This is a list of tips gathered from emails written over the past couple of years to individuals who were gathering their own video footage. It started out with some suggestions for nurses who were travelling from Calgary to Yemen to provide workshops and has grown slowly to accommodate the parameters of television pilot sketches, "how-to" videos, and live events. The items below are some of the blanket advice that I’d give to anyone new to video production. The focus is on providing individuals with flexibility when they go to edit their video. I hope it is short enough not to overwhelm anyone on their first project, but comprehensive enough to cover most of the major obstacles. Let me know if you have anything to add or any questions: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Plan ahead

It is very discouraging to look at your footage and wish that you had more to work with. In many cases, you can't go back and pick up those shots you missed. Plan ahead when you are putting together any project. Think about how long you will be out with your camera and how much storage (tapes/flash cards) you will need to record everything you want. Estimate very generously. Media may seem expensive at the time, but running out of storage can be disastrous, not to mention very frustrating. Make sure you have additional batteries and charge them the day before. Make a checklist of who/what/where needs to be included in the final video. On the day, methodically capture these subjects first. If the subject is crucial for your project, don't assume you will have time to get the shot later.

Use a tripod

The most important tip. Unless you are an experienced camera operator or you want to have a “reality” look to your shot keep the camera steady, or you will risk ending up without any usable footage.

Lighting

Shoot with as much light as possible and use the camera settings to bring the levels back down to what you want. This will provide the best image quality with a sharper picture and better colour saturation. Give your subject lots of light and also have a separate light illuminate the background behind the subject. (But, be careful not to light the background more than the subject or stand the subject in front of a bright window unless you want to record a talking silhouette!) This gives the shot more depth. Use whatever lights you have handy and be creative about where you point them. If the lights seem too intense, bounce them off a wall or the ceiling. When shooting outdoors, try to avoid shooting in direct sunlight, as the contrast will be very extreme and may lead to some permanent loss of detail either in the light or the shadows.

Audio

Use an external microphone such as a shotgun microphone or wireless microphone if at all possible within your budget. Your microphone needs to be as close to the subject as possible. Usually, this means that a microphone attached to the camera is not sufficient.

You can also record your audio with a digital audio recorder and match it up with the video later (just be sure that your recorder can transfer its recorded files to a computer in a standard format). If you are working with an audio recorder, clap your hands in front of the camera while it is rolling at the start of each shot so you have a precise action that you can match up with the sound in editing. It helps to also say out loud the number of the take or scene that you are shooting so you can sort it all out later.

If you are forced to use the in-camera microphone, the placement of your camera for the picture comes almost secondary to the location where it will pick up the best sound. You are going to pick up a lot of the ambient room noise. These microphones may give the impression that you were really there, but you’ll want to ensure that the experience is that of someone sitting in the front row or standing near the subject.

Live events

Remember the first rule of live event video production: it is only going to happen once, so be ready and cover as much as you can with the crew and equipment you have available.

Take a lot of recordable media with you and run the cameras as much as possible. Having too much footage is usually better than not having enough. The cameras will also be easier to sync if you let them keep rolling once they start. It is easier to sync two long clips than dozens of short ones. Unless you know you will be taking a lengthy break, just keep them going and don’t hit pause.

If you can, run two (or more) cameras simultaneously from different angles and at different distances. Do your best to coordinate camera moves so that one camera is stationery while the other camera is panning or zooming or moving, this will give you a safety shot to cut away to if your move doesn’t go as planned.

Keep in mind that live events will also look better on video if you provide adequate lighting. This can be challenging if the room is dimly lit to accommodate a projection screen or to set a mood for the audience; at some point you will need to decide if you want pristine video footage or a great atmosphere for the audience at the event. Even with a tremendously expensive camera lens it is not possible to have it both ways unless you have the time to carefully design an lighting plan that will illuminate some areas (such as a podium) while shielding other areas from reflected light.

B-roll footage

These things will help to create transitions or hide segments where you want to add new material or cut material:
• close-up of the speaker’s hands, props, or a shot from behind the speaker facing the audience
• exterior and interior shots of the building(s) you are in
• shots of the room and the participants
• shots of anything that comes up in the material (facilities, instruments, offices, computers, hospitals, schools, etc.)
• “candid” shots of subjects talking to each other, working, walking, etc.
• footage that represents the location (characteristic shots of the city, exterior shots of the building)

It helps to remember that if you can’t see the person talking, the audio that you hear in a particular scene could be anything, recorded any time, even weeks later. Without these “cut away” shots, it is very hard to abridge the content without using something obvious like a dissolve or fade to jump ahead.

Don’t worry about editing in the camera. Aim for a minimum of 30 seconds for a shot, even if you don’t think the content is very interesting. Once you get that, try for another 30 seconds from a different angle, or moving, or zooming, or panning.

You never know where these will end up; you may type over a video clip instead of using a blank background for a slide, add a voiceover to open or close the video, or you may want to roll some of this during the credits to liven them up.

Collecting b-roll footage is also an excellent opportunity to collect ambient sound; unless you are describing the scene you are shooting, see if you can quietly capture the atmosphere of the location.

Shoot in high definition if possible

Shooting with older handicams will limit your options in editing, even if you intend this particular project to only be finished on DVD or for the web. If your original image is larger than the finished format, you can crop the video or create additional movement within the shot.

Rehearse

Rehearse as much as you can before you shoot. The more you rehearse, the more natural it will look when you start rolling. This rehearsal time can also give the person behind the camera time to prepare their role.