I love shooting video and for the last 11 years I have made a living through my video production business. Before that I worked in television and community organisations in Communications and media. Over the past 11 years I have shot videos ranging in length from less than one minute to half-hour television programs. You […]
Back in the ‘old days’ when you had finished editing the film you’d shot, it was stored in metal cans on a shelf. When videotape took over, the tapes were stored in large plastic cases. Whilst one of the proposed advantages of videotape was that it could be re-used, often it wasn’t because of the […]
After being behind a camera for over 15 years and directing and producing for another 15, one of the things I have learned to do is to visualise how I’ll shoot or direct a video, often before I’ve even seen the location. Whilst a good pre-production routine is to always visit the location before shooting, […]
Shooting sequences is the key to capturing editable footage. I’ve talked about this a number of times in previous posts and I have used this example before, but a number of readers have asked for a bit more detail, so I have broken it down into a series of stills. In some ways, that’s what […]
Shooting on location in developing countries is always a challenge for the videographer. You need to travel light and be able to adapt quickly to different environments and locations. Over the last 8 years I have made numerous trips to film aid projects in Asia and Africa in seven countries. Given that video is more […]
This is probably one of the most asked questions in the world of digital video. The answer is not always simple as it depends on the answers to a number of additional questions. 1. How will you show/use the video you shoot while you’re away when you get home? 2. What sort of video are you making, a […]
This post is the best place to start if you work overseas and have decided to shoot some video to send back to the home office for editing. What are you going to shoot? Work this out before you pick up the camera. Ask yourself, “what images best illustrate what you and your team do?” […]
This blog is all about shooting video that is well shot and usable, so I thought it might be helpful to list what I consider as bad video. Footage that has no obvious purpose or subject. I once heard someone describe this sort of footage as if it was shot with the camera waving around like […]
Voice overs or narration are often used in video production. Most TV news stories use voice over, as well as live or ‘sync’ sound from an interviewee or on-camera host. But when and where do you record these? There are two main options: 1. On location at the time of the shoot, or 2. as […]
One of the key elements of most video productions is music. Music plays a crucial role in most feature films and television programs. It helps set a mood, an historical period, a sense of danger or romance! Most video producers don’t have the luxury or the budget to ask Hans Zimmerman to score their corporate […]