Shoot good video basics—cont’d
Ever thought you recorded something with your camcorder, but later discovered the camera didn't catch it or it was out of focus? Here's how to avoid that.
30-second free zones and handles
Record 30 seconds of color bars or
blank wall at the beginning and end of each tape. This is where you are most
likely to have drop-outs.
If the taping session is finished,
but you still have a lot of unused tape on the reel, shoot a 30 second free
zone at the end of the session in the same way. You can then remove the tape from the camera, capture the
footage, and continue taping on the reel without breaking timecode. A few frames of footage will be
taped over, but it won’t be anything you need anyway.
When you put the tape back in the camcorder,
start recording in that 30 second free zone. Look to see if there are numbers
displayed in the timecode meter on the side of your camera. If you simply remove the tape and
reinsert it without some overlap, timecode may reset to 00:00:00. This will
cause problems capturing to the computer. For this same reason, do not rewind
and preview your footage during a taping session. Think the shot didn’t work?
Take 2.
Allow for your
camera’s lag time
When you push the record button, the
tape reel begins to roll. It takes a second or two for it to be up to recording
speed (seconds and timecode start ticking). Lag time varies from camera to
camera.
Tell the person being videotaped
when the tape starts rolling, so they know when to start talking or whatever.
Make sure all action is complete and sentences finished before you hit the
button to stop recording.
Always Pre-focus
Before you start recording, zoom in
as much as you can on a contrasting component of your subject (like their eye)
and focus the lens so that the picture is sharp. Then zoom out, frame your
shot, and press the record button. A quick sure way to get in-focus action shots is to hit
the push auto focus button until your subject is in focus.
Videotaping check list
Estimate how many tapes you will need for videotaping session and add one or two more extra tapes. Follow this check list for each tape.
Download this list and print it out.
Keep a copy in your camcorder bag.
Requires Adobe Reader
| 1. Stretched tape |
9. Exposure
|
| 2. Charge batteries |
10. Pre-focus
|
| 3. Stage set |
11. Record |
| 4. Stable camera |
12. Tell subject camera is rolling
|
| 5. White balance |
13. Action
|
| 6. 30 second handle |
14. End session--30 second handle
|
| 7. Manual focus "on" |
15. Label and lock tape
|
| 8. Shutter speed 1/60 |
|
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