As you set out to capture spectacular footage, whether you're working a smartphone lens or a $10,000 rig, you'll want to keep a few ideas in mind to avoid these common videography mistakes. In this list, we look at some key moves you don't want to make when it comes to where you place your camera, how you use it once it's "rolling" and what kind of sound you get on it.
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As you set out to capture spectacular footage, whether you're working a smartphone lens or a $10,000 rig, you'll want to keep a few ideas in mind to avoid these common videography mistakes. In this list, we look at some key moves you don't want to make when it comes to where you place your camera, how you use it once it's "rolling" and what kind of sound you get on it.
Don't film from the corners of the room, and don't keep your distance.
Unless you're already a seasoned pro, you may feel a bit skittish about putting yourself—and your camera—in the center of the action. Get over that. Strive for the dynamism of getting into the mix. Stand on a chair, crouch low and shoot up. Open your visual palette to the ways you can use your arms and legs to create interesting angles and different proximities.
Whether you're setting up a shot carefully ahead of time or shooting in the moment, the effect of zooming in and out stands to distract your viewer—at best it does that—and it can completely ruin your shot. This is especially the case with digital zoom, which increases image size but does not actually add any pixels to the image itself. Digital zoom degrades your shot.
Unless you're attempting a stylistic statement, or dealing with an inescapable change of distance by your subject, such as when the quarterback kicks the ball and you need to follow it, establish your distance and then stay away from the zoom feature.
A tripod can work wonders with static interview setups and establishing shots. But there's another side to them as well. Over-dependence on camera-stands limits your flexibility within the environment that you're shooting. Practice a steady hand while moving around and you'll escape the boring limitations of being anchored to one spot in your work.
If you're interviewing a subject, you may be inclined to make noises of affirmation—a small "yes" here, or an "uh-huh" there. These are audio-track killers for a piece of video.
Close your mouth and let your subject do the talking. Experts will tell you that you'll get better answers by leaving a certain void in their aural space, anyway.
You may not be able to control shooting circumstances such as a loud crowd around you, or the blowing of the wind, but you can't disregard the impact of these things upon your video's audio track.
Make adjustments for these environmental factors. Pull your subject from the heart of the noisy environment into a sheltered position—a wall or the shelter of a nearby structure. Keep the action in the shot for context. Sometimes this is the best that you'll be able to do while still protecting your sound.
If that proves impractical, record your subject's words at extremely close range. You're using your camera as an audio recorder at this point, capturing what it is they have to say and not worrying about what's in the shot itself. The trick here is to then collect B-roll footage of the action surrounding the interview, trying to also include your subject walking, moving or somehow interacting with that space. You'll later use the close-up recorded audio as voiceover for the B-roll video.
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