Edit your sound first

Whenever you begin to edit a video it is always best to edit your sound first. Get the music track in, pace your voice and sound effects tracks, then go back and fix your video. This will save you a lot of headaches and your videos will turn out more professional.

- Chimera Productions

©2011 Chimera Productions. All Rights Reserved

Video Production Tips - # 9 Preparing to Edit

After you've shot all your wonderful footage, you need to capture it to a computer for editing. Here are some tips to help you avoid problems.

1. Before turning on your computer, make sure that your camera is hooked up to the fire wire port on your computer and that the camera is powered on in VCR mode. You want your computer to recognize your camera the moment it starts up. 90% of your computer problems will be a result of not hooking things up correctly.
2. While your capturing your footage, be sure to leave your computer alone. Don't surf the web, email, or do any tasks that will steal power from your processor. It may result in video dropouts.
3. Make sure your capture setting match the format of the footage you recorded. This includes frame rates, Standard or HD and audio quality. You can check what settings you recording in with the camera or the owners manual. If you don't capture with the right settings you will have to render all of your footage before you can edit, which is a pain.
4. Try to always record your footage in SP mode. There is an LP mode for getting more time out of each tape but I highly recommend against it for important shoots.
5. You can use a capture deck so that you wont have to put unnecessary wear and tear on your camera. All that rewinding, fast forwarding and playing adds up.

- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - # 8 Shooting Techniques

There are many camera movements and angles to make your video more interested. Here is a list of things you can do and things you should avoid doing:

1. Get to the same level as your subject. If your shooting a child, bend down to their level to make things more interesting.
2. Use a dolly to move the camera around smoothly. A car or skateboard work well for this.
3. Try to avoid zooming while you record. Our eyes cant zoom naturally so its confusing to watch. Instead, zoom to compose your shot, then record. Zooms can add interest to a shot if its a slow steady zoom.
4. Don't make the camera movements distracting. If your moving a camera it should only add to what the viewer is seeing, not take away. 
5. Panning - Mounting the camera on a tripod, simply move the camera horizontally from left to right. Pan shots are used to show the viewer more of the scenery. This technique is also often used to show views from high places, such as overlooks. Pan shots should begin with a still shot, then pan, then finish with a still shot. You should practice panning at various speeds until you find the speed that works best for you.
6. Tilt - A tilt done with a mounted camera is quite simple. You just move the camera up or down, without lowering or raising the position of the camera. This is must like panning, only it is done vertically. This video camera technique is used to follow the subject that you are photographing, or to show the viewer a large object from top of bottom - or from bottom to top. You should note that when you tilt from bottom to top, the object looks larger or thicker. When you tilt from top to bottom, the object looks smaller or thinner. As with panning, you should begin with a still shot, tilt, then stop on a still shot. Again, practice this technique at various speeds until you find what works for you.
7. To reduce camera shake, move closer to your subject and zoom out. If you are zoomed in your camera will magnify each shake and it will be nauseating.
8. A crane is used to get really high angles. I've used balloons filled with helium to create this effect cheaply. Just be sure you secure it to something so you don't lose your camera.

Learn how to use all of the features on your camera, then combine the use of those features with different movements to get the most out of your shots. Video camera movement techniques can really spice up your home movies, and give them the style and flair that you see in Hollywood movies!

- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - # 7 Equipment Maintenance

Maintaining your video equipment is essential. Proper maintenance will prolong the life of your equipment and increase your investment. Here are some do's and don'ts.

1. Always replace the lens cap when not in use. All it takes is one scratch on your lens to ruin it. If the lens is dirty, don't use your shirt to wipe it. Use a lens wipe designed for glasses. 
2. Avoid smokey rooms. Continuous exposure to smoke will surely leave deposits on the internal mechanisms of the camera and will render it broken.
3. Recharge batteries after use. When your done shooting, be sure to recharge all your batteries the same day. If you leave a battery drained for an extended period of time it will not hold a charge as well and will need replacing quicker.
4. Never leave your camera or tapes in a hot car. It is plastic and it will melt! Always store your tapes in cases.
5. There's a small tab on each tape that you can slide over. This protects the tape from being accidentally overwritten. 
6. Whenever you take a camera from hot to cold or vise-versa condensation will form and will make your camera useless until it evaporates which can take weeks. If you need to bring your camera in from the cold place it in a plastic Ziploc. This will cause the condensation to form on the outside of the bag. Not your camera.
7. Try not to use your camera as playback device. This puts more wear on the heads. You can purchase an external device for playing and capturing your tapes.

- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - # 6 Lapel Microphones

Here are some things to be aware of when using lapel microphones.

1. Make sure the microphone is not resting on the shirt. This will create a rustling sound in the subject fidgets.
2. Don't clip the lapel too far from the mouth. If the mic is down at the bottom of your shirt you will get horrible audio level. A good distance is a 12 inches or less.
3. Don't let them hold any parts of the microphone in their hand. People tend to get nervous on camera and they will definitely fidget or play with whatever they're holding.
4. Always listen through headphones so you can spot any noises that the mic is picking up.
5. If your using a wireless system, always replace the batteries if you on an important shoot, even if you think there fine.
6. Turn off cell phones or other wireless devices that may interfere with your wireless mic.
7. Clip the lapel in the direction the person will be speaking, don't clip it behind their head. You want to capture the loudest, clearest sound possible.

Hope this was informative.

- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - # 5 Basic Lighting

Lighting is a very important aspect of video production. Here are some basic tips to help avoid problem situations.

1. Avoid shooting in front of windows or bright backgrounds. Whenever you film someone in front of a bright window your camera will adjust to the brightest thing in your shot. So what this means is that it will look great through the window but you subject will turn into a silhouette. Try to shoot where the foreground and the background light is balanced. It is always better if your subject is brighter than the background. Consumer cameras usually have a setting called sand and snow, this helps correct bright backgrounds when filming scenes that involve sand or snow but you can use it for any scene with a bright background.
2. Purchase an on-camera light. You can pick up an LED light for your camera for $100. These lights last for hours with a single charge and they never get hot. This is a great way to improve the quality of your video.
3. If your filming outside, try and shoot while the sun is on your subjects face. You can use a light reflector or bouncer to control the sunlight if your going for a more professional look.
4. If you have the ability to manually control the exposure setting in your camera, you can zoom in to your subjects face, hit auto exposure then lock it in. Now when you zoom out your subject will be exposed properly.
5. Try to see a reflection in the subjects eyes. Also called a catch light, this reflection will make your subjects look livelier. Its harder to relate to someone speaking on camera if you cant clearly see there eyes. You can achieve this reflection by moving the light closer or further from the subject.

Here is a spur of the moment rig I made for a corporate presentation that I had to film from the back of the room. It doesn't look too pretty but it worked great! It's just an LED light hooked onto a mic stand.

There are many specifics I could go into about lighting. If desired, a future post. Comment and let us know.

- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - # 4 Getting Great Sound

Next to or sometimes as important as the video quality is the sound quality. Attention to sound is often overlooked and can make a video look amateur. Here are some tips for capturing crisp sound.

1. Monitor your levels. First, use headphones, you won't know what your capturing if your not listening. If you camera has an audio signal bar that shows how loud the sound is make sure it's not too high or clipping will occur. If your camera doesn't have an audio bar then it's usually automatic.
2. Use an external microphone. You want to get as close as possible to the source of the sound without having the mic in the shot. If you don't have an external mic then just move your camera closer to the sound source.
3. Turn off any air conditioning or background sounds if possible. As you listen to your headphones, your going to hear a lot of background noises that you didn't hear with your ears, microphones pick up everything. I may write another post on different types of microphones and there uses.
4. If your shooting outside in the wind, use a wind screen. You can make your own by putting a piece of thick breathable material (such as a cotton sock) over the microphone. This stops the wind from hitting the microphone. Make sure whatever you use is secure and isn't sliding around on the microphone because this will create a horrible sound that you definitely don't want in your video.
5. If your micing a speaker at a wedding or an event where you want to capture what is being said through other microphones that aren't ran into your camera, it is important that you don't place the mic right at the sub woofer. If you do, everyone will sand like the adults on the Muppet's. everything will sound muffled. What you want to do is place the mic in between the sub woofer and the tweeters which are usually at the top. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the speaker the deeper sounds you will get. And you want to capture the highs and the lows.

These are some pretty basic but key tips that should help you capture better audio for your videos.


- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - # 3 White Balance

I was asked by a viewer what white balancing is. White balancing is a feature that you'll find on pro-sumer and professional camcorders. Basically, it gives the camera operator the ability to tell the camera what should be white. The camera then bases all of the other colors off of what it thinks white is.  White balancing is achieved by holding up a piece of white paper or a white object in front of the camera, zooming in so the whole screen is white, and then pushing the white balance button.

You'll notice that once you do this, the piece of paper will appear white and all the other colors in the room will seem more natural and accurate. You can experiment with different colors. If you have a blue piece of paper and use that to white balance then everything will adjust to the blue and the scene will look more orange or red. Vise-versa if you balanced with an orange piece of paper the scene would appear bluish.

Here are some common mistakes when white balancing:

1. White balance every time you move to a new location. Just because you white balanced in the beginning of the day doesn't mean it will last all day. Every time you go from indoors to outdoors or room to room you should re-balance.
2. Make sure you have all of your lights setup (if used) before you balance and make sure the paper your using is being lit by your lights when you balance. Anytime lighting conditions change you need to re-balance.
3. Make sure the object your using is really white, unless your going for a certain effect. Don't use peoples teeth or walls unless your sure its pure white. I find a thick piece of paper works nicely.

Most editing softwares have a white balance feature. If you forget to do it in the camera you'll at least have that option. Balancing in the camera is better though.

Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of this vital feature for quality video.

- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - # 2 Keep It Steady Stupid!

Theres nothing more disappointing than having family over to watch a home video, you press play and grandma starts coughing up chewed peas because of nauseating, shaky camera movements. This is a tell-tale sign of amateur video. Here are some tips to help smooth things out a little.

1. If you camera has image stabilization for god sakes turn it on. This technology is getting better and better as years go by and it will help remove jitters and bumps while your shooting. If your looking to buy a camera I recommend getting one with this feature.
2. Be as steady as you can. Turn your body into a tripod. Use both hands, cradle the camera. Lean against a wall or a tree. Hold the camera close to your body. The more solid you can make your stance, the smoother your shot will be.
3. Relax! If your fidgety and hyper it will reflect in your camera work, believe me. So breathe easy and calm down.
4. Sit the camera on a tripod, if you don't have a tripod you can use a table or banister.
5. If your trying to do a pan of all the people at your party, start at one side of the room, start with a still shot for a few seconds, then slowly ease into the pan. Try to consistently pan at the same speed all the way to the other side of the room, then end on a still shot for a few seconds.

Try some of these techniques out and watch your video improve dramatically.

Stay tuned for more tips.

- Chimera Productions

Video Production Tips - #1 Composing Shots

Most people can tell a good photograph from a bad one, but who really knows why. What makes a photograph or video interesting? An important element of every photograph or video is composition.

Take a look at these examples:

The image on the left is plain and boring.










The image on the right has something interesting about it.

But what makes the photographer choose that particular angle?







The answer is somewhat scientific.
Naturally our minds like balance.
In order to balance an image you need to be familiar with the rule of thirds.
The Rule of Thirds is basically dividing the image into three columns and three rows.


Rule of Thirds Example:

The goal here is to move the camera to make the dominant objects fall on or around the intersecting points.





Notice that the image to the left is not really balanced

While the image to the right is much more symmetrical according to the grid. The dominant objects fall on the intersecting points.


When filming people, always try to keep the eyes of the subject on the top line. This rule applies to closeups and wide shots.

Homework:
Watch TV and notice that in almost every shot the persons eyes will fall on that top line.

Try this tip out and watch your videos become more interesting. These images were taken using and iPhone 3GS.
Stay tuned as this is the first of many tips.

- Chimera Productions

About Chimera Productions

Chimera Productions is a full-service video production company located in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Being a small company allows us to deliver a high quality product while keeping project costs low. We pride ourselves on the high standards, attention to detail and creativity we put into every project.


This blog will provide tips and training for videographers, editors and people who want to make there home movies look more professional. These tips will be coming soon so stay tuned.


- Chimera Productions