THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF PRO VIDEOGRAPHY

Some key tips on what to do – and what not to do – for top-notch videography shots

DO: MAKE A PLAN

GOOD PREPARATION IS THE KEY. PLANNING AHEAD WILL HELP YOU STAY FOCUSED WHILE YOU ARE SHOOTING ALL YOUR SCENES.

DO: USE A TRIPOD

NOTHING IS WORSE THAN BLURRY VIDEO, SO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CAMERA IS SECURELY FIXED ON A TRIPOD.

DO: FILM IN THE RIGHT LIGHT

CHOOSE LOCATIONS THAT OFFER PLENTY OF LIGHT. SHOOT IN THE EARLY MORNING OR LATE EVENING TO GET A SOFTER LIGHT.

DO: RECORD CLEAR AUDIO

SOUND IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF YOUR VIDEO STORY, SO MAKE SURE IT’S CLEAR. CHECK

THE RECORDING LEVELS – WHILE FILMING, IT SHOULD BE NEITHER TOO HIGH NOR TOO LOW.

DO: USE A VARIETY OF ANGLES

DO NOT STAY STATIC – ADD A BIT A VARIETY INTO YOUR SHOOTS. FILM A FEW KEY SCENES FROM A RANGE OF DIFFERENT ANGLES TO OFFER THE VIEWER SOME INTERESTING INSIGHT.

DON’T: OVERSHOOT

NEVER LOSE FOCUS ON YOUR CONTENT. CONCENTRATE ON STICKING TO YOUR STORYBOARD RATHER THAN SPONTANEOUSLY RECORDING EXTRA SCENES TO FILL TIME.

DON’T: STRETCH RUN

AVOID CREATING A LONG INTRODUCTION. OTHERWISE, VIEWERS ARE LIKELY TO LOSE THEIR ATTENTION AND ARE LESS LIKELY TO WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO.

DON’T: EXPLAIN EVERYTHING

AVOID MAKING IT TOO EASY OR TOO OBVIOUS FOR YOUR AUDIENCE. INSTEAD OF GETTING THE ACTORS TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, LET THEIR ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

DON’T: LOSE FOCUS

MAKE SURE THE CAMERA HAS THE CORRECT FOCUS. WHEN CHANGING PERSPECTIVES OR MOVING THE CAMERA, THIS SETTING CHANGES QUICKLY WITH AUTOFOCUS.

DON’T: ZOOM IN

DON’T BE TEMPTED TO ZOOM INTO THE SCENE DURING KEY MOMENTS. IT LOOKS UNNATURAL AND ATTRACTS UNFAVOURABLE ATTENTION.