| Let's start there (but not spend too much time on it | | | | Use the zoom feature to frame in a shot correctly |
| because you are probably already checked out on | | | | before you push the red "take" button, and keep |
| their use):On/Off - On some brands you actually | | | | your fingers off it while rolling. Fast or excessive |
| have to find two or three switches to accomplish | | | | zooms cause nausea and disorientation of your poor |
| this. You may be required to choose between | | | | audience. You don't want to have to provide air sick |
| camera and VCR or VTR, you may have to open | | | | bags at your showing.These rules barely scratch the |
| shutters over the lens or remove a lens cap, and you | | | | surface. Start by following them and when your |
| may have choices about snapshots, locked, standby, | | | | footage looks more respectable, you'll be ready to |
| or video. You're probably ready when you see a | | | | study the hundreds of other things you see the pros |
| picture through the viewfinder with no unexpected | | | | do in great movies and on TV that makes their |
| icon flashing in the middle.Zoom - Changes the lens | | | | footage dazzle.Now let's take on some of the many |
| setting from wide angle to telephoto. You see what's | | | | buttons on your camcorder. You should have a large |
| happening in the viewfinder.Red "Take" button - Rolls | | | | owner's manual that explains what they do and I |
| the tape. Usually "REC" shows in the viewfinder when | | | | don't intend to duplicate that. (Most owner's manuals |
| recording and "STDBY" shows when the tape is | | | | were written in Japanese first and then are |
| stopped.Beyond that everything else is automated on | | | | translated into dozens of languages, perhaps by a |
| most consumer camcorders. You only have to | | | | computer. Legal warnings probably fill the first two |
| master all those other buttons if you want to take | | | | pages and the really interesting stuff is frequently |
| control of things like focus, exposure, shutter speed, | | | | buried away in tiny-typeface footnotes. Don't get |
| color balance, stabilization, depth of field, freeze | | | | discouraged, you are not alone when wondering if |
| motion, volume, and tons of other special effects | | | | you no longer know how to read.) If you've studied |
| and titling. On most camcorders the default | | | | photography a lot, the information that follows may |
| manufacturer settings are the place to start -- | | | | be old hat, but I've got to cover it to show you why |
| they've done a very good job taming all these | | | | you may want to explore some of the buttons from |
| options. You should only need to make changes for | | | | time to time.Basically you are simply managing light |
| particular scenes when you see things going wrong. | | | | and motion. Start with light: too much light and |
| So let's not trail through all the buttons and menu | | | | everything is blistered out, too little light and details |
| options out there right now. Instead let's focus on | | | | get lost in the shadows. The human eye has a much |
| you and all the problems you can create.Let's | | | | wider range from bright to dark in any given scene |
| examine other areas that separate the pros from | | | | than does any video equipment. A video shot of |
| the beginners. It's always said, and frequently | | | | your "true love" that looks OK to you standing there |
| demonstrated, that if you put the cheapest pile of | | | | may play back later with white splotches and blisters |
| junk camcorder in the hands of a pro, the resulting | | | | all over his or her face. How can something like this |
| footage will look dazzling. It doesn't work the other | | | | happen, you ask? You assumed the camera would |
| way around. It's not the tools that separate the | | | | "close down" automatically when the subject got too |
| 8-year old baking her first cake from her | | | | bright.The automation in the camera can fail you if |
| grandmother -- it's lots of little things, some of which | | | | there are extremes in any one shot. It adjusts for |
| are hard and tedious to document, and some of | | | | the average brightness. Hot areas are averaged with |
| which fall into discussions and hot arguments that | | | | dark areas. The range it can handle is limited. The |
| might be lumped together under the category called | | | | middle or average of the range you are trying to |
| "style."Let's get you started with some of the | | | | shoot may not be the setting you want for a |
| obvious areas. As you shoot video you will naturally | | | | correct exposure where the true subject is very |
| get competitive with and wonder why your footage | | | | "hot" surrounded by a lot of dark holes. You have to |
| doesn't measure up to the footage you see on TV | | | | take charge deciding to throw away the details in the |
| and in the movies. This will cause you to start adding | | | | dark holes in order to get proper exposure of the |
| tricks to your trade consciously and unconsciously. | | | | main subject. Shots of someone on a stage in a |
| Most of us are very critical viewers of TV and | | | | spotlight is the most typical example of having to |
| movies.The first sign that there is a rank amateur | | | | manually take charge of the exposure setting in your |
| running the camera comes when you realize it is | | | | camcorder.The other extreme occurs when details of |
| being hand-held because the picture bounces around | | | | your true subject are crushed into a gray mess |
| (and may actually make some viewers seasick, | | | | because your subject is surrounded by a very bright |
| watch out!). The standard answer to this is to lug a | | | | background. You need to open up the exposure, |
| tripod around with you. This is great if you are going | | | | throwing away the details in the bright background |
| to be positioned in the same place for more than | | | | so you can brighten up and see your subject |
| three minutes filming a game or stage performance, | | | | correctly. Some camcorders have a button called |
| but if you are zipping around like a fly on the wall you | | | | "backlighting" that does this for you.This doesn't |
| have to take other measures. Here are some:Lean on | | | | mean your camera can't take pictures in extremely |
| things while filming to stabilize yourself. Find a tree, a | | | | bright or extremely dark places: it can if the whole |
| wall, a table, a friend . . .Take a deep breath and hold | | | | scene is bright or the whole scene is dark. The thing |
| it. Dig your elbows into your inflated rib cage creating | | | | you have to be sensitive to occurs when there is a |
| a triangular bracing system between the camcorder | | | | mix of bright and dark, your true subject is not in the |
| and your stable chest. Do not answer any questions | | | | middle of the range of lighting intensity, and your |
| thrown at you and stop filming before your whole | | | | camcorder is calculating an average brightness setting |
| body starts convulsing trying to purge the stale | | | | that is wrong for what you want to capture.What do |
| air.Zoom out (going to a wide angle setting) and then | | | | you look for to adjust exposure? If your camera is |
| move yourself and camera in close to the subject. | | | | anything like most of ours, there are several ways to |
| Wide angle shots are much easier to hold steady. | | | | adjust exposure -- some are redundant and others |
| Zoomed in telephoto shots really need a good | | | | handle extreme situations beyond those discussed |
| tripod.Practice, practice, practice. While rolling tape, | | | | above. How do you sort it all out?If your camera has |
| pick a stationary object near the corner of the | | | | a wheel or dial called exposure and the picture gets |
| viewfinder, lock in on it, and don't let it move around | | | | dark and light as you turn it, then that's where to |
| in the viewfinder. This turns your whole nervous and | | | | start. You will need to "turn it on" telling the camera's |
| muscular system into a self-correcting stabilization | | | | automation that you are taking control of exposure |
| machine. It becomes second nature if you work at it | | | | and to butt out. This may require you to read the |
| enough just as a waitress can carry a tray of drinks | | | | manual -- different manufacturers have different |
| without spilling any.Push the "take" button to stop | | | | ways to block you from tampering with their |
| rolling tape when you realize you are about to lose | | | | automatic settings. Once you are in control, here are |
| stability. You'd be surprised how many shots run until | | | | several things to consider and several words of |
| the cameraman bumps into something, loses | | | | advice:Be sure you trust what your camcorder's |
| concentration or literally falls off a step.Be sure the | | | | viewfinder is telling you. In an ideal situation, you |
| camera's built-in motion stabilization feature is turned | | | | want to play with your camcorder in some very |
| on. On some brands the stabilization feature | | | | tough situations taking and reviewing throwaway |
| reportedly snaps and jerks the picture too much as | | | | footage before you "go live" on location. The |
| the camera is moved around. You'll hear that the | | | | viewfinder may have its own settings which if set |
| feature should be turned off. Don't accept this advice | | | | wrong will mislead you. For example, if the picture in |
| as gospel -- play with it for a while first because this | | | | the viewfinder looks dark and dingy, but it looks |
| objection is true on only a small percentage of | | | | great when played back on a TV, brighten the |
| camcorders.Don't dismiss using a small mono pod or | | | | viewfinder setting, not the exposure setting of the |
| very light portable tripod for those "on the go" shots. | | | | footage you're taking.Flip out screens are a wonderful |
| These won't serve you well when shooting a long | | | | invention everywhere except outside on a sunny |
| event but may be just the ticket when moving | | | | day. Because it's so hard to see anything on them |
| around like a fly on the wall.Another rule to consider | | | | when it's too bright outside, you may be tempted to |
| is how long your shots should be. Watch TV and | | | | crank around on the brightness setting of the flip out |
| count how long their shots run. You'll notice that the | | | | screen. Fine, but this may seriously mislead you when |
| average 30-second commercial may have 20 | | | | you come back inside again -- be careful. Try to |
| different shots. Pretty much the same with MTV. | | | | remember the setting before you changed it outside |
| Now watch situation comedies and cops and robber | | | | and go back to that point as soon as possible.Once |
| stories -- maybe shots stay on 3 to 5 seconds. | | | | you trust what you are seeing in the viewfinder, |
| Follow up with slow running talk shows on PBS. Even | | | | learn what to look for that clues you when to switch |
| there they switch the camera before 10 seconds | | | | off the camcorder's automation and change to |
| have gone by.Back when you were getting advice | | | | manual exposure control. Then you need to know |
| with your home camera movie film from Kodak, the | | | | how to set the exposure manually. Set it wrong and |
| advice they gave was to count to 7 and shut the | | | | everything will come back too dark or too bright -- |
| shot down. They advised against lots of jerky short | | | | sadly it's easy to do.There is a trick I use when going |
| clips. While that was in a slower and more graceful | | | | to manual exposure at an event such as a stage |
| period of time, it's still a rule to seriously consider. | | | | performance or a wedding. Let the automation help |
| Tightly edited sales pitches, action packed movie clips | | | | you! Before going to manual exposure, zoom in tight |
| and music videos may demand one to three second | | | | on an important face that is lit pretty much as you |
| clips, but this is too fast for general family footage. | | | | expect will be common throughout the event. The |
| We find that when people put photographs together | | | | camcorder should adjust its exposure to a nice |
| in a video presentation, six seconds for each photo is | | | | mid-point of the light on that face. Then flip the |
| about the right time.On the other hand, you'll lose | | | | manual exposure feature on. Normally this will "lock-in" |
| your audience if you make your shots too long. I | | | | the automatic setting that you trust is OK. Do not |
| can't tell you how many times I've seen shots of a | | | | turn the manual exposure knob -- the camcorder is |
| baby being fed in its high chair that a proud parent | | | | set to the desired value. You are now free to zoom |
| lets roll for over a minute. It's equivalent to a 3-hour | | | | wide and pan around the room knowing that a bright |
| sermon in church or a filibuster in congress.Even | | | | window in the background won't close the camera's |
| though you and I may have no interest in a "feed | | | | lens down and black holes won't cause the faces of |
| the baby" sequence unless we know the baby, it | | | | the main stars to blister out.As I mentioned earlier, |
| might keep our attention if broken up into multiple | | | | many cameras have other ways to accomplish the |
| shots such as an establishing shot showing where we | | | | same results when working with uneven lighting |
| are, feed the baby, look at the mother, close up of | | | | situations. Many have a "backlighting" button that will |
| the mess, close up of mother's stress, picture of | | | | take faces out of the shadows in a scene with lots |
| baby wiggling feet in the air, mother leaning back in | | | | of hot spots in the background. Solving the other |
| exhaustion . . . . All of this puts you the videographer | | | | problem, some have a special features setting that |
| to work. You have to move around and compose | | | | shows an icon with a face in a spotlight. This feature |
| several shots telling a story. Some shots may be | | | | will help eliminate blistered out faces in your video |
| long, some short, but the overall impact is | | | | where the main characters are surrounded by dark |
| dramatically improved.Closely related to this is rule #3: | | | | holes in the background.You may find these settings |
| avoid "hunting" with the camcorder. We've all seen | | | | are easier to use that trying to adjust the exposure |
| shots where the camera is panning to the left | | | | manually. Just be sure to turn them off when no |
| surveying the scene only to change direction and pan | | | | longer needed. We see videos shot with the |
| back to the right again, then no, maybe what it is | | | | backlighting feature turned on during normal shots -- |
| looking for is down, let's zoom in for a second, darn it | | | | they are all washed out.The camcorder engineers |
| moved out of the shot, let's follow it putting | | | | didn't stop there. Lurking behind every senior male |
| everything out of focus, well heck, we seem to be | | | | electronics engineer is a teenage boy who wants to |
| looking at a blank wall, and with a shake of the | | | | develop the perfect camcorder that will shoot good |
| camera, it's turned off finally, followed by a totally | | | | footage in near darkness. The race is on between |
| unrelated shot taken hours later.You avoid hunting by | | | | vendors. This means you will likely find still more |
| following rule #2: shut the camera off when a shot | | | | exposure settings that address this issue. Most of |
| falls apart. Also you avoid hunting by getting your | | | | these settings result in footage with horrible color, |
| head out from behind the camera before you start | | | | jerky motion, and grainy images. Go there if you |
| the shot and planning out what you are going to | | | | must but all of these features are outside the scope |
| shoot. If you want really good footage, you might | | | | of this booklet.The next basic issue centers on focus. |
| practice the shot a couple of times before you push | | | | Most cameras have a very good auto focus feature. |
| the red "take" button. Does it stay in focus, is the | | | | This feature probably does a better job by far than |
| movement too extreme, is there a bright light or | | | | you can do manually if you lack experience or just |
| window that comes and goes as you pan causing the | | | | use the camcorder from time to time. Some |
| camera to change the color and brightness of the | | | | situations confuse the automation, however, and to |
| subject, etc., etc.?Paint your scenes with shots that | | | | get decent footage you will have to jump in and |
| move in one direction, then quit. Don't backtrack in | | | | take charge.There are two things to look for: 1) the |
| the same shot. This applies to all three movements | | | | camera is focusing on the wrong thing, and 2) the |
| you control: panning, tilting, and zooming. This seems | | | | camera is confused and is hunting back and forth for |
| so simple and yet this indecisiveness shows up all | | | | something to focus on. Most camcorders today look |
| over the place in the work of amateurs. You "hunt" | | | | for a sharp vertical edge in your picture. Once found, |
| before you "roll." A few seconds of planning pays big | | | | they very quickly focus in and out picking which |
| dividends.Rule #4 builds on the two previous rules -- | | | | direction better sharpens this edge in the picture. It's |
| vary your shots. Some shots should be from a | | | | the same process the eye doctor uses: "Which is |
| distance to establish where we are and some should | | | | better, A or B"?No edge in the picture: the camera is |
| be very tight so we can really see the subjects in | | | | lost. A clear edge close by and another in the |
| your video. Some shots should be long and some | | | | distance: the camera is confused which one to select. |
| short. Here's what to avoid: lots of mid-range shots | | | | Most of the time you can help your poor camcorder |
| with three or more people posing in them.TV is an "in | | | | by just centering in on a sharply defined object that |
| your face" medium -- watch it closely. It sits across | | | | you want to film. If it's really lost and is focusing on |
| the room from you. The pros cut the tops off of | | | | the dust on its own lens when you want to shoot a |
| heads with impunity. You need to be "tight" on a lot | | | | sunset, you can move things along by aiming the |
| of shots to make it interesting but you want to vary | | | | camera at a tree or something else in the distance |
| it so as not to be too invasive.Also you need to be | | | | before you push the red take button. Once it's |
| sensitive as to whether you are above the subjects | | | | focused for distance shots, it will usually stay there.If |
| you are shooting making them look small and | | | | none of this works you are going to have to learn |
| dominated or you are below the subjects making | | | | how to turn off the automatic focus feature and |
| them look lordly, controlling, and terrifying. If you get | | | | take charge of focusing yourself. This is not |
| down on the floor with kids they look a lot more like | | | | complicated. One switch or button gives you control |
| little human beings when looking straight at the | | | | and usually the ring around the lens moves so you |
| camcorder than if you are always shooting the tops | | | | can change focus. Some camcorders let you go to |
| of their heads.Rule #5: let the motion come to you -- | | | | manual but have a button or spring loaded switch |
| be careful how much you zoom, pan and tilt. Watch | | | | setting that lets you tell the camera's auto focus |
| what the pros do and you'll be surprised how little | | | | feature to quickly do its job and return to manual |
| zooming you see. Any pans or tilts (looking from side | | | | operation.Carlile and Louise Crutcher went on a trip to |
| to side or up and down) are generally very slow. | | | | China in 1992 and took a Hi8 camcorder with them to |
| When you do see the pros chase the subject, you'll | | | | document the trip. By the time they returned they |
| usually then see a series of stable shots to let you | | | | had recorded 8 hours of footage. They were |
| get your bearings again.The pros hate zooming in and | | | | interested not only in editing down the video footage |
| out. Instead they lay a track, bring in a crane or rent | | | | but they wanted to combine it with still pictures that |
| a well-trained Steadycam operator to follow the | | | | they also had. None of their friends or family would |
| subject around smoothly. This technology is beyond | | | | sit still for all the raw footage. They looked, but could |
| the casual user's reach, so we zoom. Best advice, | | | | not find anywhere in Louisville where they could do |
| zoom slowly and zoom less than every third shot. | | | | this work easily and affordably. |