Here are some tidbits of wisdom to live by when you are shooting video.  They may seem very simple and logical, but they will really make your life easier if you live by them.

Sidenote: These tips are also good for anyone using a camcorder.  Even if  you’re just filming home movies, there may come a time when you want to put together a celebratory video or a memorial video.  You’ll be thrilled to have some quality footage to use.

Capture in Widescreen
Alright, so if you have a new video camera, you probably don’t have a choice.  Widescreen is the only option for your capture mode.  But if you happen to have an older video camera that gives you the choice of 4:3 or 16:9, turn on the 16:9 option.

Turn off the date display
You need good, clean footage without any text on the video that can’t easily be removed later.  So find the little button on your camcorder and turn it off.  Yeah, it might be nice to be able to know what date the video was shot, but there are better ways of documenting that information.  Which leads us to the next tip…

Document what you shoot
If you are shooting onto mini-DV tapes, use the little inserts that come in the tape cases.  Write down the dates and the event - along with any notable scenes you shot.  It will save you a ton of time later.  Trust me.  I’ve spent countless hours trying to find that ONE video clip on an unmarked tape.  And be sure to use the stickers to mark the tape itself, not just the case.  Tapes will find their way into different cases, and if you can’t match the two, your effort to label them was all for naught.

If you are shooting on a nifty new video camera that captures video onto hard disc or flash media, your life will be much easier.  :)  When copying the video files onto your computer, simply place the video clips into separate folders - one for each day - naming the folder with the name of the event and date.  You can even go so far as renaming the clips themselves, or what I prefer, placing a text file (or a Word document) in the same folder with a description of each video file.  For example, (P10345.avi: Katie discussing the mission of the organization.)

Simply put, be organized and thorough about documentation if you plan on using tidbits of footage later on.

Ambient noise & microphones
If you are interviewing someone on camera, the audio quality is essential.  Try to limit the amount of ambient noise around you.  Close all the doors.  Turn off any computers that may be in the room.  Turn off the TV.  Fluorescent lights actually make noise - as do some other types of light bulbs.  Be conscious of your environment and how it will affect your audio.  An empty room will result in lots of echoes.  If you can shoot in a room with lots of furniture, such as couches, they will help dampen the audio.

To help the quality of your audio, using a mic is a great idea.  Onboard microphones don’t work very well - but lapel mics work great.  Try not to make it very obvious that the person has a mic on them.  If necessary, hide the mic out of the camera’s view, but as close as possible to the interviewee.  If you have access to a mini-disc recorder, you can capture audio onto that and mix it with the video during the editing process.  The benefit of doing it that way is that you’ll actually end up with multiple audio sources - one from the mini-disc recorder and one from the camera.  It will give your audio a little more depth.

Interviews
When interviewing someone, use a tripod.  Frame the shot fairly tight, but not TOO tight.  Don’t shoot the interviewee straight on, but have them sit at an angle to the camera.  Give them some “nose room”.  That is - give them some extra padding in the area they are facing.  If they are facing right, place them closer to the left side of the screen.  Tell them not to look at the camera but the person that is asking them questions.  If the person asking the questions is filming, have them look at something in the room, such as a lamp that is in their line of vision.

Side note: using a tripod also helps to give you better audio because your hand won’t be rubbing on the grip and create noise when doing so.

Have the interviewee answer questions in complete sentences.  That way, when it comes time to edit, the interviewer’s questions do not have to be included in the video.  Take for example, the following conversation.

Interviewer:  “What is the mission of your organization?”
Interviewee:  “To spread awareness about homelessness in America.  We aim to do this by…”

VS.

Interviewer:  “What is the mission of your organization?”
Interviewee:  “Our mission is to spread awareness about homelessness in America.  We aim to do this by…”

The difference is so simple, yet will allow much more flexibility when editing and add more professionalism to your video.

Keep the video and audio timeless
What I mean is that you should make a conscious attempt to not “date” your video.  Let’s take this conversation from an interview for example:

Interviewer:  “When did you decide to start your organization?”
Interviewee:  “We decided to start our organization 3 years ago when my friend and I were…”

VS.

Interviewer:  “When did you decide to start your organization?”
Interviewee:  “We decided to start our organization in 2006 when my friend and I were…”

Again, the difference is simple.  But it renders your footage timeless.  If you’re going to edit your video 2 years from now, the interviewee’s answer from the first example will not work.  “3 years ago” then is not the same as “3 years ago” from now.  By using specific dates, and not relative ones, you’re doing yourself a huge favor.

I’m sure I’ll think of more rules of thumb later on that I’ll add.  In the mean time, do you have any tips and tricks for capturing better footage? Add them to the comments!

Although I don’t have any scientific references to quote, I believe I can safely say that people tend to put more trust and preference into organizations and businesses that are attractive - both inside and out. So while the mission of your organization may be noteworthy or the product you’re selling may be amazing; if you’re not dressed up for the ball, you’re going to have a harder time being successful than others who’ve already put on their best suits and gorgeous dresses. Not to beat the metaphor to the ground, but furthermore, if you decide to go to the ball wearing something you just stitched together, without having any tailoring experience, you’re putting yourself at an extreme disadvantage.

You’ve got to look good when you get your name out there. A lot can be said about first impressions; because, well, they really are important. HOWEVER, the key is not to simply (and only) make a good first impression. The goal should be to make a lasting impression. You can’t completely rely on mediocre promotional pieces to do that for you.

But, as most small businesses and organizations go, your budget may not allow you to hire those big-wig marketing/design companies to come up with material for you. You may not be able to afford hiring out all your design tasks. And that’s okay - you don’t always need to. There are things you can do yourself and there are things you can do to make it cheaper when you do have to hire professionals for your design projects.

Some of those things are organizational. Some are technical and some simply require understanding the lingo and tools of the trade. Learning the “best practices” of the trade will help you better prepare your organization or business for successful multimedia pieces.

With all that said, I’ll be regularly offering tips, tricks, and advice on all of those things (including insights into social media networks and design trends) on this blog.  Subscribe to the RSS feed and stay up to date on all these blog posts - just click the little orange RSS icon (or here) and add our blog to your feed reader.