We are living in the digital age; a huge portion of the population now carries a portable video camera that rivals the quality and capability of most TV news crews from not that long ago. This is an extraordinary development for society. It’s allowed regular people to audit authorities, capture unbelievable events at a whim, and allow for an unprecedented level of artistic photographic and video-graphic expression.
When the typewriter came out, authors everywhere expected the next great novel to be written by some kid with exceptional typing abilities. They worried he or she would eclipse their entire body of work, but that never happened. We learned that discipline and the *desire to create* are still the most important factors in making art.
That’s because education, grit, determination, and strategy are still important. In this article, it’s my hope to teach regular people how to use their cellphone to capture moving images like a pro by providing them with a basic skillset. Being a filmmaker or a journalist takes years of work, not just ready access to a camera, of course, but there are things you can learn right now that will have an immediate impact on your work.
Here are are some starting points, but first, if you’re looking for a video production company that can create any type of video or film project you might have in mind, contact Dreamcity Cinema. We’ll give you a free consultation!
Alright. On to the content!
5. Turn your dang camera (or don’t)!
There has been a proliferation of vertical video on social media. TikTok utilizes this form for virtually all of its content.
There are also Instagram and Facebook videos designed to be shown in vertical mode.
Many online sources and purists will try and claim that horizontal footage is superior to vertical footage. I will not be doing that.
The truth is that each format has its uses. Some case studies have shown vertical footage to be a superior format for certain contexts.
Thus, the advice I will give you is to think ahead. If you are 100% positive that your video will be shown in a vertical format, then shoot vertically.
If you are unsure or don’t know where you might use the footage later, or just want to be on the safe side for any possible uses you might have in the foreseeable future, shoot horizontally!
Remember, it’s usually easier to crop horizontal footage to vertical but much harder to crop vertical to horizontal.
That means simply turning your cellphone on its side. It’s so incredibly easy to do, yet is the number one thing people forget to when filming. I think the biggest reason why is because our phones are expensive and we want to hold them in a way that feels the most secure. Instinctually we hold it vertically.
Cell phone manufacturers would do us a tremendous favor if they could design a phone that would shoot horizontal footage while holding the phone vertically…. But that hasn’t happened yet. Until then, turn your phone.
4. Hold it steady!
For as long as film and video have existed, shaky footage is distracting and hard to watch. It’s utilized in movies fairly often, but that’s often a creative choice meant to make the viewer uncomfortable… or to create a frenetic feeling. (And sometimes it’s simply laziness from filmmakers. You can thank the French for this cinematic cliche.) 🙂
More often than not, you will benefit from steady footage. There are a few ways to do this.
The most obvious way is using a tripod or monopod. I am not a fan of monopods because they often lead the shooter to think they are getting steady footage; as a result, the shooter forgets that the monopod is only doing 50% of the work, so they stop trying to hold it steady. That said, a monopod is better than nothing, of course.
As an aside, people have gone crazy for gimbals. In my opinion, they are vastly overrated for the majority of footage.. If you’re shooting action shots from a moving vehicle or sticking your camera out the window of a Jeep then a gimbal is an invaluable tool. The problem is, people will use a gimbal to just walk around gathering B-roll as one long take. Instead of using it to hold their shot steady long enough to get a ten second clip of a subjects, they’ll simply get footage of a camera bouncing around looking every which-way. It isn’t quite as unsteady as hand-holding the camera, but it is distracting in other ways. The shot will often move up and down like the it’s from the perspective of a fly. Again, I will recommend a tripod over a gimbal. Save your money.
Second tip: avoid zooming all the way in. The further zoomed in you are, the more your camera will exaggerate bumps and shakes – even ones you might not be aware of. If you need to get closer to the subject, then move yourself physically closer to the subject. The only time I don’t recommend this is when shooting a portrait. Zooming in about halfway on someone’s face will have a much flattering effect than a fish-eye effect.
The key is to find the right amount that isn’t too shaky. In art, everything is a tradeoff.
Last tip here, use your cellphone’s built in stabilization (if it has it.) But, just like the monopod, the artificial stabilization only does half the work. It can provide a false sense of security.You still need to hold your shot as steady as possible. Virtual stabilization is usually great at removing micro-jitters. Macro-movement is still best controlled by holding the camera steady.
3. Edit while you shoot!
This is technically a misleading headline, but you’ll see what we actually mean by “editing while you shoot.” A lot of amateur shooters simply push record and let the camera roll as they walk around and point it at various directions. Later, they’ll see that they’ve been rolling for a half hour and assume that that’s plenty of footage to make a video with. When they get back to the editing room, they’ll realize they have 30 minutes of footage … but with only two or three decent shots. Instinctually we tend to judge the quality of our footage simply by how much footage there is. If you don’t adopt a more judicious way of filming, you’ll overestimate the quality of your shots.
There’s a better way to get b-roll, though.
In film school, one of the exercises we did was to try and edit our footage “in-camera.” Meaning, to shoot only what the viewer will see, in the order we want them to see it, for the amount of time we want them to see it. Essentially, shoot with the assumption that you won’t get to edit the footage. Imagine the viewer taking the SD card and plugging it in to the computer and watching the clips in the order they were shot. Would this be interesting to watch, or would it be thirty minutes of footage where the camera is pointed at the ground or wiggling around with no clear shot in mind?
Editing “in-camera” is a tricky way to shoot, but it teaches you to become disciplined and much more effective with your visual storytelling.
Imagine you are taking still photos. Find an angle you like, press record, hold the camera steady and avoid moving it unless the subject itself is moving, and count to ten. Then stop recording.
Get another angle, then repeat.
Sometimes I’ll shoot wide, then get a medium shot, then finish with a super tight shot of some detail. Remember: think of what you’re shooting as still images. This will add far more usefulness to your shooting methods.
And really, this is how many pros shoot b-footage. It allows the editor to easily pick and sift through footage when cutting. Rather than having to watch an entire ten minute clip and trying to pull interesting shots from a chaotic, never-ending clip with no planned stop or start to each shot, they can see the structure you’re shooting for and essentially string the clips together as-is. It takes a lot of work out of the editing… but more importantly produces a better video.
Disclaimer: Letting the camera roll is good for filming documentaries or catching what someone is saying in the heat of the moment. If you’re filming an unplanned event or you’re in a stressful, unpredictable moment, by all means, roll the camera and keep it rolling. Worry about editing it later. For general, low-stakes B-roll, using discretion is much more helpful and will help your editor quickly get a grasp of the story you’re telling.
This is part of the challenge of being an artist: knowing when and how to roll and adjusting your strategies for the moment.
2. Think like a journalist: use A-footage!
When most people go to get footage of something, they automatically assume their mission is to simply obtain b-roll. Hardly no one thinks to get A-footage; after all, that’s what TV news journalists are for. (A-footage is video where someone is talking on-camera.)
It’s easy to shoot, though.. Simply find someone related to the event you’re shooting, ask if they’ll mind answering questions on camera, point the camera at them, hold the shot steady as possible, and ask whatever questions you think will provide good information. Remember to ask questions from the standpoint of a viewer who has no idea what’s going on or why you’re filming the footage you’re filming.
Like a journalist, use A-footage to establish the four W’s of a story:
WHERE: where are we?
WHO: who are the people involved?
WHAT: what is going on?
WHY: why does it matter?
No matter what you’re filming, having someone on camera always helps. Even if you don’t use it in the final video, the commentary the person provides may prove useful to you as a historical record of the event you’ve filmed.
1. Break it into thirds!
Imagine you cut your video screen into three equal pieces, horizontally. Then you cut it into three pieces, vertically. It should look something like this:
When filming your subject, use these virtual marks as a guide for where to position (aka “compose”) your subject within the shot.
There’s really no good way to explain it with words. You just have to play with it. Once you do, you’ll start to see it in every professional video shot you see.
The rule of thirds is an aesthetically pleasing structure that allows the human brain to more seamlessly process visual information within a frame. I won’t go in to the psychological stuff going on here (mainly because I have no idea how it works), but trust me. Play with this structure as much as you can. You’ll get better looking shots that set your footage apart.
Bonus: ONCE MORE: DONT MOVE THE CAMERA!
This is for the people in the back! Keep your camera steady! Steady steady steady! Don’t abruptly zoom, tilt or pan around unless there’s a reason you’re trying to redirect your viewer’s attention. Eventually you’ll get good at using movement, but to learn it, you’ll need to master steady shooting and learn CONTROL.
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Hopefully this helps you. Everyone has a cellphone with a great camera these days. There is literally nothing keeping you from shooting great video anymore. It is simply about having a strategy to how you gather footage.
Good luck, and let us know if you have any suggestions in the comments below!
Dreamcity Cinema is an award-winning video production company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, specializing in high-end, cinematic branded content. If you’d like to schedule a free consultation, please use our contact form.