We were issued video cameras on Friday to use for our video projects.  I didn’t get a chance to test mine out because we don’t have tapes for them yet, but I’m guessing it’ll function similar to the Sony Hard Disk Drive camera I use at home.  That said, I don’t have a project idea yet.  If you have tips, please share!  I’ll probably do a tourist/destination piece on Lake Tahoe and the area where Bonanza! was filmed.  I’m looking to get more practice on lighting techniques, setting white balance and learning video settings rather than producing content.  Bottom line, I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone!

One of Maynard Fellows, Henry Lopez, Web editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican, shared some tips on some of the key elements it takes to make a good video.  I learned a lot of those same tips from two multimedia training courses I attended last year: a multimedia bootcamp at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at the Knight Digital Media training at UC Berkeley. John W. Poole, a producer at NPR, taught us several solid techniques, many of which are included below.

Here’s a list of tips on how to shoot video.  Henry wrote most of them, but I’ve tweaked them a little and added a few of my own points, most of which are in parenthesis.

Story idea: Have an idea of what you expect to get out of the project; be ready to change what you think you’re getting out of the project.  (You can also expect to be in a different setting than originally anticipated so be prepared for that.  Also, make sure to bring a camera cover in case of bad weather.  You don’t want to have to worry about whether you’re going to break your $5,000 camera because it’s getting wet!)

Details: Get close enough to your subject to see details. Remember, Web video requires lots of compression in which detail gets lost so get close enough to capture fine detail that survives compression.

Zooming: Don’t rely on zoom. Think positioning of your body first, zoom second.  (Also, don’t zoom unless you absolutely have to.  Same goes for panning.  Both techniques are used for taking home videos, not for work to be posted on your news organization’s Web site!  I was taught to do it if you have something to actually zoom on, i.e. don’t do it for the special effect.)

Watch the sun: Don’t get it behind your subject or they’ll be nothing but a silhouette.  (Also, don’t underestimate the amount of light in a room.  Make sure to have the proper lighting!)

…Watch the sun: Get it behind your subject when you want to create a dramatic silhouette.

Sound: Hush! Nothing will frustrate you more than hearing uh-huh, mm-hmm and yeah on your audio track. (Also make sure to avoid unnecessary background noise.  If a car drives by, politely interject and ask the subject to repeat his or her answer.  If you’re interviewing inside a home, politely ask if the subject would be willing to turn off, let’s say, the refrigerator, to eliminate any humming, buzzing, or clicking in the background.  Also, lapel mics should be fed inside clothing.  It’s a bit of an inconvenience for your subject, but it looks so much better on the screen.)  Oh, and have a microphone.  You. must. have. an. external. microphone!

Get comfortable with your subjects: Talk to your subjects before turning on the camera. Know what they’re going to say, then let them say it on camera. Then shut up! Let them talk until they’re done. (I’ve always politely asked my subjects to repeat the question when they give an answer so as to get a full sound byte I can use.  Some people may disagree, but it’s better than coming back with a good soundbyte that I can’t use because it has no context.)

We just finished our fourth day of class for the Maynard Program.  Today was non-stop learning, but at a good pace.  We started off with an extensive workshop on social media led by Susan Mernit, a former VP at Netscape and AOL and senior director of product development at Yahoo! Currently, she is a consultant to the Knight Foundation, working with the Knight News Challenge, a program that gives away $5 million annually.

Mernit talked about ways to attract people to your blog and gave some tips on marketing your blog.  We also talked about privacy, and the role privacy settings play in a reporter or editor’s choice to add sources to Facebook and Twitter.  It’s a moving target, but she essentially said that it’s good to make a social media networking policy so you’re upfront on who you will or will not add to Twitter and Facebook.

She brought up a good point, mainly because my news organization does not have a social media policy.  I hope to create one when I get back.  Does your news organization have a social media policy? If so, I’d love to hear about it.