You
Odds are you think you're a pretty good videographer, but chances are you're just an average videographer
My name is John cook Siano, and I welcome you to our tape on black belt camera techniques
These are technique used by the broadcast professionals world over you're going to see things on this tape that I guarantee
You're not using now
Even if you're an award-winning videographer
Speaking of which I put videographers into two classes the two classes are number one award-winning
Videographers these are people that are currently winning awards now or have them certainly have the potential to win awards their work is excellent
They're doing all sorts of creative shots. They're constantly striving to do better
They know that even if they pick up only a few different
Techniques on this tape that they hadn't thought of before it'll be well worth the investment because they'll add them to the arsenal of techniques
The other kind of videographer is just the average mediocre videographer a lot of these videographers
Think they're great. They don't get complaints. They've been shooting for many years. They have a great tripod
They're self-taught we've heard all the excuses
But this can actually hinder them by thinking you're really good when you're not because then you stop learning the award-winning or black belt
Videographers know they could never stop learning know they always have something else to learn and I promise you no matter
What category you're in whether you're the award-winning videographer or you're the other category the person striving to be like that
You will learn things from this video that you will be applying to your videotape productions
Broadcast professionals are using shots on television every night
That videographers around the country whether they're videography
For documentaries or their videotaping weddings at events or sports or cable television
They're not using these techniques and the real shame about this is it doesn't cost anything to learn these techniques
You can watch them on TV and take notes
This videotape is going to be a shortcut
We're taking the best of the best techniques and applying them on one tape that means in the course of this hour
So you're going to have a cramp packed information that you can take on the job with you
We've also included a shot list with these two things and reviewing the tape every couple of weeks
You'll be able to change the way you shoot forever
As videographers were often
Fascinated by the latest greatest piece of equipment that's going to make us more money. That's going to make us better
That's going to get our resolution better, but then by focusing on that stuff. We stop focusing on camera technique
It's only natural to find out what the latest greatest toy is but the important thing is the camera work telling the story
So come take a journey with me as we show you the different techniques that the broadcast pros use to make their work better
Than any other videographers
Right now we're going to talk about the five essential positions that you must do to be a creative camera person
And they're simply this position number one at the ground level great for getting some low-level shots tilt up the viewfinder
You're going to be able to get some fantastic shots from this level as a matter of fact broadcast camera people use this all the
Time they also use position two which is right at the waist again
You have your viewfinder tilted up, and it allows you to get many different angles
And it's not really that threatening to people you can sneak in real close. It's a great position position three is very close to that
Simply bringing it up here
This is nice if you need to get in close to people
But you don't want to get too close and be too threatening right underneath
I use this a lot in real tight quarters
And it's very similar to the one that we're all accustomed to position four now position four obviously is the one that the camera is
Designed for but it's not necessarily the most creative so position four you're going to use for a lot of things
But other positions may come in much more handy when you're doing creative shots of course position five
Right over your head tilt the viewfinder down
After a while you won't even have to tilt the viewfinder down because you will be able to
Understand what you're getting use it use your camera on wide and use position five for a lot of nice hang high-angle shots
You can stand on a chair
You can get on a fence or something and get that extra high angle or if you're not on the fence this brings your camera
Up a lot more than you're used to so to review the positions for a creativity the five positions starting at the ground level
position one I
Use this one a lot for a lot of ground level shots. It's really handy and position two right at the waist
This is going to come in a lot handy for doing
Some quick pans and some landing on shots and some rack focus. This is a very good one position three
Right underneath tucked in here it also allows you to look around see what's going on and then video tape
Position four not as easy to look around because you got your camera blocking over your shoulder here
But a good standard shot and of course position five
Way up here
Now if you use these positions equally and disperse them all through your video you're going to take show your creativity goes up
Quite a bit if you use these combination with what I call the Waldo technique your creativity is going to go tenfold
Let's go to the Waldo technique next
I
For years I've been looking for ways even to train the most advanced
Camera person to be much more creative on the job now. This is not always easy to do you're on the job
You're hot tired you thinking how can I get more creative?
Well, I've come up with a way that's simple and if you remember one word you can be much more creative
That's called Waldo, and it's spelled a little differently. It's spelled w a
L l do I'm going to tell you now exactly what that stands for and how it's going to make you much more creative
The W and Waldo stands for wide now this doesn't mean you're going to be taking all wide shots to be creative
It simply means that a lot of creative shots are done with the camera in the full wide position
Most of the time getting closer to your objects this will enable you to get depth of field and perspective
That many times you can't do from a zoomed-in position
The second thing I want to talk to you about is angled shots
Some of the top broadcast professional people use angled shots all the time now this means when you're videotaping signs
And when you're videotaping people and buildings and stuff if you want to get creative
I want you to think angles angles add a
Three-dimensional perspective to something which is pretty much two-dimensional the television screen
It's amazing how many people call themselves professionals yet. They neglect to get the low angles
I'll show you what I'm talking about now
Angles like this
Broadcast professionals get these angles all the time every shoot they do why because they add some perspective
They give the object some dominance
And they're really creative shots on your next job use low angles like this or low angles like this
to give the viewer an interesting perspective and to vary it with your other shots a
Linking shot is one of my favorite shots it allows you to attach two subjects in the same scene together
By various means as you see here linking shots are great because you can't always get everything in the same shot
But this allows you to connect things and bring the viewer emotionally together attaching two different subject matters in the same shot
Sometimes this is done with rack focus sometimes. This is done with a pan sometimes
This is done with a pullback a linking shot is used all the time in broadcast TV
And it's up to you as a professional videographer to use linking shots as much as you can
Another way to be extremely creative is through the depth shots now depth shots can be putting the thing in the background way out of focus
Or using a rack focus or going in with a low angle to add depth to the scene
Depth is very important when it comes to creativity because once again you're talking about a two-dimensional
Medium the television screen and trying to make it more three-dimensional, so when you're thinking creative you want to think of depth shots
An opposite shot is simply the reverse of what you would normally videotape if you're videotaping at a ground level it may be a high-angle shot
It may be a reverse angle shot it could be of any number of different shots that are not normally done
Opposites are what creativity is all about it brings the reverse into the shot allows the viewer to see a different angle
And it gives more perspective to your television picture
The opposite principle can be hard to understand at first but the more opposites you see the easier it will be to understand what they are
And how to use them to be more creative now let's see an example of how to put Waldo to use immediately in your videotaping
Suppose you were hired to videotape a small airplane at the airport
Some videographers would do the average bit of the video and the average bit of the video and the average bit of the video
Some videographers would do the average boring shots but you, knowing the Waldo technique, have the power to keep the viewer's interest
So let's take a look at how a Broadcast Pro would videotape the scene
Broadcast Pro
Creating your own advanced camera techniques is easy
There are three basic elements
First of all your shot idea and you're going to see more of these later
Second of all one or more of the creative formats wide angled low linking depth and opposite
And the third thing is one of the camera positions one through five
For this shot we wanted to show the barbecue at the lake
Nothing was set up except the bottle was moved for the best composition
Note all the different elements in the same scene earth, fire, water, wind and of course food
The average videographer has been conditioned to the nightmare of unwanted backlighting
And as a result they tend to forget about backlighting as an artistic shot
But the Broadcast Pros use backlighting all the time as a creative element
To do this get a bright scene and turn down your iris control until the foreground becomes dark
These backlight shots are mainly done in camera position one, two and three
And creative formats wide angle and low
If you really want to be as good as the Broadcast Pros you're going to have to start using reflection shots
Chances are you're not using reflection shots now, it's time to change
You haven't been using them because you weren't aware of how important they can be to your video production
The top Pros in the countries use these all the time because they fall into two categories the opposite and linking
Plus they add extra dimension and depth to your camera work
Make sure on your next job you try to incorporate at least one reflection shot in the work you do
The walk out of frame shot is one of my favorites because it's not just a shot, it's also a transition
It simply involves letting your subject walk out of the frame as a transition into your next shot
Once again the subjects go out of the frame as you'll see and it brings you to your next shot
This is done all the time on broadcast television and it's up to you to start doing these
So don't always pan the subject as they go by your field of view
Make sure you let them go out of view sometimes and it creates an excellent opportunity to bring you to your next shot
The walk out of frame shot is considered one of the benchmark techniques that separates the amateur videographer from the professional
The best way to master this technique is to try it when you're not on the job
Take your camcorder downtown and practice it a couple times
Once you do that you'll probably use it on every job you do
If I see a shot on TV I really like and I'm managed to record it I can either freeze frame and take a sketch of it
Or I have a video printer and I get a shot of the angle that I like and I want to be creative
I can then bring that, show the camera person I'm looking for this kind of angle
I can even show it right to the screen and he can move and adjust to get that same angle that we see in the print
This is a great way of being able to transfer some kind of angle and some kind of thing that you see on television
Directly to what you're doing as we're doing here
You take a shot off TV of the angle you like or you sketch it out as best you can
And then you're able to bring that along to the job to give yourself an idea and to give the camera man an idea of exactly what you're looking for
When videotaping inside a building the average videographer forgets to get door frame shots
Broadcast pros use the door frame all the time to give a more insider, voyeuristic view
It's okay to get the subject but once in a while get the door frame too
It's used all the time on broadcast television
Here's a shot without a door frame and here's the shot with the door frame
It's not made to replace the regular shot but to be used in conjunction to add more of a three dimensional image to your two dimensional television screen
Music
It's your job as a videographer to be the best videographer you could be
And that requires practicing, learning from other people and trying to be the top person there
And that's going to happen through creative camera work
You know when you're the top person out there you're going to be the first one called for jobs
You're going to be the one that customers go to first because everybody knows
Hey Joe Smith he's the best in the area or Mary Jones she's the one to hire as a videographer
Once you get to be one of the best camera people you're going to have a few other camera people that are jealous out there
They're going to say oh why does he get all the jobs why does he think he's so good or she thinks she's so good
That's okay you can put up with that because you also have a lot of people coming up to you and say wow I really like your work
I can't believe how many videographers around the country are not doing rack focusing
You're seeing it here and this is the way you want to practice
Put your background way in the distance, zoom in tight, get your shot and use your focus ring to go back and forth between the background and the foreground
A lot of times on broadcast TV this is used to videotape a prison where they have the barbed wire being rack focused in the foreground
Used to rack focus between two people, used to rack focus between a sign and a building
Rack focusing is used all the time on broadcast TV
It's your duty as a videographer to go out there and practice
As a matter of fact I want you to stop the tape right after this sentence here
Go out and videotape using rack focusing practice and see what you get
One other tip if you have an ND or neutral density filter built into your camera or you can get one in a photo store for about $5 or $10
This will make the rack focusing a little easier because it cuts down on the amount of light going to the camera
Point of view shots are shots where the camera takes on the perspective of the subject
For example this cart driver or this cup of coffee
Point of view shots are a secret of award winning videographers that they don't often share
These shots are used to give a you are there look and help keep the viewer's interest
They would fall into the opposite category under wall videos
Point of view shots are most effective when used between standard shots of your subject
Like here with baby Olivia
Here's the point of view shot and we go back to the standard shot
Point of view shots are used by broadcasters in so many different ways
The great thing about them is they can be done with people or with objects
So the next time you're on a job, you're going to have to go back to the standard shot
Here are a few more examples of different ways you can use point of view out on the job
When we began this video we decided my on camera head shots would be best done in a quiet out of the way place
So we took off for a couple days to a beautiful area 30 miles from town
I took with me award winning videographer Joe Correa
We chose Lake Ouachita State Park because of its scenic backgrounds and because they had cabins that overlooked the beautiful lake
I always look forward to working with Joe because he's not only a good camera person, but he's a good friend
Okay, let's stop the tape right here
You've come far enough along that it's time for a quiz
When watching the last section of the tape about the trip to the lake
Were you A. Getting involved in the story
B. Noting different camera shots and angles
Or C. Eating presents
If you chose B, you're correct and can skip the next section
If you chose A or C, well then it's time to learn the special way that videographers watch TV
Hi, my name's Annie and I'm really excited about something
I've learned how to watch TV
It used to be really tough for me, but now it's really easy
All I need are these three remotes
This one you turn on and then you have to turn this one on because this sets up the whole system
And then you switch back to this one for the VCR and you turn it to line input
And then you get on this one and you can switch all the different channels
But none of that will work unless you have this one on
Because this one is for the volume control
And then if you want to watch a video you go back to this one
Annie, that's not exactly what we had in mind by how to watch TV
In many other artistic mediums you look at what the artist does and you really can't figure out how they did it
But with video it's so visual that what you see is what you get
It's not like trying to figure out a magician's secret
You can learn it by watching television every night
Well why don't people do that?
Why don't videographers get down and take out a pen and paper and take notes?
Well the people of the award winning caliber, the black belt videographers like I say
Constantly do that even if they've been in video for many years
Because they know they can always learn something more
And it's there on TV to see every night and it's free
So you might as well take advantage of it
The reason most videographers do not take advantage of it
Is because they do not detach themselves from the story
So here's the big secret
When you're watching television to pick up techniques
Number one, of course have a pen and a notepad
But number two, be willing to detach yourself from the story
Just look at the camera techniques
A good video director, editor, whatever will make a story
So you get caught up in it that you do not notice the cuts
That you do not notice the different camera techniques and all that kind of stuff
And that's good, they're doing their job
But you have to remove yourself from watching the story
And just watch the different techniques
When you do that with a pen and a notepad
You're going to notice so many different techniques
That you're going to be able to incorporate into your own work
Now that we know the right way to watch TV
Let's review the different shots we've seen
We have the opposite shot from the back of the car
The angle to reflection shot in the windshield
The depth shot through the trees
The angled shot from the side which is also low
Depth shot from the distance
Wide reflection shot in the mirror
Low shot on Joe
Point of view shot from the front of the truck
Linking shot from the truck to the sign
Very low shot of the truck
Opposite high position from the cabin
Depth shot as the truck goes by to the cabin
Music
Whenever you can you should try to incorporate the pedestal shot
Into your video work
Broadcast professionals use this all the time
Simply holding the camera
Usually at wide and going up
Or in this case going down
It also can be used as a linking shot
This is used all the time in broadcast television
And you should be using it on your jobs
Using pedestal shots is a sign of a true pro
Most pedestal shots go from position 1 to 3 or 4
Or 3 or 4 down to 1
Music
One secret of the broadcast professionals is leaves
They use leaves and trees and different things for foreground
Because it adds the depth of field to the shot
Now the big secret is that they don't always use something
That's naturally around them
Like this
We're using something like this in front of the camera now
To give us that framing
As a matter of fact Joe can pull it away right now
Or he could put it back
Instant framing
You see before and after can make a big difference in many shots
I recommend if you're in an area where you have to add framing
To look around and see if there's something like this
I also recommend going to a store that sells fake plants and flowers
And grabbing a few of these things to keep in your car in that situation
When you need that instant depth
When you want to frame the shot and add a lot of perspective
Either that or go off to a place that has a few plants around
Take a branch off a tree and add instant framing
An interesting thing happened back in the mid-1980s
The independent small videographer that didn't have a big budget
Was finally able to get big budget techniques
Using things like the video toaster and the AVE5 MX50 MX1 mixers
When these mixers came along in special effects devices
They allowed the small guy to do what the big guy was doing
The big guys though had won over on the small guys
Because as soon as all the little guys were able to start doing those big guy kind of effects
The big guys stopped using those effects
As a matter of fact if you watch television now
They're going back to all the effects that were the basics of the industry
From the film days way back when
Those are basic, dissolves, fades to black
They're even using a lot of titles now
That are simply white letters on a black background
So this is why good advanced camera technique is more important than ever
Because good advanced camera technique does not go out of style
Certain effects go out of style
Certain kinds of titling goes out of style
But good solid camera work does not go out of style
As digital video becomes more and more prevalent
We're also seeing the proliferation of the top broadcasters
Actually dumbing down their signal
They're taking commercials and making them black and white
They're making them grainy
They're making them shaky
They're tinting them yellow
They're doing all sorts of crazy things to separate themselves
From the small independent videographer
Who's actually getting the sharper and sharper equipment
So remember what it boils down to is good solid camera work
And you can't go wrong
The up-the-body shot simply involves starting at the bottom
And moving up from position 1 to 4 shown here
With your camcorder
It's done on broadcast television all the time
You can use a tripod or you can do it freehand
For most situations you want to get the subject's permission
Before doing the up-the-body shot
Most videographers have seen this shot and know about this shot
But it's surprising how few use it
So on your next job use the up-the-body shot
At a gathering after memorial service
We decided to use a window shot to get another perspective on this scene
Broadcasters know the value of window shots
And use these opposite type of shots whenever possible
On your next job look around for windows
And see if there's some place you can incorporate the window shot in your videotaping
Please remember that zooming in is not the same as moving in
When you zoom in from a distance you can get things
But you're limiting the depth of field
You're also limiting perspective
That is that angle that you can get between the object at the side of you and the object right in front of you
So whenever you can
I always tell camera people when I'm training them
To keep the camera on the wide position and move in whenever they can
If you're doing a wedding or some speech where you can't get in
That's different
But if you're in a situation where you can get closer
It can make all the difference in the world
Here's a local TV crew
Notice how close they get
Here's a shot with the camera zoomed in from the distance
Here's the same shot with the camera up close
Many videographers have the mistaken impression that getting close will ruin the mood of the subject
So they just zoom in from afar
Top broadcast professionals whenever possible have the camera lens on wide and move in instead
They know the secrets of getting close without distraction
My friend and expert cameraman Joe Correa explains this best
When you talk about blending with people
There is a difference between blending with people and mingling with bodies
When you deal with people you're dealing with personalities
And the bodies are just a vehicle with which people travel around
So if you feel comfortable with people you can be right in the middle of them
And it's fine if you don't feel comfortable
If you feel that you are obtrusive you will be obtrusive
Because that attitude will reflect and people will feel as uncomfortable with you
So how do you feel comfortable?
What if you say as a videographer
Well I'm just not comfortable getting close to people so I'm going to stand in the back
Well it sounds a little bit like me that you can be the background videographer and do okay
I mean look we have many of those that make a living from the back of the room
But if you want to be more than that
It's like saying I don't mind fish but I'm not going to be fishing
Now you've got to get out there where the action is and you have to be part of it
You have to open your heart to what's going on
To be a part of the action, to like people, to get involved with them
And then be sensitive to their needs
Some people need more space
And as you get closer to a person you after a while know how close you can get
Before you begin to invade their space and they feel uncomfortable
So it's kind of a dance
It's like anything else when you go out on a date the first time
You just kind of check the water
See how close you can get without being rejected
Well in a group of people it's pretty much the same
And the answer lies within you
Just be loose, relax, go in there and get what you need
And immediately go somewhere else
Sometimes I have nowhere to go
But in the moment I catch that moment I'm out of there
And I go somewhere else even if I don't have nowhere to go
The reason for that is it gives the people the feeling of comfort
That you're not hanging on them
That you're just capturing moments
And that they were important at some moment
And so therefore you're not invading on anybody's space at any one time
But you're everywhere all the time
And all of a sudden other people that see you being close to that person
They want to be just as important
So they are going to be more receptive to the opportunity
So within half an hour of being in a public event
People like to see me get close to them
Because they feel, oh, you know, he noticed me
So all of a sudden it's a reversal
People want you close because that's a form of approval
Now I'm using Joe as a subject here
If anybody saw the movie Jaws
They saw a shot where the person all of a sudden sees the shark coming toward them
And the background changes
We're going to show you how to do that
And we invite you as a humorous thing to use this in something that you do sometime
We have the neutral density filter on
We zoom in really tight
And we notice the background is a little bit fuzzy
Now Joe is framed from about his shoulders to the top of his head
And we can almost recreate that shot from Jaws
As we walk in and we pull back at the same time
And Joe acts surprised
There you go, whoa!
Now we're going to try that again
Again, remember what I said, practice
So I'm going to go back and I'm going to zoom in real close
And we're doing this handheld
You could do this with a dolly if you wanted to
And you're looking out, Joe
And you're seeing that there's some shark coming in
All of a sudden you're getting surprised, surprised
And more surprised, shocked!
Okay, we'll try it one more time again
And basically you do this until you get it right
Until it looks really nice, okay?
There's the shot in on him
He's looking out over the ocean
All of a sudden he looks startled
Oh, oh, sorry
There we go
Here are some more examples of the Jaws shot
Try to remember to practice this one
I'll do it on a job because using it can be very difficult
In this particular example
The tray almost seems to come toward the screen
When in fact nothing whatsoever is moving
Except the camera and the zoom on the lens
We used the back of a car going in reverse to get this shot
And we even tried it in the other direction
Let's see
In my hand I have a big camera
But I also use small cameras
It's important to remember on this video
It doesn't matter what camera you're using
The same shots apply
And one shot that you really should consider doing
Is when you're framing your foreground
Look at what your background is
And see if you can tell two stories in one shot
In a way this is a linking shot
Because I define a linking shot as any shot that is telling two stories with the same shot
But in this one there's no movement
You see this on broadcast
You see a shot in the foreground
And then if you notice carefully in the background
Something else related to the story is going on in the background
And you know what?
Coincidentally it's right in frame
Now was that just an accident?
I think not
The camera person was smart enough to either position himself
So when he's looking and getting the foreground with the background
He's moving around
Or he's smart enough to go to the foreground people
Or the foreground thing
And move it into place
And say can you just sit there
Or can you move there
Or actually move it if it's an inanimate object to get the background
Or the camera person just tells the foreground to stay still
Goes to the background
And either physically moves the background if it's inanimate
Or asks the people would you just sit over here
Can you move that flag pole over here
Can you do that
Then he goes back or she goes back
And videotapes the foreground
With that thing happening in the background
So when you watch broadcast television tonight
You're going to see this happen again and again and again
You're going to see that background shot
That happens to be just coincidentally in the same frame
That separates a regular camera person from a broadcast camera person
A broadcast camera person in as many shots as possible
And it's not possible in every one
Looks for a shot where the foreground tells the story
But the background backs up that same story
Sometime in your video career you'll probably be videotaping a band
Now too many videographers set up their cameras
And then worry about a clear shot once the band begins to play
The secret of videotaping bands though
Is you taking control as the videographer
And positioning the mic stands before the band starts
As you'll notice in this video no matter what shot we cut to
You can see all the different band people
This is because before the band started
We positioned the mic stand so nobody would be blocked
Also we're using three cameras here
This camera is a low angle
We recommend if you're going to use multiple cameras when videotaping a band
That one of them get a lower angle for some nice perspective
Just to review
You want to position the mic stands before the band begins its set
You want to position your camera so you get different angles like you see here
And you also may want to consider occasionally doing a zoom in
Which normally we don't recommend
But it's all the rage with music videos
If you do a zoom in
It's a good idea to cut to the next shot before the zoom end finishes
One way I got really good at camera technique
Is I actually met up with a cameraman
And he allowed me to follow him around in the job
I did this numerous times
And it got me very very good at camera technique
And all you have to do is go down to a local station
And you ask who is the best camera person at the station
Or you just check around and find someone who is a really dynamic go getter camera person
And say would you mind if I can watch you do some of your camera work
Or you can show me some technique
This way you can be surprised at how fast you can improve your camera technique
By simply mentoring with somebody who is really good at camera technique
It really worked for me years back and I still do it today
I can always learn award winning cameramen out there and camerawomen know
That there's always another shot to get
There's always another thing that they can learn
So they network
Don't be afraid to find somebody who is working for a television station
Or who has a video production business
And is just known as the best in the area
To ask that person can you hang out with them
And have them show you what they do
Most people that are up at that level do not mind sharing at all their secrets
Because they know that if the whole industry is brought up
It's better for everybody
Ten years ago I got good by following around my mentor
Broadcast cameraman and now producer Dave Ferry
The people around you are the ones that are going to train you
The veteran cameraman next to you on the other camera in the news studio
Who's been doing it for 15, 20, 30 years
Is the person that's your best friend right then and there
Because they're going to
If you approach them right
And you're willing to learn from them
You're not, well this should be easy
This shouldn't be any problem
That person's been doing it for 30 years
And they take a lot of pride in what they're doing
And you need to understand that
And you need, they're your best friend
If you're willing to learn from them
And they're willing to teach you
And most of the times the way they're going to be willing to teach you
Is if you're willing to learn
And you show a little respect towards their craft and say
Wow, man that was a great zoom
Or that was a great pedestal move
How do you do that?
I like low angle shots
I think it's
Because we it's
We see through our eyes
And depending on your height between five and six feet
That's your frame of reference
You get that camera down on the floor
And look up a little bit
It shows you a whole different perspective
Things are oriented towards our eye level
Five or six feet
So you see a lot from down low
You just see it at a different angle
And sometimes you can get some real interesting shots
You get that camera off your shoulder
Or get it off the tripod
And get it a little lower
Most of the work that I've done has been
Purely the technical side
I've always had a producer or reporter asking the questions
But
The reporters that I've always respected the most
Are the ones that
They know
What kind of an answer they want going into the interview
They know the questions that they need answered
And if that person doesn't answer that question
The first time around
Specifically doesn't answer it the way that they want it
They'll ask it
A hundred different ways
Until they get the answer that they want
And they'll phrase it so many different ways
Manipulating the story
Where do you draw the line there?
Well, it's your code of ethics
It is manipulating the story
If you're trying to put words into the person's mouth
It isn't manipulating it
If the person stumbled through the answer
The first time and the second time and the third time
And you're trying to get them
To say it in a coherent way
A good producer, a good reporter
Has already done a lot of background
Talked to this person over the phone before they got there
Understands
Their side of the story
And is just trying to do
Their job now is to get that person
Who is not used to being on camera
Who is a little nervous
To tell the story the way they told it to them over the phone
When they first talked to them
You remember earlier we talked about Waldo
The wide, the angle, the low, the linking
The depth and the opposite
Well, I like a lot of opposites
Things that you don't always expect
A point of view shot that's an opposite shot
That I like is called the insider shot
Now, an insider shot is also used
By broadcast camera people
All around the world
You can either fake an insider shot
Or make it real
Example, an insider shot would be
Opening a refrigerator
With a camera to put in there
Another insider shot would be
Opening the mailbox
Another insider shot would be
Someone loading up the car with a camera inside
You can do these for real
By putting a camera in the refrigerator
If your camera is too big
You might have to simulate
Or simulate the inside of a can or something
But it's a really advanced shot
And it's not used that often
But when it is used and it's used right
It really gives you a perspective
When we say subject
That doesn't necessarily have to be a person
That can be an inanimate object
The important thing about insider shots
Is they take you from the outside to the inside
To give you a different perspective
The best way to understand insider shots
Is just to show you them
So you can understand what we're talking about
And how they can relate to the work that you do
Music
Broadcast camera people have a secret
That most amateur beginning professionals
Do not realize
The high angle shot
Now everybody knows high angle shot
You just get up and get a high angle shot
But where do you get one from
You know when the broadcast pros go out on a job
The first thing they do is scout out different angles
And one of those angles is looking for
Where they can get that overhead gods eye view
To give you the beautiful perspective
The beautiful depth
And most people think well there's no place for me to go
But if you look carefully there's always a ladder
Or a hill
Or a tree branch you can climb up on
Don't get yourself hurt
Or there's a balcony
Or there's steps or there's a porch
Or there's some place you can go up and get that high angle
The secret is to become aware
That you have to get it and look around
And you're going to find it 80% of the jobs
There's some place you can go to get that high angle
Even if it's the top of a building
Always look for where you can get that high angle shot
It might be the top of an escalator
It might be the top of a ladder
But they're out there, they're all over the place
And broadcast professionals are using this on
Television every night of the week
Tonight I want you to watch television
And actually look for where they're using
That high angle shot
And when you realize how often
You'll start using it
The only way to really use it though
Is to look around on
Where you get to the job site
And find what particular place
There is where you can get that high angle shot
And even if you just use it once
It adds a lot to the beauty of the images
You're trying to create and it makes a
Two-dimensional image, a little bit more three-dimensional image
By giving that establishing
Overhead God's eye view
Videography is the only art form I know
Where part of your job is to get paid
To watch TV
Watching TV is an integral part of what you do
Because it allows you to see different trends
You know, if I hadn't thought when I was a child
That I'd have a job where part of my job was getting paid
To watch TV, I would have thought they were crazy
And now I'm living that dream
Watching TV is so important because
Trends happen and you want to be up
On those trends, for example
Humor is becoming more and more part of video
Simply because on television
The remote control
Has made people want to flip
By commercials
Now, as a result
Commercials are adding more and more humor
And telling more and more in story
And getting more and more fast cuts to try to keep your attention
To everything from making everything look grainy
To making things look out of focus
But mainly, the trend these days is
To try to make it funny and entertaining to tell a story
So you want to watch the commercial
As a story
Now, how does that relate to you as a videographer?
What you may want to do is to start
Adding a little bit more humor
Adding a little bit more fast pace
Trying to tell little stories and different things you do
Based on what you see on TV
And of course the other great thing about watching TV
The main reason is you take your pen or pencil
And you add and you jot down
All those things you're seeing
That these professional videographers are doing
That you might not be doing
And even if you are doing some of them
Isn't it great to get a reminder sometime of
Oh, I haven't done that shot in a while
Many of you remember the days
Of tube cameras
When it was considered taboo
To point your lens into the sun
These days with chip cameras
Nobody has to worry about that
And that's why broadcasters
Every night on television
Are doing shots where the sun
Peers into the foreground
Right past the subject
If you want to be
A top videographer
You must add this shot to your list
It won't hurt your camera
And will add a nice touch
To the work that you do
This is best done
Before 10 am
After 3 pm
As you'll notice
The background is out of focus
And there's a reason for that
Because Joe our cameraman
Zoomed in really pretty tight
Used a neutral density filter
And then just focused in on me
Making sure the background is way in the distance
This is nice because it brings your subject out
It makes your subject solely through the center of attention
And adds a nice muted background
This soft background
Is the same setup as the rack focus
Except you're not moving the focus ring
So I want you to try this at your next job
Make a little notecard that says
Try soft focus interview
So if you're getting an interview of someone
Or you're getting a shot of somebody
Have them stand some place
Make sure the background is way in the distance
If you can use a neutral density filter
Focus in on your subject
Soft background
Another one of my favorite point of view shots
Is what I call the frisbee shot
This can be done with
A computer disc
It can be done with a frisbee
It can be done with a biscuit
All it involves is putting the subject
In front of your lens
But not touching your lens
You don't want to hurt it
Walking with the camera
Frisbee you can do this with a software disc
You can do this with a piece of food
It's really dramatic
And it adds a little bit of humor
To your video shot
This is a shot that's not done
Much at all by your average videographer
But when you do add it to your arsenal of tricks
It will greatly increase
The different types of shots you're doing
Every so often a videographer
Comes by our office
And lets us know that they're available to shoot
So what I usually do is
If I like the person I hand them the camera
A small camera temporarily
And say would you go over and just
Shoot that person at the desk
Get a few different shots from a few different angles
So I can see what kind of a camera person you are
This usually takes them off guard
But they do it anyway
And what I look for when they play back
Is different things
The amateur videographer or the person
Who has a few different hands
A couple different angles, medium shots
The person who's really good
And I've yet to see come in my office
Will do the following
They'll shoot the person from a wide shot
They'll also get a shot from beyond the computer
Giving some depth of field to the person at the computer
They'll get a shot over the shoulder
Into the computer screen
And if they're even more creative
They'll rack focus between the computer screen
And the reflection of that person
They'll also maybe get an overhead shot
Or a low angle shot
And they'll put the camera on the desk
Getting the pavers in the foreground
To get that low, low angle shot
Right from the desk
They also might walk out the door
Get a shot through the window
Or back up and get a shot
Using the door frame
As framing a depth of field for the person
Working at the computer
Now if I see this I know I have a very good camera person
And this is a technique that you can use
To check out camera people that come in your door
It's very simple
All these techniques that I just described
Are things that broadcast people
Use every day
The top camera people in the country use them
And there's no reason that you can't use them
There's no license that you have to have to use them
There's no test you have to take to use these
These are available every day
You see them on television
All they require is you to carry a shot list with you
And for you to practice these things
So if somebody hands you a camera someday
And says videotape that person at that computer desk
You can do all those different kind of angles
And they can say wow
That person knows their stuff
I am constantly amazed at the number of people
That call themselves professional yet they don't know
Anything about foreground framing
Here's a shot of a fire without foreground framing
There's no depth of field
Yet this next shot we're going to see here is raw footage
Of Joe getting in position here
And he puts the policeman in the foreground
To add some framing and some depth
To the shot of the fire
And the shot of the water going toward the fire
As you can see even the walkie talkie
Adds a little bit of foreground framing
Let's go on to a couple other shots
Here you have the hoses in the ground as the foreground framing
Here you have a pole to the side
As foreground framing
Just about anything can be used as foreground framing
If you watch TV tonight you'll notice broadcasters
Use foreground framing all the time
Because it adds
A little bit more three dimensionality
To the two dimensionality of a TV screen
Here you have the water falling
Here you have the leaves both as foreground framing
You have a mic stand
You have a sign
You have another sign here all foreground framing elements
When you're out on the job whether it's an Elmer's glue bottle
Or it's a painter's canvas
You have to look around
For things that are going to be foreground framing
Again if you watch television tonight
You'll notice the broadcasters use this kind of framing
All the time to add a sense of depth
To their picture
Even people like these two ladies are foreground framing
For the rest of the picture
Foreground framing is used all the time
On broadcast TV
And your next job makes sure you try to incorporate
Some kind of foreground framing
That you haven't been using in the past
I love going to movies because you can learn
So much about camera technique
Movies have some of the best cinematographers
In the country working for them
And they do some shots that sometimes I never think of
And yet when I see I either try to write it down
Or I try to memorize it
A couple years ago my wife and I were watching
A movie called Junior with Danny DeVito
And Arnold Schwarzenegger
And we saw a great shot where the subject comes
Right toward the screen
Disappears into the black of the person
And then out the other side of the person
As they walk on by
It was a fabulous shot and since I watched that shot
I've been able to apply it to a few different jobs I do
So next time you're at the movies
Please, please
Watch the different camera shots and walk away
With one shot that you'll be able to use
On your next job
One great way to get the techniques you've learned
On this video ingrained in you
Is to teach them to other people by holding a class
This is me about 8 years ago
When I used to teach an adult education series
Called Cam Quarter Class
I not only refresh my own skills
I got paid to do it
Here I get a volunteer from the class
To demonstrate how to videotape
Young children
Okay, so here's your two year old
On the floor, right?
Along comes Uncle Joe
With the camera
And what happens is the two year old is on the floor
And I decide I'm going to film my two year old
So what do I do?
I walk up to the two year old and I do this
How does this make you feel?
How does it make you feel, really?
Really uncomfortable, right?
Now, see if you're a two year old
Now watch the same thing, I do this because
I want you to understand how your child feels
Now watch the same thing
I'm going to take the viewfinder, flip it upwards
Get down on baby Helga's level
Okay
And I'm going to push the pause button
I'm going to tilt up my viewfinder
If you have one of those others, you tilt up a little
And I'm going to film from here
How does this make you feel?
A little bit more comfortable, right?
A little bit more comfortable
And for young kids, it's very important
Not to film like this
Because you're going to get the top of their head
For a young child, it's just very intimidating
And you don't get
Really their facial expressions and everything
Whereas if you're down here
Where the child is and you have to squint your eye
Down here
Or you can tilt up your viewfinder
If you have one of those
You're going to get some of the best pictures
And the kid's going to crawl over and want to drool on the lens
But you just pull it right back at the time
You can even watch the child and look in your viewfinder
That is like the big secret
Put my lens as wide as possible
And I have them sort of like this
And tilt it from the ground
And they'll crawl right up
But you've got some beautiful pictures
And some people when I've done professional photography
Oh, you've got great shots of the baby
All I've done is really been down here near the floor
Let's give baby Helga a round of applause
The twister simply involves a short shot
Where your camcorder starts
Parts at an angle slightly zoomed in
And twist as you pull back
The end of the shot is where the picture levels out
Or some time after that
If this shot is done with speed and accuracy
It will not look like a mistake
However, do not overuse this shot
As it can get the viewer dizzy
It should be done when you're
Relatively close to the subject
And only when you're comfortable with this shot
This move is associated with
Youth
Since its origins are in music videos
And it's to be used sparingly
Only if you're comfortable with its look
Let's take a look at the right way
And the wrong way to do commercials
First, let's see the wrong way
The Student Art Guild of Garland Community College
Presents the annual project
That everyone gets involved in
It's the Old Car Penny Gluing Day
Be part of an art project
Everyone will see
The gluing takes place 10am through 6pm
This Saturday, May 6th at Arlington Park
You bring the pennies
We'll supply the glue
Help turn an old Chevy into a Lincoln
Come just to watch, come to have fun
That's this Saturday, 10 through 6, Arlington Park
Now let's look at the same commercial
This time using some advanced techniques
That we've learned about in this video
The Student Art Guild of Garland Community College
Presents the annual project
That everyone gets involved in
It's the Old Car Penny Gluing Day
Be part of an art project
Everyone will see
The gluing takes place 10am through 6pm
This Saturday, May 6th at Arlington Park
You bring the pennies
We'll supply the glue
Help turn an old Chevy into a Lincoln
Come just to watch, come to have fun
That's this Saturday, 10 through 6, Arlington Park
Please take this time to watch the commercial again
And review what types of shots were used
This is one shot I can almost guarantee
You're not doing now
But advanced broadcasters do it
Every night on television
It's the ground walkover shot
It simply involves putting your camera on the ground
And giving instructions to your subjects
To walk on either side
Or one side of the camera that's on the ground
You can have them walk away from the camera
It's used on television every night
And it's a classic shot that you can use
To improve your camera work
You don't even have to do it with a subject
Walking or running
It can be done with a set of bicycles
Going along the road
Or it can be done with a group of people
Walking upstairs
Practice it, try it, write it on your shot list
And use it on your next job
In my job
I talk to videographers from all over the country
A lot of them send me tapes
It's not bad camera work
It's just mediocre camera work
When I ask them
Why they're not expanding their camera work
And why they're not doing these other creative things
They usually give me 3 or 4 responses
First response is
Well, I use a tripod
And I have a very good one
Now, we all know that a tripod
Limits you in the amount of created shots
It limits you in the amount you're able to get around
Tripods are very important
As a tool
And where they are necessary
Like, for instance, in a situation where
Any movement whatsoever
From the camera part
Is going to disturb the viewer from the story
Like an interview with President Clinton
You don't want that camera to move at all
You want it to be solid
Because the full attention should be on a subject
But
When you are
Living, when you are capturing an action
That is fluid, that is constantly changing
Like a group of people
The best shots are taken
With hand held cameras
Simply because
You never know what's going to happen next
But you have to be prepared
Also gives you the opportunity
To have wide angle lenses that allow you
To come in very close
And increase the perspective
Which are always very dynamic
And very emotional, very strong
You can go up and go into a telephoto
And capture a personality
A moment there where there is a beautiful face
The lighting is just right
But if every shot you have is from a tripod
You cannot be changing the tripod to have a ground shot
A high shot, a movement
You're anchored to that one point
So what you're saying is
That shooting at an entire event
From one point on a tripod
Is like trying to
Compose a whole
Orchestration with one note
I think it's the easiest way to do it
The second excuse that they use is
Well, I'm self-taught
Or I have my own style
Well, that's almost like a writer saying
That they use their own alphabet
All the different styles come from a combination
Of things that we picked up all different places
The same with music
The same with many different art forms
Sure, you can have your own style, but it's a combination
Of different things
And so to simply say I have my own style
If your own style is just average
You're not going to cut it in the future of videography
The third thing people say is
Well, I don't get any complaints
My customers seem to like my work
My response to that is
If you go to a McDonald's or some fast food restaurant
You don't hear many complaints either
Because the expectation isn't that high
Many of those customers may not just call you back
They may just go get someone else
Or someone else may come by and look at the tape
That you've done and look at somebody else's
And hire someone else instead of you
Why would they do that?
You're not as creative as the next guy
Now that other guy who's being creative
Doesn't cost them any more money
Doesn't cost them any more equipment
It just costs them
The ability to think on the job
The ability to bring a shot list
And the ability to practice
When they're not on the job
Before going any further in this tape
Please stop and review the rule of thirds
That you see here
The rule of thirds involves mentally dividing
Your viewfinder up like a tic-tac-toe board
And framing your shot
So the important elements of the shot
Fall on the lines
Or where the lines intersect
Broadcast professionals are very aware
Of the rule of thirds
And use it to its utmost potential
Let's take a look at how
It applies to an interview situation
Position the eye that is closest to the edge
Of the screen at or slightly below
One of the two upper
Intersecting points
Now let's look at examples
That will make this rule easier
To understand
Let's look at an example of someone
Being interviewed and superimpose
The tic-tac-toe board
You see the circle which represents the area
That the eye usually falls in
It's either at or below
The intersecting point
This will become natural to you
The more interviews you do
And you will naturally, instinctively
Place the outer eye
At or below that intersecting point
Keep in mind that this is only a rule
And rules of the course are occasionally meant to be broken
But it's a nice guideline to get you started
When you're doing interviews
Most videographers know that videotaping
A sign at an angle
Can give you better depth and better perspective
But very few videographers
Know about this little-known black belt technique
That you can try in your next job
Either walk back
Or pull back from beyond
The sign
Ending the shot
But not getting the shot
Because you can't get the shot
Ending the shot
By finally revealing the full sign
Okay, your homework tonight
Is to watch the last story
On the evening network news
The last story on these news shows
Is usually a fun feature story
Where the broadcast camera people
Get to show off some of their best technique
If you get a pen
And you get some paper
And you jot it down
You're going to notice many of these shots
Fall into the wide, angled, low, linking
Depth and opposite shots
Also, you're going to pick up some ideas
That you never thought of before
And you're going to be able to apply these
Watch that last story, which is usually
The feature story, usually a fun one
And notice all the creative shots
That they're using, that you're not using now
But you'll be using in the future
Walk towards me
Slowly
And walk right past me
Walk right by me
So I'm not here
And action
Ready?
And action
Good
Don't be afraid to set up shots
And what I mean by setting up shots
Is just arranging people in a way
To make your camera shot a little bit better
You can't spend days trying to get
Some of these shots, you've got to get them then
So if that means taking somebody and moving them to left or right
So the sun's peering through
Or they're lined up and somebody's in the background
That's okay, do you know on broadcast television
They do this all the time, the cameraman is constantly saying
Alright, just move a little to the left
Okay, walk over here, do this
And yet, a lot of videographers think
Well, I can't set it up, then I'm ruining the mood
Not at all, you've just got to go over to them and say
Hey look, I need you to do me a little favor
Just move over here, if you could just sit here
Do something like that, and you would be surprised
How having someone just move a little bit
For your shot will be really helpful
As a matter of fact, you know, photographers
Do this all the time, they're constantly setting up shots
And we feel as videographers
Sometimes that if we have to do that, it's taboo
We're not getting people in the moment
But you have to understand that it's normal to set up shots
And it's okay to set up shots
Because when you do it, and people see the video
After, they don't remember, oh that guy moved me
A little bit to the left, that guy moved me to the right
They remember the good shot
Keep looking toward the car for me
Keep looking at the car
Just reach your hand in that bucket
And get some foot pennies out
Great, thank you
Keep doing what you're doing, I've got to get a shot from down here
Just be looking out that way
Just ignore me, pretend I'm not here
Would you just stand right where you're standing
I need to add some depth to the shot
And if you move out of the shot, there's nobody looking at it
And it doesn't look as good
See you next time
Now there's no audio in this, so you can say whatever you want
Okay, just be
A little closer together, it'll be great
Act like you love each other, there you go
Now that's a little too close, okay
Did you get some depth here?
That's right, great, just it'll take a second longer
Look at the eye
Yeah, that's great
Wow, you guys were fabulous, thank you
Look sort of up a bit toward the sky
Keep going
I know it's hard because of the light
But see, I promised you a breeze, there we go
Give me a smile, that's nice
There we go
It's hard, but we're getting some air conditioning here
Now look at the keyboard please
I mean, look at the monitor, I'm sorry
There we go, smile
Give me a nice smile, oh fantastic
One advanced technique
That wouldn't seem like an advanced technique
Is actually to make the camera look like
That's done by an amateur
And that's simply done by zooming in and out with the camera
Moving it around a little bit
And tilting 45 degrees back and forth
Left and right, it's actually a skill to do that
When you're a real advanced professional
But it can give that home movie look you've been wanting
Most videographers
Know about the use of cutaway shots
For maximum impact
But many do not know that
Using four or more cutaways in a row
Can make your video more suspenseful
Help build anticipation
Or adding them in a row together
Can have the same emotional impact
As one point of view shot
You can edit these cutaways in camera
Or you could put them all together
In a row in post production
Either way
The next time you're covering an event
Try to get as many cutaways as possible
And then see how powerful they are
When you edit them together as a group
For these next specialty shots
We definitely recommend a tripod
The first one is the scenery transition
Where you zoom in on a person's face
Cut into the close up
And when they pull back
They are an entirely different location
This is just done with straight cuts editing
Like with the blue sky transition
Same kind of thing
You start out on an object
And then you zoom in
Instead of to a person's face
Into the sky
When the pull back is done
You're in an entirely different location
We're going to see that again
Only this time without a wide angle lens
Same kind of effect
Go up to the sky
When you pull back you're in a different location
This could be dissolved with a digital mixer
But all these were done with straight cuts
The next transition is the whip pan transition
Simply take your tripod
Lock it on a scene
And then what you're going to do with the tripod handle
Is spin the tripod handle away from the object
And end up at another scene
And we're going to show you how we did this
By breaking it down in slow motion
We start with the first scene
And remember this takes a few different practices
When we whip the tripod
You'll notice right here
It cuts to a different shade of green
Back up again
And you'll notice as we go forward
This is the scene where we whipped into the scene
Whipping into the scene
Takes a little bit more practice
To land on your subject matter
And as you can see as the tripod slows down
The scene comes in clearer
And you've landed on your second part
Of the transition
Let's see this one again
That's all there is to it
The next transition is called the
Focus transition
This involves taking a scene
And actually putting your camera
On purpose at the end of the scene
And remembering to also get another
Similar scene where you
Come in from out of focus
When you get to a job site
If by chance you forgot your
Shot list and you happen to be lacking
Creativity that day
Don't panic
Remember Waldo
You're wide, angled
Low, linking
Depth, and opposite shots
Secondly
Think of the five camera positions
And how you can use them with the situation at hand
You don't have to just have
The camcorder on your shoulder
Third of all
If you have to remember one concept
From this video when you're out on the job
Try to remember the concept of
Foreground framing that we discussed in
Chapter 35
Foreground framing is so important
For adding that extra dimension to your
Videos
If the idea of foreground framing can become
Automatic to you, so many of the
Other techniques we talked about in this
Video will fall right into place
Finally, remember that TV is a
Close-up medium
Do what the broadcasters do and get more
Close-ups than you think you need
Because this gives your camera work
Some impact
You know one of the fabulous things about this video
Is after you've completed it
And after you've practiced, practiced, practiced
All the different shots, or most of the shots
In this video, I know you'll feel
Confident that if a
Major network called you and said
We need you to shoot something
You would feel comfortable doing it
You would feel proud from the time
That you handed them that tape
That what you gave them with the wide shots
With the angled shots, with the low shots
With the linking shots, with the depth shots
With the opposite, was 99%
Of what their
National broadcast camera
People do
It should be a feeling that you are proud of
Because most videographers
Out there are just average
They're just mediocre, and even worse
They think they're pretty good
The problem with the videographers thinking
They're pretty good is they stop learning
The award winning professionals
Know you can never stop learning
I appreciate you joining us today
And I hope that you'll go out there and practice
All the techniques that you've seen on this tape
I'm sure there are some that you might be doing
That we didn't show on this tape
Perhaps we'll show them on another video
In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you
On a new video, and if you have any particular
Shots that you'd like to share with us
Feel free to send them in to us
Also, if you've done shots
That you're not doing before that you saw on this video
That made a big difference in your camera
Technique, feel free to send those to us
We'd love to see them
We'd love to hear your success stories
I gotta get going, thanks for joining us today
I'll see you again soon
Thanks for watching