BillHustonBlog: Audio/Video production class notes

Citizen Journalism Class -- Video Production
by William Huston 607-321-7846
WilliamAHuston@gmail.com
Aug 10 2010

Check out the room ahead of time if you can.
Prepare an equipment checklist.
Carry water with you, flashlight, tools, extra batteries, notepad, pens/pencils, power and extension cords, etc.
Prepare release forms, if you choose to go this route

Keep your batteries charged!
Use fresh tapes, have spares
Use redundant recorders in case of problems
Use a tripod
Perform good PMs on your camera, including cleaning the head, and cleaning the lens.
Only clean the lens with a specialized lint-free cloth, or a dust-blower.

A production with bad audio is worthless.
Avoid camera mic unless you are very close to your subject.
Once you have lots of "room", your audio is ruined. It is nearly impossible to fix.
Get the mike as close to the subject as possible. Inches 4-8 inches if you can!
Point the mic towards the person's mouth, not towards the back of their head
Use condenser mics (battery powered) if you can.
Use a wireless mic for a subject who likes to move.
If you can't get near the subject, and there is house sound, consider moving your mic near a loudspeaker.
In post, use an audio program to a) normalize each section, then b) compress everything.
Record levels should be as hot as possible, without over-driving. Clipping in the digital domain is a killer!!!
POST can be done with programs like Audacity (free) or Adobe Audition, Pro Tools, Goldwave, Sound Forge, Wavelab, etc.

Print an indymedia press pass. The REALLY WORK in helping gain access to places. BE BOLD! http://binghamtonpmc.org/bhuston/presspass/
Do not use copyrighted music unless you know what you are doing. With this caveat: I often use copyrighted music, and claim that it is Fair Use. SEE: 17 U.S.C. § 107. If you plan on selling your work, copyrighted music is a no-no.
Always get prior permission to shoot. Approach organizers before you set up. Be nice! Get release forms from everyone on tape.
Never get prior permission (especially if it is a public event). Get people you interview to spell their names. This implies consent.

Shoot with the sun behind you, illuminating the subject.
Don't shoot into the sun with your subject back lit. If you have a back light, iris up (make brighter) so you can see details on your subject.
Avoid "busy" backgrounds. Avoid boring backgrounds (blank wall).
Indoors, use lots of light, especially with dark-skinned people. Iris up if you have to.
When using multiple cameras, make sure to white balance, with all cameras shooting the same card, using whatever lighting conditions will be present during the shoot.
When shooting a light-skinned person indoors against a dark background on a long shot, iris down, or you will get a "bright headlight" with no face details.

Keep a shoot log, including tape times and details of what is there.
Use slow zooms and pans to make it easy on your audience and reduce editing time.
Use fast zooms and pans which you will remove during editing.
Follow the action.
Stay alert!
A camera operator should have LOW, CALM, RELAXED energy. If you tend to be spastic (like me) this requires practice.
You should be invisible to the audience, and the speakers.

Turn on image stabilization
Practice keeping a steady shot -- most important!
Brace your elbows on your body, or against a wall.
Use viewfinder as opposed to flip screen to conserve batteries.
Use a steady cam if you can. Many do-it-yourself plans are on the internet.
I find Asana Yoga, Tai Chi, or dance to be immensely helpful in acquiring required calm, grace, endurance

With camera rolling, just warm them up before asking questions.
Ask open-ended questions. "Tell me about....." or "Can you talk about...."
Avoid yes/no questions.
Frame the shot leaving enough space at the bottom to allow adding "lower-thirds" graphics.
Edit yourself out of it
Shoot on a tripod
Shoot your subject with your camera at eye-level. Don't shoot above or below your subject.
Stand or sit next to your camera, so your subject's face is a portrait shot. Avoid profile shots.
Illuminate and shoot your subject from the front.
Think about your questions ahead of time.
Don't be intimidating.

Use free tools like iMovie (free with Macs), Windows Movie Maker (free with Windows), Avid FreeDV, Wax, or Zwei-Stein
List of free and open-source video editing software is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_editing_software#Open_source_software
Expensive software, but with professional features: Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Avid, Sony Vegas
Video editing is complex, and specific to particular tools, and is beyond the scope of this class.

Keep it short 2-10 min.
Shoot lots of B-roll (shots of people, buildings, signs, etc. near your event or related to your event)
Shoot an establishing shot (people filling an auditorium, showing up, Front of building, etc)
Shoot a "stand-up" where you record voice narration informing the viewer about what is happening. Narrate over B-roll and establishing shot.
Cut to interviews. Use lower thirds-graphics to tell people who is speaking. Edit the interview tight, including the best stuff

Camera movements -- terminology

Zoom-- IN/OUT change the camera focal length
Tilt -- UP/DOWN Using tripod handles to move camera lens up or down
Pan -- LEFT/RIGHT Using tripod handles to move cameras lens left or right
Dolly -- IN/OUT moving the entire tripod (usually on wheels) towards or away from the subject
Truck -- LEFT/RIGHT moving the entire tripod (usually on wheels) left or right
Pedestal -- UP/DOWN moving the tripod head up or down, often with a crank lever.