Here is a brief explanation of ‘WHY’ you would use each shot.

Establishing Shot: Used to set the context of the scene. Answers basic questions that the viewer would have about where, when, how, etc.

Long Shot: person occupies 1/3 to 3/4 of the screen.

Full Shot: person occupies all but a little of the screen.

Medium Shot: person from the waist up.

Close Shot: person’s head and shoulders.

Close-up: person’s head.

Extreme Close-up: person’s face or part of face fills the frame.

Overhead (Crane) Shot: gives a voyeuristic, disconnected effect. Shoot from atop a stepladder or steady table.

Low Shot: gives an ominous, looming and sinister feeling. Used to display power or control.

Camcorders vary widely in their features, tics and idiosyncrasies; you will need to learn them on your own by reading the manual, experimenting, and consulting company Web sites with vexing questions and problems. For instance, one problem we had while developing Camcorder helper was that our camera left a distracting space at the beginning of a new shot whenever we wanted to rewind and redo what we had just shot… a big problem when you’re trying to do a series of short dialogue shots. We discovered that by hitting “pause” instead of “stop” when we reached the point at which we wanted to resume shooting, this gap did not appear-problem solved, though after much rending of hair and gnashing of teeth. It turns out that this problem and its solution are discussed on a bulletin board on the manufacturer’s Web site and could have been quickly alleviated with a few mouse clicks.

What your camcorder can do as you’re shooting will obviously affect the quality of your final product. Ours has a nifty little dissolve feature that comes in especially handy with the Film School scavenger-hunt-type projects; yours may have a feature that allows you to insert a title before a shot (ours doesn’t). Try to use camera effects imaginatively yet sparingly, especially zoom (you’ll rarely see zoom used in TV or in Hollywood movies). Try instead to get steady shots (always use a tripod where possible) from a variety of distances and angles.

USING THE CAMERA

Most of us don’t think about the way we use our video cameras; we just point it around like a firehose at the subjects at hand/Wile this is fine for documenting events as they happen (for later editing), the “Firehose Effect “ tends to produce all the negative things that characterize home movies: wobbly camera; dark, backlit figures; boring subjects (birthday parties, Christmas); bad sound; overly long, rambling shots… all of these are things that make for poor video.  Of course, you may want your production to look like a home movie (think Blair Witch Project). But with just a little care and preplanning you can relieve your videos of these unsettling trademarks.

Avoid the shaky camera. The best solution is to put it on a tripod. If you don’t have a tripod, we strongly suggest you buy one… a cheap ($20) on will do just fine. If you absolutely can’t beg, borrow, or steal a tripod there are other solutions. You can set the camera on a table or bookshelf. Or can take great care to hold the camera very steady. But for shots that last for more than , say, three seconds, nothing will do more to make your video look good than a tripod. It will help you deliberately compose each shot and eliminate that nausea-inducing wobbly view (though at times, like for instance during dancing scenes or an action scene, you may want to go for a shaky camera effect).

To make sure you are capturing things well you should check your footage as you go.  Especially after shooting a series of dialogue shots, it’s a good idea to go back and look at the timing of the line deliveries. At first you will probably tend to put too much dead time between lines, or you will cut off the line by starting the camera too late.  A good way to start a shot is for the camera-person to say “Three, two, one,_______(silence).” Hit the record button on the “one” count, and have the person deliver the line on the “silence” count. Experiment with this a little, and it will go a long way toward making your videos tighter and more professionally- paced.

HERE IT IS: THE BIG SECRET!

Watch virtually anything on TV or a movie screen and you will notice that the filming is broken into separate, usually short, shots. Whether it’s a sitcom, a wresting match, a cartoon, a philharmonic symphony performance or a Hollywood blockbuster, the camera view constantly bounces from place to place, looking a various people and objects from various distances and angles.

Conventions exist for these angles and their timing in various situations… ther is a set of rules for shooting dialogue, another for shooting fight scenes, and still another for shooting a football game. We are all subconsciously well-versed in these rules. For instance, we all know that a football game  (among other things) must be shot from one side of the field during the entire course of the game, and that there is usually a close-up shot of a player celebrating after he makes a great play. But most of us can’t describe, much less execute these conventions. What follows here will point out some of the most common guidelines; once you learn and fiddle on your own with a few of them, you will find yourself noticing and learning more just from watching TV.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT MONTAGE

Montage (“mon-tahj;” also called Montage Sequence) is the technique of putting shots of different things next to each other for a synergistic effect, that is, the shots watched together in a sequence are more powerful than the sum total of the shots looked at separately. Here’s a clichéd example: a close-up of a young man’s face dissolves into the pages of a calendar falling away like leaves, which dissolves into a close-up of the same man’s face looking older. The three shots taken together, and comprising only a few seconds, lead us to think that a great deal of time has passed. When we see a shot of a woman throwing a switch on a box with wires coming out of it, and then see a long shot of a car exploding in flames, we take an active part in the film by connecting the two events and realizing that the woman blew up the car. This type of continuity from shot to shot is a staple of audience-engaging film making, and one that you should absolutely try to employ in your own video projects.

Try this: pick a mundane part of your or someone else’s day and distill its essence into four or five well-considered shots. For instance, you might try this series of shots: A full shot of your son waking up to his alarm. Cut. A close-up of a toothbrush which is then snatched from its holder. Cut. A low profile shot of him pulling his T-shirt over his messy wet hair while looking in the mirror. Cut. A close shot of him shoveling Cheerios into his mouth. Cut. A follow shot of him pushing out the front door with his book bag, saying goodbye, and walking down the sidewalk into the distance. Cut.

With a little forethought and considered composition of each shot, you can create something much more powerful than if you had just picked up the camera and started shooting (which is what most of us amateurs do).

You will need people who are open to the idea of being in front of a camera, or can at least be cajoled into it. Sometimes these people wind up being the best actors.

Along with a camcorder you might want to assemble a few other items:

·         CD player (Home stereo or ideally a CD boombox that’s easy to move)

·         Tripod (not essential, but very beneficial)

·         VCR (to make copies of your video masterpieces)

Other items that are mentioned on a few of the cards:

·         Songs on a CD that you know the words to

·         Eyebrow pencil, washable marker, or body paint

·         Fashion magazine (like Vogue or Elle)

·         Large Ziploc –type bag

·         Comics from newspapers or comic books

·         White bed sheet

·         Flashlight(s), shop light(s) and/or lamps

Other items (not necessary, but adds to the fun) that will help spice things up:

·         Wigs

·         Hats

·         Eyeglasses

·         Makeup

·         Hair gel

·         Fake Teeth

·         Costumes (women’s clothing that will fit a man, etc.)

·         External microphone (that plugs into your camcorder)

·         Strobe light

·         Chalkboard (for opening titles)

This morning I thought about how I would title a movie about my life in Florence, AZ. The title, “Razorwire and Sunsets” came to mind. Florence Arizona is in the center of a vast desert. It was the Headquarters of the Arizona Rangers back in the frontier days. Apparently, the leaders of frontier Arizona believed that there was more money to be made in the PRISON industry then there was in EDUCATION. The reason I mention this is because when it came up for a vote in state government the choices Florence had for government ‘infrastructure’ was between two choices. The prison or the state university. Florence didn’t exactly choose wisely in my opinion.

It’s an interesting town. Not large but highly populated (when you count the prison population).

I will have to look through some of my del.icio.us links and post some of the neat light modifiers I have found over the years.

The “Rules”

It’s simple: Go through the cards until you find one to your liking and follow the directions. Do this again and again for an hour or two (or six or ten), using the support materials (The Book and Sound Effects) as directed to make your video look and sound great. Now plug your camera into the TV, kick back, and heartily enjoy the fruits of your cinematic labors.

The Cards

There are four types of cars in Camcorder Helper.

ONE-LINER cards are one-sentence catch phrases meant to be delivered in one (or all) of the six ways listed on the card. Many are lines from movies, some are cliches, others are just plain goofy. You might want to roll the enclosed die and have someone deliver the line in the corresponding, way or have the person choose how they’d like to deliver the line. One Liners work especially well as a warm-up, getting people used to acting and familiar with the buttons and knobs on the camera.

IMPROV cards take you into the art of improvisation. Many of the scenarios are simple dialogues between people in settings around the house (many take place at a party); others are set in more exotic locales that must be created by the actor’s imagination.

SIGHT AND SOUND GAG cards contain visually comedic (often bizarre) activities that require some simple setup, usually using objects you probably have lying around the house.

FILM SCHOOL cards were developed with the help of real film professionals and contain activities that are relatively simple to moderately ambitious in scope. Film School cards introduce you to ways of thinking like a true film maker and include some of the same kinds of assignments you would take home if you attended film classes.

Using The Cards

There are many ways to use the cards. You can insist that people pick one at random and do as directed. Or you can let folks look through until they find one that inspires them. You might find one or several cards that everyone wants to do.

A good way to use the cards is to go through and pick out several that you’d like to do and then line them up in the order that you’d like them to appear on tape. Not only does this help you plan your shooting schedule (as in “Susan, you’re in this first scene; Dan, we don’t need you for another 15 minutes”), but it helps you arrange the bits in an order that makes for good viewing later. For instance, you might start with a couple of Improv sketches; toss in a couple of One Liners; go to a longer, more serious Film School piece; throw in a short Sight Gag and then end with a couple more Improvs.

Many of the cards will refer to pages in this book, which is a film making primer. One or all of you might want to take a few minutes to read through these pages and get a lay oof the land before you start picking cards and shooting.

The Sound Effects CD

Many of the cards include a “Sound Cue” and corresponding track number. You will find these (and more) on The Sound Effects CD. Play the CD on a stereo or boom box in the background as you film. Experiment a little with the volume level and position of the camera in relation to the audio source, and practice cuing up the sounds while filming to get the timing working perfectly. Listen through all of the CD sounds for inspiration; we’ve included a lot of extra stuff for you to use in devising your own bits.