The 3 Elements Of A Video Shoot
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What does video production mean?
You might be wondering what exactly “video production” means and why it matters so much to your brand. In this post, we will cover the 3 elements of a video production shoot, a simple “Video 101” type of introduction from Jeffrey Riley, our Director of Photography, to help get you started.
We’ll cover:
What is video production?
Framing
Audio
Lighting
What is video production?
This is pretty easy actually. It’s literally just taking a video camera and shooting footage! That’s it! We can watch the footage over and over with moving pictures and sound! That’s how we’re different from photographers. We can tell stories as simple as a home video on our iPhone of our dog doing something funny, to being as complex as the next Oscar-worthy feature film. The core concepts remain the same. You’ll encounter camera movements, sound, and some form of a story that brings reason to why you’re watching in the first place.
Let’s keep it nice and simple and deconstruct a simple interview set up.
Many of our clients need videos to help educate their viewers on the services they provide and the culture they promote. One of the easiest and most straight forward ways to convey that information is through a good ole fashion interview setup.
Ok, here we go — back to the original frame posted at the beginning of this blog.
This is Stu, a co-owner of an awesome Crossfit gym and this frame is straight from the interview setup I did with him for our Crossfit IPA shoot! Take a moment and look at the finished product and then we’ll begin deconstructing how it all came together! (btw, I love this image so much).
Framing:
The first step before filming anything is considering your framing. In this scenario, I knew we were telling the story of a local gym and I wanted to show that in the shot. Look closely at the background! The way it’s framed is no accident. I made sure we were facing workout equipment and most importantly, their logo right behind our subject!
Framing makes a huge difference and is the first skill to begin considering when entering the world of video production. I consider it the first skill because it deosn’t require any fancy cameras or lighting knowledge. You’re simply using your eyeball to locate the best possible frame and section of the area you’re planning to film in.
Maybe you’re still at the iPhone dog video stage? You can absolutely begin your practice of framing with Cooper! Consider where the best light is coming in. Consider the background and if it’s nice and clean or a messy bedroom. Maybe you can incorporate his dog bowls with his name written on them?! The possibilities are endless and every detail goes a long way.
There’s so much more I can say about framing, but we’re keeping it simple in this post as not to overwhelm anyone and thus we move into the audio!
Audio:
The picture to the right shows my setup for that interview.
You can see the camera I’m using, the lighting methods I’ve chosen, and most importantly, how I accomplished a nice clean audio feed.
Take note of the silver c-stand right in the center of the picture! There’s what we call a “shotgun mic” mounted. It’s rather small in the image, so you might need to squint a little bit to really see it, but I promise it is there. I’m using a shotgun mic because I’m looking for the best quality audio I can get while on location. Have you ever taken a video of a friend or family member talking? The audio is usually pretty noisy, static-y, or picking up unwanted noises, such as birds or cars or the AC unit.
Having perfect sound is arguably the most important aspect of video production. I guarantee that viewers will forgive a poor image much quicker than they will forgive poor audio. Think about this! Do you listen to podcasts? My favorite podcasts are the ones with the best audio and I just loathe when they have guests who’s audio is coming from a phone line or Skype call. The difference is daunting and that same principle counts in video production.
Audio straight from your camera = bad!
Audio from a microphone designed for location sound = good!
There’s so much more I can say about location sound recording and how to place a mic, but we’re keeping it simple here. The basic thing I want you to walk away with is this: Use a microphone when filming.
Whether it’s a shotgun mic or lavalier, whatever you have will absolutely be better than nothing!"
Lighting:
The last topic in our video production 101 is “Lighting”
I’m going to keep this VERY short, as lighting is the most complex stage of video production and takes the most practice and understanding.
I will, however, offer some quick tips!
When you’re just getting started: use whatever you have!
Soft light for your subject is better than hard light! We don’t want those hard shadows running across their faces. You can soften any light with a shower curtain! This is a great inside secret and sometimes I even bring one as a backup on my sets!
Backlighting is cool! - check out the above picture, that guy about to do a squat has some lovely backlight. You’ll notice that there is no direct front-facing light on him, and that’s how I like it! It’s all about backlight and light seeping from the sides.
Always, ALWAYS kill the house lights! I’m talking about those disgusting, tungsten lightbulbs in most houses. Those will make your image have that nasty yellow-toned color. They are fine and acceptable to our eyeballs, but our cameras hate them. Instead, find a window with some daylight and rotate your subject until it suits your need/style.
This about wraps things up for a very basic Video 101. I hope you feel like the guy in this frame right above here! Strong and confident with the concepts of video production. Honestly, there is much more that goes into entire video productions and it’s truly a gigantic topic. For instance, we didn’t even discuss post-production, which is where we then take our footage and edit it together to make our product!
Until next time!
Jeff
