MANUAL OVERRIDE
FOCUS
Notice how your auto focus is seeking all the time? Learn how to focus manually and this will never happen again., It's very easy, turn the focus clockwise for something close and counter clockwise for something far. The easiest way to manually focus is to zoom in all the way on your subject and focus then zoom out to the proper frame up and start rolling. Manually you can concentrate your focusing on the subject you want the viewers to see not always what is in the centre of the picture.
IRIS
Notice how your home video picture will all of a sudden turn dark when something bright goes through the scene? This is because the auto iris is set to a certain amount of light that enters the ccd. If you override the auto iris this will never happen again. The best way to learn this with home video is through trial & error. Learn the proper light level allowed to enter your ccd by shooting near your colour television, ride the iris up and down and look at your TV, if the iris is up to high your TV will show an over modulated picture. Turn down the iris until the picture is just slightly over modulated, then look in your viewfinder, you will notice that the picture is slightly washed out, turn down the iris until the picture in the viewfinder no longer looks washed out. now look at your TV. Next turn down the iris until the picture is slightly too dark and look in the viewfinder, turn up the iris to the point before it starts to wash out. When you start shooting with manual iris and something bright passes through the picture leave the iris alone, it looks more natural that way, unless the bright object stays in the picture, in that case slowly turn down the iris to compensate.
WHITE BALANCE
Notice how bad the colours look sometimes & sometimes they look great? This is because the auto white balance did not get a chance to neutralise to the lighting conditions. If you set the white balance manually this will never happen again. To set the white balance manually, simply point your camera at a white card and hit the white balance control. Repeat the process at every light level change, moving from indoor to out door (& vice versa) and every two to three hours if shooting indoors under the same light conditions.
All three of these tips will save you battery life and they are great for
special effects.
1 Have enough battery power & tape to shoot 3 times as much footage as planned.
2 Stake out locations that will look good on video.
3 Plan the time so you can shoot with the sun behind you.
4 Script your scenes.
TIME & DATE STAMP DON'T USE IT.
No one wants to see what time it was. When you watch TV shows you don't see the time and date stamped all over it and if you do it's always amateur video with the stamp blocked out. If you really want to know the time of the shot put it at the beginning for only two to four seconds but the time and date stamp should be left for post production.
BE STEADY HOLD YOUR SHOT
Try to hold the camera as steady as possible with both hands.
DON'T DRIFT HOLD YOUR SHOT
It is natural for the human eyes to look at something for a second and then quickly look at something else but this looks horrible on video and is the second sign of an amateur shooter. (auto settings is the first sign.) Before you start shooting pre focus on your subject set the iris start rolling and hold the shot steady. If you plan to edit your tape later hold the shot for 10 extra seconds at the beginning and the end of the shot for smooth edits.
DON'T OVER ZOOM HOLD YOUR SHOT
The zoom lens is one of the best features on a camcorder but unfortunately one of the most over used. Zooming should be used only for two things. the first is to frame up your shot. I will give you an example for the second way. Say your spouse is standing in front of Niagara Falls, frame a close up shot of her face, focus, set the iris and start rolling, now hold your shot for a few seconds and start zooming out slowly while panning up so the falls get into the frame, when in full wide hold the shot as long as needed and stop rolling. Over zooming is the third sign of an amateur shooter.
DON'T OVER PAN HOLD YOUR SHOT
When you must pan while shooting something hold your shot in frame before you start the pan, then start panning slowly then when you stop the pan make sure your content is in frame and hold your shot for a few seconds.
FRAME UP HOLD YOUR SHOT
Don't always put everything in the middle of the frame. The rule here is put a person's head on the top of the screen, The person's eyes should be at about 60 percent at top. If the person is looking to the right, put him at the left of the screen from a left angle and vice versa. If you follow your dog running from left to right then his head should be a little to the right from the centre and his tail should be partly cut from the screen, this is all meant to give the viewer a depth of field. The best way to learn proper framing is to watch your favourite TV show and pay close attention to the framing.
WIDE MED CLOSE ESTABLISH YOUR SHOTS
Shoot almost everything with wide medium and close up shots. This will not only establish the scene but do wonders for your editing. Hold the shot for a few seconds then pause and go into the next frame up, don't zoom
LIGHTS USE THEM
I know your camcorder manual says that you can shoot at 1 lux. Well you can but your picture will look grainy, out of focus and without colour. A 20 watt light will do wonders for your basic indoor shoots. To really have the picture come to life, put a back light high behind the subject and point downwards at the back of his head. Put a spotlight up high in front of him from an angle and point it straight into his face. Use a flood light in front to get rid of shadows. When shooting outdoors, have the sun behind you shinning into your subject.
EXTERNAL MICS USE THEM
The built in mic. is great for picking up background noise and nature sounds but if you have a person speaking into the camera you should always use an external mic. You can buy a $20 external omni-directional mic that will mute most of the background noise when your subject is speaking. If you plan to do a lot of interviews you can purchase a clip on mic. for as little as $35. If you have a couple of hundred dollars to spend go for a R.F. (wireless) mic.
TRIPOD USE IT
If you plan to shoot something that you will keep for a long time then use a tripod. Whenever you shoot something far away use the tripod. No human on this planet can hold a camera one hundred percent shake free, even the best pro camera operators use tripods. If you find that a tripod is not worth the effort and will just be in the way then at least use a monopod. When purchasing a tripod make sure it has a fluid head for smooth tilts and pans and make sure it has a bubble level.
