CMA Summer Multimedia Workshop

Nashville 2014

Shooting Video: Quick Tip Guide

Shooting Tips •  Edit before you press the record button (The

more you shoot, the more you sift through in the edit room)

•  Have a plan (you don’t need a word for word script or storyboard, but you do need a plan)

•  Use the tripod!!!!!! You think you’re holding the camera steady, but you’re not

Framing Your Shots & The Rule of Thirds

Basic Shots-A-Roll (An Interview) •  Be mindful of the background you choose

(noise, too much motion, how you frame the subject, shadows and sunlight) Don’t be afraid to move your interview subject

•  Listen and take notes, the interview will dictate the b-roll you need to shoot

•  Ask good questions, follow up, get out of the way (non-verbal cues)

Basic Shots-B-roll

•  Wide shot (WS)

•  Medium shot (MS)

•  Close up (CU)

•  Extreme close up (XCU)

Basic Shots-Do’s •  Do count to at least 10 for every b-roll shot

•  Do collect WS, MS, CU, XCU for coverage from every perspective

•  Do use the tripod (at eye level for interviews)

•  Do get unique perspectives that only the camera can collect (low angle, “inside”-you can break the tripod rule for this only)

•  Do follow your shot sheet if you have one

Basic Shots-Don’ts

•  Don’t zoom

•  Don’t pan

•  Don’t tilt

•  Don’t talk over your b-roll (you may want those natural sounds in the project)

Basic Shots-Gotta Know •  Know when to forget “the rules” and get a

shot

•  Know when you’ve got the right amount of footage (is it 5 to 1, 3 to 1?)---it’s all about choices in the edit room

•  Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em (time is valuable, when do you let your interview subject fly the coop?)

Audio

•  Use the lavalier (clip on) mic for interviews

•  Be mindful of interesting natural sounds for b-roll footage using the ambient mic

• Monitor your levels, use your headphones

•  Check the footage as a last resort only!

Video Storytelling •  Find a voice/narrative

• Match visuals to the narrative (b-roll)

•  Have a beginning, middle, and end

• Make sure it is watchable (good video and audio, captures attention immediately)

•  Companion text should add to the story, but the video should stand on its own

Video Storytelling •  “Show”, don’t “tell” (but it’s not radio with

pictures)

•  Capture action, movement, emotions, processes, and details

•  Be brief, it’s not a film, it’s a video story

•  Don’t be all sizzle and no steak

Things To Remember •  Is your camera battery charged?

•  Does your equipment work and do you know how it works?

•  Do you know where you’re going?

•  Have you done advance prep on your subject?

•  Do you have a plan?

Helpful Reminders

•  Don’t be afraid to ask questions, no such thing as a silly question

•  I’m here to help you!

•  Be original, have a vision, tell a story, and have fun!

Your Mission (should you choose

to accept it)

•  Create a 1-2 minute promo, commercial, or informative video. At least 1 minute, NO LONGER THAN 2!

•  Can be about anything (an info video about Nashville, a tourism promo, an interview with an interesting character, a feature piece on a local business, etc.)

• Must include at least one interview, voice over, and indoor and outdoor shots

Ideally, something like this.....created by workshop

participants at the CMA video workshop in

Louisville, 2010

Equipment Tutorial

Now, let us go forth and shoot video!

Editing Tutorial

Editing Tips •  Sequence your shots to bring the viewer in

to your piece (WS to MS to CU)

•  Avoid jump cuts (changing the arc of perspective, magical transportation)

•  Edit video to match audio, not audio to match video

Adding elements •  Graphics (when the viewer needs to know

a person, place, or thing)

•  Transitions (cross dissolves or simple cuts…star wipes or fireworks bursts are for birthday party home videos)

•  Color correction, other effects

Uploading to Vimeo •  Go to vimeo.com

•  Type in username jim.hayes38@gmail.com

•  PW is CM@2012

•  Click the UPLOAD A VIDEO button

•  Follow the instructions (be sure to include a brief text blurb describing your video)

• When the video is uploading, click EMBED, click Get Embed Code, and copy the EMBED code and paste it into TextEdit or Word....we will use that embed code to post your video on our WordPress site

Posting on WordPress •  Log in to the WordPress site by going to

cmasummerworkshops.org, click log-in at the bottom of the page and use the username: SAWadmin and the PW: CM@2013saw

•  Click on POSTS and ADD NEW

•  Give your post a title in the title line

•  Begin creating the body of your post with text and the embed code of your video

Other WordPress Tips

•  Changing the header, custom logo

•  Using widgets

•  Custom menus for navigation bars

•  Terminology (posts, pages, categories, widgets, plug-ins, themes)

Service Recommendations

•  Video hosting: Vimeo or YouTube

•  Audio hosting: SoundCloud, MixCloud, Podomatic

•  Video streaming: Ustream or LiveStream

•  Audio streaming: Live365

•  Content Management Systems: WordPress or Blox

MOJO Equipment

HECK, JUST USE YOUR IPHONE

• Pros: you already have it, shoots in 1080p HD

• Cons: stabilization, cruddy audio unless you use external mic, limited recording capability

IPHONE ACCESSORIES

• Steadicam for iPhone (about $150)

• Bubo for iPhone (about $150)

WTF?

HIGH DEF IN YOUR POCKET • Kodak Zi10 PlayTouch

• 1920 x 1080p HD video

• HDMI output

• external mic input

• SD/SDHC expansion slot

• USB connectivity

•  standard tripod mount

• around $100 or less

FULL HD CAM WITH OPTICAL ZOOM FOR LESS THAN $300

• Canon Vixia HF R300

• 1920 x 1080 HD

• Records in AVCHD or MP4

• Microphone & Headphone Terminals!

• HDMI C (mini), USB, & composite video outputs

Gear Recommendations

•  Kodak Zi10 PlayTouch video cameras (or similar)

•  Azden WLX PRO wireless lavalier mic

• Olympus WS-700 (or similar) audio recorder

QUESTIONS?