’s often been said that in communications, the verbal message is only 7% of what the viewer perceives. The other 93% is the tonality and the visuals.
Some videographers must take this to heart, because another one of the common mistakes is to use the camera’s microphone, which often only picks up 7% of the volume that’s needed to hear what is being said. Remember, just because you have a zoom lens doesn’t mean you have a zoom mic. Camcorder microphones can only get a decent sound within a few feet of the camera.
If you record a person speaking in a large room, and the speaker and the camera are at opposite ends of the room, the audio will sound hollow and faint. That’s because the camera isn’t actually recording the speaker, it’s recording the reflection of the speaker’s voice off the walls and ceiling.
The only way to insure getting excellent audio is to put a good microphone directly adjacent to the speakers mouth. This can be a tiny lapel microphone snapped to the speakers’ shirt or collar, or a unidirectional microphone (called a shotgun mic) aimed directly at the speaker’s mouth. The microphone is then plugged into the mic input on your camera, often with the use of some type of adapter plug.
Not all camcorders have plugs for external microphones. If you have A/V inputs on your camera, you may be able to rig up a mixer and a few adapters to get the job done. If your camera has no inputs for external sound, you’re out of luck.
Zooming
That zoom switch on the camera is a wonderful tool. Sometimes it’s great to be able to zoom in to something far away from the camera, while you’re recording, to show the audience how the small picture relates to the big picture.
Just remember, a little zooming is good. A lot of zooming gets very tiring to your viewers, very quickly. If you’d like proof, watch a movie or TV show and count how many times they zoom in fifteen minutes of program. Probably not a lot.
Unsteady
Why do so many home videos look like they were filmed on a small boat in a storm on the ocean? In other words, why is the picture constantly bouncing around? Professionals use an instrument called a tripod to make sure they get smooth, steady footage. But carrying around a tripod is not very convenient. Here are a few tricks you can do to help steady your video work and give your viewers a break:
1) Be aware of what you’re doing. Remember to hold the camera steady.
2) Lean against something. If you can lean your camera against a wall, or any solid, immobile object, you will get much better video.
3) Put the camera on something. A table, a car hood, a tree stump…whatever you can find. You can still keep your hand on the camera to prevent it from falling, just remember to keep your hand steady and keep your thumb off of the lens.
4) Get a portable tripod. There are many tiny tripods in the $10-$20 range that sit on a table top and are ideal for small cameras.
The key to getting smooth pictures is to always remember that when you press the Record button, someone you care about may be forced to someday watch those pictures. When you’re videotaping, pretend that you’re holding a bowl of hot water and move slowly, smoothly and gingerly. The camera is not an extension of your hand, it’s an extension of your viewer’s eyes.
For example, when there’s a new baby in the family, people have the tendency to go wild with their cameras, recording hours and hours of footage of that little darling cooing and smiling in his basinet. Aside from the question of who’s going to spend hours and hours watching that video, there are four common mistakes that “regular people,” that is people who don’t create videos for a living, often make.
Lighting
You would think with an old cliché like “Lights, camera, action” that everyone would know one of the most important elements in a video. Even with advertisements about “low lux,” without good light aimed at the subject you are recording, you won’t get a good picture.
Another common mistake is the light being in the wrong place. Typically, if the subject you are videotaping is IN FRONT of the light, that subject will be silhouetted to the point that the picture may be un-viewable. Some examples of that are when you have your subject standing in front of a window, or if you have a lamp in the picture behind them.
The lesson: you need illumination aimed at the subject you are recording. The easiest rule to remember is that the light should be behind the back of the videographer.
Microphones
It’s often been said that in communications, the verbal message is only 7% of what the viewer perceives. The other 93% is the tonality and the visuals.
Some videographers must take this to heart, because another one of the common mistakes is to use the camera’s microphone, which often only picks up 7% of the volume that’s needed to hear what is being said. Remember, just because you have a zoom lens doesn’t mean you have a zoom mic. Camcorder microphones can only get a decent sound within a few feet of the camera.
If you record a person speaking in a large room, and the speaker and the camera are at opposite ends of the room, the audio will sound hollow and faint. That’s because the camera isn’t actually recording the speaker, it’s recording the reflection of the speaker’s voice off the walls and ceiling.
The only way to insure getting excellent audio is to put a good microphone directly adjacent to the speakers mouth. This can be a tiny lapel microphone snapped to the speakers’ shirt or collar, or a unidirectional microphone (called a shotgun mic) aimed directly at the speaker’s mouth. The microphone is then plugged into the mic input on your camera, often with the use of some type of adapter plug.
Not all camcorders have plugs for external microphones. If you have A/V inputs on your camera, you may be able to rig up a mixer and a few adapters to get the job done. If your camera has no inputs for external sound, you’re out of luck.
Zooming
That zoom switch on the camera is a wonderful tool. Sometimes it’s great to be able to zoom in to something far away from the camera, while you’re recording, to show the audience how the small picture relates to the big picture.
Just remember, a little zooming is good. A lot of zooming gets very tiring to your viewers, very quickly. If you’d like proof, watch a movie or TV show and count how many times they zoom in fifteen minutes of program. Probably not a lot.
Unsteady
Why do so many home videos look like they were filmed on a small boat in a storm on the ocean? In other words, why is the picture constantly bouncing around? Professionals use an instrument called a tripod to make sure they get smooth, steady footage. But carrying around a tripod is not very convenient. Here are a few tricks you can do to help steady your video work and give your viewers a break:
1) Be aware of what you’re doing. Remember to hold the camera steady.
2) Lean against something. If you can lean your camera against a wall, or any solid, immobile object, you will get much better video.
3) Put the camera on something. A table, a car hood, a tree stump…whatever you can find. You can still keep your hand on the camera to prevent it from falling, just remember to keep your hand steady and keep your thumb off of the lens.
4) Get a portable tripod. There are many tiny tripods in the $10-$20 range that sit on a table top and are ideal for small cameras.
The key to getting smooth pictures is to always remember that when you press the Record button, someone you care about may be forced to someday watch those pictures. When you’re videotaping, pretend that you’re holding a bowl of hot water and move slowly, smoothly and gingerly. The camera is not an extension of your hand, it’s an extension of your viewer’s eyes.