Capture Video – Shooting Good Home Video

Shooting Good Home Video

You might think that as a professional videographer I wouldn’t be all that interested in taking home video in my off hours. I have discovered, however, that as a new mother, I’m as prone as anyone to taking endless footage of my baby girl. I’ve learned that while quality is one of my most important considerations when working professionally, friends and family are just as entranced by a quick shot taken off my cell phone camera. This is a very good thing. My little one does not like the large professional camera, but I can often sneak in some videotaping from my cell phone without her noticing. Whatever inspires you to take your own video at home, here are some things to think about so you get the result you’re looking for.

How are you going to use your video? Are you going to post it to Facebook, or watch it from your phone? Cell phone quality is just fine for this and picture orientation (vertical vs. horizontal) doesn’t matter very much for those platforms. If you’re going to watch it through a larger screen, like a TV, you may want to orient your camera so it’s shooting the picture horizontally, the way video is designed to be viewed on a TV screen. If it’s something you’re going to give as a gift or share at a live event like an anniversary party, you may want to shoot it with a video camera (rather than a cell phone) for a higher quality image.

Watch your lighting. If your picture turns out with an orange cast to them, there generally wasn’t enough light. Too much light is rarely the problem, so if you want a well lit video to send around, consider shooting outside for easy and free lighting, thanks to the sun. If the weather isn’t cooperative, be sure to turn on plenty of indoor lights.

If you’re planning to take video that you’re going to want to save and share to a DVD or Blu-Ray, you’ll probably want a video camera that shoots in a format you can edit on a computer. There are many excellent consumer models available, so I’m not going to comment on any particular one. The important thing is to be certain that the format it shoots is a format that you can use easily on your computer, with whatever editing software you have or want to purchase.

If you’re capturing some event as it’s happening, you may not have any control of the noise levels. On the other hand, if you’re shooting something intentional, you’ll want to prepare your environment. Turn off any background noise such as TV or radio. A speaker is much easier to hear on a recording when there is no other distracting noise.

If you’re having trouble keeping the camera steady, use the widest angle you can, it will be more forgiving. When the lens is zoomed in, you’ll notice any shakiness a lot more. Also be sure to practice panning slowly, it’s very easy in video to move too quickly for your viewers to properly see what you want to show.

Home video has become simple and easy for catching spur of the moment events, like the smiles and laughter of a new baby. When your business needs something more structured, please contact us at Capture Video so we can help you get the best result for the video you need.