Shooting Tips

Before you start
Check out your equipment online 48 hours in advance. Once you get it from the 9th floor, check it meticulously before signing it out (plug in the lights, turn on the camera and check the zoom, etc.). Otherwise if any thing is wrong, you will have to pay for it.
NEVER EVER leave your equipment unattended. Get someone to watch it for you or lock it up.

Framing & Shooting
Make sure the video size/resolution is set to 1920 x 1080 30fps.

When you are framing your shots, remember that video is horizontal. If you shoot vertically, you'll have black bars on either side of your image.

To focus, zoom in on your focal point, manually adjust the focus, then zoom out.

Try to avoid using the “Auto focus” setting. Manually focus your shots, so you don’t get jumps in focusing.

Video gets cropped – even the best new flat screen TV can crop your image around the edges. Be sure that anything important happens within the “action safe” area and not at the very edge of your frame.

Just because you see life at eye level, don’t confine the camera there – the placement of the camera is one of the most important aspects of shooting video. It is the statement of what the scene represents and how the audience is supposed to view this particular situation.

Sometimes a shot will look flat when it is projected, even though it looked good to you in the viewfinder. While our eyes view the set and actors in stereo, we are dealing with a monocular system of recording and display. A good solution is to look at a scene through only one eye when you shoot it.

Video does not handle high-contrast ratios well – it’s best to avoid really bright whites or dark darks unless you are going for a particular effect.

Always remember to white balance your shots.

Avoid clothes with large white areas. Also avoid thin stripes, checks or herringbone patterns if possible.

Only zoom if you have a really good reason.

The tripod is your friend – only shoot handheld for a really good reason.

If in doubt, work with a partner and use multiple cameras – the more coverage the better.

Lighting
Handle the lights in the light kit with gloves and never touch the bulbs inside without gloves even if they are cool – they get so hot that the oil from your hands and fingerprints will burn off, and could cause the bulb to explode.

As the sun moves across the sky it changes color and temperature. This may not be picked up by your eyes, but it will be picked up by the camera.

Different light sources have different colors and temperatures (fluorescent light is green, daylight is blue). Don’t mix them together, it will wreak havoc with your white balance.

Fill panels (boards used to bounce or reflect light) can be made from almost anything (foam core, drawing pads, cardboard boxes). Improvise!

Remember, “Good editing can’t fix bad video.”

If you want to learn more about shooting professional video, and transferring video to film, I highly recommend Digital Moviemaking by Scott Billups. His website, http://www.pixelmonger.com is also a great resource.