chaz Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Don't know if this is the right place for a mini-rant but here goes.... If you are going to shoot a video of a layout please, please, PLEASE..... 1 put the camera on a tripod 2 frame the shot and then LEAVE THE ZOOM ALONE Sorry about the shouting but the jigging about of hand-held shots plus the vertigo-inducing zooming backwards and forwards often ruins videos for me. A great shame as the models themselves deserve better. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Trainshed Terry Posted February 11, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 11, 2013 That goes for people that do video outdoors as Well Terry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted February 11, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 11, 2013 Don't know if this is the right place for a mini-rant but here goes.... If you are going to shoot a video of a layout please, please, PLEASE..... 1 put the camera on a tripod 2 frame the shot and then LEAVE THE ZOOM ALONE Quite right - but dream on! Not least because many "videos" are shot on cell-phones etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Quite right - but dream on! Not least because many "videos" are shot on cell-phones etc. I'm sure you are right. Ian. I presume the cell-phones of which you speak have no way of being fixed - you just wave the things about? Still if the good modellers can also be good video-ers we might have some footage worth looking at....and we can choose not to watch the jittery, zoom-ridden stuff..... Chacon a sons gout eh? Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I don't have a video camera so I record on my stills camera, as its still acceptable quality. I agree with all the sentiments above. If you're going to film your layout, plan it. Pick your angles, shoot everthing you need (on a tripod) then let the editing do the work. If you're going to talk, either make sure its quite or dub yourself in later. If I'm at a gala and I zoom mid-shot, I have to cut it out and do some kind of transition. Finally, please watch your video before you upload and ask yourself, "is this any good?". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 It's not always possible to use a tripod but if not then my best advice is 1. Zoom out as far as possible to reduce the amount of shake, 2. Hold the camera as steady as you can- there's no reason to just wave the camera around even if it's trying to be a phone as well. Don't try to use developing or tracking shots unless you've really go them planned and even then you'll need to do several to get one usable one. 3. Record each individual shot for a minimum of ten seconds to give you something to edit. 4. Even with a tripod try treating the zoom as an infinitely variable set of fixed lenses and avoid zooming within a shot- it's usually better to let the subject do the movement rather than the camera. 5. Edit the shots into a sequence before you publish them. It's the lack of editing as much as poor camerawork that makes so much amateur video look terrible but even professionally shot rushes tend to look like someone's home movies before they're edited. Video shot by experienced crews for television normally has a shooting ratio of between six and twenty to one. When people are filmed they often comment that the crew was there all morning for just a couple of minutes of screen time. There's a good reason for that and, though getting a few shots of a layout isn't so involved as a sequence that has to tell a specifc story, think in terms of shooting maybe three times as much as you intend to put on YouTube. If you're recording something that you'll never see again then follow the most fundamental rule and KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 I don't have a video camera so I record on my stills camera, as its still acceptable quality. I agree with all the sentiments above. If you're going to film your layout, plan it. Pick your angles, shoot everthing you need (on a tripod) then let the editing do the work. If you're going to talk, either make sure its quite or dub yourself in later. If I'm at a gala and I zoom mid-shot, I have to cut it out and do some kind of transition. Finally, please watch your video before you upload and ask yourself, "is this any good?". I don't have a video camera so I record on my stills camera, as its still acceptable quality. I agree with all the sentiments above. If you're going to film your layout, plan it. Pick your angles, shoot everthing you need (on a tripod) then let the editing do the work. If you're going to talk, either make sure its quite or dub yourself in later. If I'm at a gala and I zoom mid-shot, I have to cut it out and do some kind of transition. Finally, please watch your video before you upload and ask yourself, "is this any good?". Yes, yes, yes. Couldn't agree more. I remember seeing a video on Youtube, made by a modeller in the USA. He had placed the camera on the ground and half way through the shot he kicked the camera over. Picking it up (thumb over lens - nice) he allowed the shot to continue. And then posted it! I don't think it was irony or sarcasm.... Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 It's not always possible to use a tripod but if not then my best advice is 1. Zoom out as far as possible to reduce the amount of shake, 2. Hold the camera as steady as you can- there's no reason to just wave the camera around even if it's trying to be a phone as well. Don't try to use developing or tracking shots unless you've really go them planned and even then you'll need to do several to get one usable one. 3. Record each individual shot for a minimum of ten seconds to give you something to edit. 4. Even with a tripod try treating the zoom as an infinitely variable set of fixed lenses and avoid zooming within a shot- it's usually better to let the subject do the movement rather than the camera. 5. Edit the shots into a sequence before you publish them. It's the lack of editing as much as poor camerawork that makes so much amateur video look terrible but even professionally shot rushes tend to look like someone's home movies before they're edited. Video shot by experienced crews for television normally has a shooting ratio of between six and twenty to one. When people are filmed they often comment that the crew was there all morning for just a couple of minutes of screen time. There's a good reason for that and, though getting a few shots of a layout isn't so involved as a sequence that has to tell a specifc story, think in terms of shooting maybe three times as much as you intend to put on YouTube. If you're recording something that you'll never see again then follow the most fundamental rule and KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) Excellent advice David. I heartily endorse your advice, and particularly point 4. Try this - the next time you watch any TV see how many in-shot zooms you can spot. "It's not always possible to use a tripod" - personally I'd be tempted to avoid video if a tripod is out and settle for stills. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted February 11, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 11, 2013 all my layout videos are shot on an iphone 4s, when i do them i use the technology available on the phone to get them as good as possible such as the splice editing tool which can add "ken burns" zooming into the final cut without you actually messing about while filming. i also invested a whole £2 in an iphone tripod attachment which allows me to fit it to a standard tripod, i also have a gorilla grip type bendy type tripod for those tricky on layout shots. i find the iphone to be a great piece of kit for layout videos, full HD recording etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Belgian Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Please stop giving all this good advice to those who take video shots and post them onto YouTube: those of us who try to make a living by shooting good video know that the picture quality of cameras these days is so good that the only ace we still hold is that amateurs shoot junk! Jeremy English Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 all my layout videos are shot on an iphone 4s, when i do them i use the technology available on the phone to get them as good as possible such as the splice editing tool which can add "ken burns" zooming into the final cut without you actually messing about while filming. i also invested a whole £2 in an iphone tripod attachment which allows me to fit it to a standard tripod, i also have a gorilla grip type bendy type tripod for those tricky on layout shots. i find the iphone to be a great piece of kit for layout videos, full HD recording etc "iphone tripod attachment" - so there really isn't any excuse! By the way I wasn't slagging off mobile phones, I just don't have one myself. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Please stop giving all this good advice to those who take video shots and post them onto YouTube: those of us who try to make a living by shooting good video know that the picture quality of cameras these days is so good that the only ace we still hold is that amateurs shoot junk! Jeremy English OK, Jeremy, you can take your tongue out of your cheek now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Belgian Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 OK, Jeremy, you can take your tongue out of your cheek now. That wasn't tongue in cheek! It was from the heart . . JE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 Please stop giving all this good advice to those who take video shots and post them onto YouTube: those of us who try to make a living by shooting good video know that the picture quality of cameras these days is so good that the only ace we still hold is that amateurs shoot junk! Jeremy English I don't think you need to worry overmuch about improving picture quality queering your pitch. To judge by the equivalent advances in, say, the motor car; the inept, incompetent, totally unthinking, insensitive, and just plain dreadful users will always be with us. However a forum seems exactly the place for good advice - whether or not it's heeded, well..... You sure your cheek wasn't bulging just a little? Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Belgian Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I don't think you need to worry overmuch about improving picture quality queering your pitch. To judge by the equivalent advances in, say, the motor car; the inept, incompetent, totally unthinking, insensitive, and just plain dreadful users will always be with us. However a forum seems exactly the place for good advice - whether or not it's heeded, well..... You sure your cheek wasn't bulging just a little? Chaz Positive! (Well .. .) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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