Camcorder
Techniques: How To Make Home Movies Your Family And
Friends Will Be Excited To Watch
by: Mark Sturge
Pre-Production:
It's all got to start
somewhere, so before you even charge your batteries,
rewind those tapes or pack the car, take a seat and have
a good think about what you are planning to shoot with
your camcorder. 'Planning is the key' to a good
production even if you're just shooting a small home
movie.
It may sound like
overkill if you head out the door to film your children
at a sporting event or a family birthday party, but if
you are planning to display the video to family and
friends or even review it yourself for extended lengths
of time, you will want AND need it to be as compelling
as possible.
Now if you're filming a
longer feature or being paid for a project,
pre-production planning is essential. Both in
streamlining the production phase of the project and
displaying a professional image for your business. This
is done by using basic filming techniques.
This may consist of
sketching up a storyboard (to download a sample go to
www.kmsvideo.com/Resources.htm), detailed notes or
an interview/information session with the client.
"But I just want to
shoot a home movie, not a production of Ben Hur!" I hear
you say. OK then, let's bring it back to basics shall
we?
First of all any video
you take needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end.
Simple as that!
Now, say you were to
tell people at work on Monday morning an interesting
event that happened on the weekend. How would you go
about it? A bit of background information, then the main
'body' of the event and close it off with a punchline or
resolution. You're telling a STORY.
Now go out with your
video camera and- "Tell a Story on Film". Still unclear?
Here's a practical
example... Timmy's first soccer final is on Saturday.
It's a big occasion so you are going to capture it on
video. Using our basic formula lets make it into a
compelling story-
Beginning:
Open with a shot of the
alarm clock, Timmy packing his bag, having breakfast
then climbing into the car. All less than 5 seconds
duration and if your camera has the function, set it to
fade in and out to black.
Middle:
The team runs onto the
field. Shots of Timmy chasing, dribbling and passing the
ball at warm-up. Get the opening whistle and kick off,
then move around the field for various angles and shots
of Timmy. Film the coaches address to his players at
half time followed by more game footage.
End:
Ref blows the full-time
whistle and you video the teams shaking hands and
walking off the field. Finally, close the video with a
shot of our star and maybe a few words.
That's it! A very
simplified version so here's a few tips to remember-
-Don't just keep the
camera rolling in the hope that something interesting
will happen
-move around so you're
not always filming from the one spot
-use close-ups and wide
shots alternatively
-don't talk over the
footage, let the pictures tell the story
Now with a bit of
pre-planning and good camcorder and filming techniques,
you'll Have friends and family lining up to watch your
home movies!
