Keeping it short and simple

Just a quick post of Snickers, one of two Chihuahuas(the other being Precious) that allow Rebecca and I to share their house. Not much too say, other than sometimes just a quick video clip can speak volumes(meaning you don't have to). However, if you must add some audio element(such as the cheesy music here), try garage band. It's a pretty amazing little program that will let you create almost anything you can imagine. It will also prevent you from getting sued for copyright infringement when you lift someones else's original song, composition, performance or interpreation of a piece of music and use it in your video. Remember, as the saying goes, unless you have the written, signed and expressed permission of.....blah blah blah.....just don't do it. Times are tough and everyone's looking to score a little extra money. Why become a target for someone's lawyer.

The Sound Bite

Audio is an essential part of video stories. In fact, it's the backbone that drives the story. That's why you hear media types obsessing over "the sound bite". It's a brief snippet of audio, usually gotten during an interview, that quickly and neatly tells the viewer what they need to know. This piece was shot as an afterthought of fellow photograher extraordinaire Shannon Szwarc telling how he scored a premium office chair. It's a good example. By the way, Shannon has already moved onto another chair. Such is the fast paced life of the photojournalist.

Objects are closer than they appear

When shooting video it's really easy to get tunnel vision and lose track of your surroundings, especially when shooting football and a great play is heading right towards you. You just keep hanging in there until you have an "oh crap" moment and realize the big hurt is just around the corner. If you get lucky, the athletes in question have enough natural athletic ability to not crush you. Thanks be to their ability. I didn't get hit..and did get the catch. Too bad the receiver was out of bounds and it was ruled incomplete

Goody Goody Memories

Columbus is losing baseball. The Columbus Catfish are leaving Columbus, and Golden Park, behind and as of yet there is no replacement team on the horizon. We wanted to talk with a few fans and put together a short video for the website. I was able to use a better camera for this assignment...one with XLR inputs....and so was able to get better audio but faced a few more challenges. From my night at the ballpark, here are a few things I learned about audio.

....If you're still a newbie at this, make yourself a list to work from.Don't worry about it being overly detailed. Miss one tiny item and you may end up with nothing.Or, have a friend help. I asked our reporter to ask me, before each interview started, to ensure the wireless mic was turned on. I don't mind looking like a dummy if I get what I need.

....Definitely mic the subject with a wireless microphone if one is available.The sound is much better, especially when you have to interview someone in a noisy environment. If you don't have one, pull the subject to an area that's quieter....but not so quiet you can hear a pin drop. You'll still want some of the ambient sound in the background.

....If you mic one person, mic them all. When I interviewed the PA announcer, the acoustics sounded OK to my ears and so I didn't mic him. Mistake. The audio from his interview just lacks some punch.

....Monitor the audio with headphones(I didn't, but will next time) or at least check the levels via the display on the camera to make sure both channels are recording.

....If there is still too much distracting noise, try just using the wireless mic on the subject. I finally did this out of desperation(I just unplugged the other one) and it worked OK.

....The wireless mic doesn't need to be clipped to someone. During a spring multimedia workshop at the University of Georgia, a team of students did a nice piece on a dog jog. They got great audio of a dog slurping water from a water dish by simply holding the wireless mic near the dish, just out of the frame. So, experiment and play around when you can.

Am I ready for some football....Third Quarter

Back to the gridiron for more high school football. This time, we didn't have any specific players we needed video of, so I just shot game action like I would for a "regular" assignment. This wasn't too bad, since Hardaway hung 51 first-half-points on Columbus. If you want to do this, and add a voice over narrative, here are a few pointers.

....Make sure you get a program listing all the players. You'll be keeping notes of particular plays, but will find other video where you'll need to identify someone who makes a good tackle or a hard hit.

....Shoot the scoreboard after each score. Still photographers do this to keep track of the action and identify important plays/moments.

....Keep an eye on the sideline. In this game, Columbus' starting quarterback was injured, but on the sideline hobbling around on crutches. This turned out to be an important part of the story.

....Identify your weaknesses and plan to concentrate on them during your next outing. I'll be working on following pass plays, since I had very little luck at this game. It's always a good practice to mentally go over every aspect of a shoot both immediately afterwards and then later to develop a list of things you did well and those you need extra wok on.

Am I ready for some football?

Ah, high school football season in the south. Time to change my schedule and clear my Friday nights. This year, though, we want to try some video. Specifically, we want to create a video preview for the upcoming week. So we decided to use a scrimmage between two leading teams to grab the necessary video. So here are a few lessons learned from the venture.

....To give it more of a preview feel, focus on a handful of players from both teams.
This will make it a little easier to shoot.

....Start off shooting from behind the line of scrimmage. If you haven't shot much football, it's easier to initially follow the action."Start off shooting tight on the quarterback and zoom out as the play progresses" was the advice I got. It seems to work pretty well.

....Don't bother with the tripod. Too dangerous for both you and the players.

....Plan for the unexpected. Make sure to shoot every punt and punt return. The one you don't shoot will be the one that is blocked or run back for a touchdown.

Not every story has great visuals. Sometimes, you'll need to use everything, including the kitchen sink, to make a story more interesting for the viewer. The piece below on a new collection of drawings from the Columbus Museum is a prime example. It's an important story, but obviously doesn't involve car chases and gun battles. So here are a few ideas and things learned:
....Use a variety of camera moves when shooting a static subject. You can pan the camera from side-to-side, as well as tilt it up and down.
....Use your zoom lens to zoom in and out during the shot. Shoot several takes with this technique, adjusting the speed at which you zoom to see which works best.
....Combine the above techniques for more fun and the possible bonus of making your viewer a little dizzy in the process. When doing this, it helps to work backwards for planning purposes. Compose with the closing shot in the viewfinder and zoom out while panning. When you fully zoom out, that's where you'll want to begin.
....Get still photographs and use them in the program. It's easy in iMovie. They can remain stationary or can have the "Ken Burns effect" applied.
....Read the owners manual THOROUGHLY. I put Kristen Zohn, the subject, in the middle of the frame because I didn't realize I could manually focus my Elura camcorder. Next time, I'll use the rule of thirds to compose a nice shot with the subject off center.
....Play with all the transitions you have available. Some will work and some won't. I could probably be accused of going a little overboard, but who cares. You'll learn more by experimenting and failing than timidly never using all the bells and whistles your editing software and camera make available.

I spent ten years living in East Highland and know the issues the neighborhood faces all too well. Doug,the speaker in this interview, was my next door neighbor the entire time. Thus, National Night Out was a great opportunity to "go home" and also work on a video piece. After interviewing Doug, and getting video of him walking down the street, I decided to skip the talking head shot and trust the viewer would understand Doug was the person walking towards us. After that, and a few other shots with him, it wasn't necessary to show him again. I also decided to do a quick "drive-by" through the neighborhood, holding the video camera to get a really bad version of the opening sequence for The Sopranos. Next time, I'll have someone else drive to make the experience a little safer for all those involved. From this piece, I can suggest:
....Definitely shoot your interviews from a tripod. The shot is steadier, and the subject can also speak to a real person, not just a lens.They'll feel more comfortable and you'll get a better interview.
....Take your visual cues from the interview(so when possible, do it first).Doug mentioned the dilapidated homes.It was my cue to shoot some to go with the audio.
....Go early and stay late. Getting there early gave me time to do the interview, mull it over, and look for some matching visuals. Staying late, i.e. doing the driving tour, gave me a little something different to help set the scene.
....Steal ideas from the real pros.If you see a shot you like in the movies or on television, try replicating it. You"ll most likely fall short, but can learn something in the process and learn to appreciate the real artists who create these.

Flying Machines

Today's video is from an unmanned aerial robotics competition at Fort Benning and offers a few ideas for festival/event coverage. First, and foremost, focus your attention narrowly and only try to tell one story. It can be overwhelming to arrive at an event and figure out your first step. A good approach is to not start shooting right away. Walk around, talk to people and determine whose story you want to tell. Then, spend your time doing that. Next, in this case, although I shot the entire flight from the Cal Northridge team, I didn't need to use it all. Once their chopper lifted off, I used cutaways to show other team members doing their part and then cut back to the landing. It saves your viewer's time and makes the video more interesting. Finally, I once again chose to do voiceover but this time mixed in natural sound from the event to help better put the viewer there. It's pretty easy in iMovie to get the right balance between the two audio tracks. Another tip. Do your audio editing in Audacity(freeware). It's, in my opinion, easier to edit precisely in Audacity and then re-import the audio into your video editing software.

Fire at cabinet shop

Ah, spot news! It always happens.....just never when you expect it. So, if you want to get news video, or still photos from those events, you'll need to carry your equipment with you wherever you go. I do and ended up being able to piece together a quick video segment a few hours after returning from the fire. A few things to keep in mind. Even though shooting from a tripod would have yielded steadier shots, sometimes it's impractical to carry one. Just steady the camera as best as possible, using a fence post, car hood, whatever...and shoot away. Shoot several takes of the same scene, holding for 10-20 seconds on each one, and you should get something useable. DV tape is cheap, so don't be bashful. Just remember that the pause button is your best friend. Either that,or you'll have lots of tape to edit through.....in real time. Finally, I had problems getting decent sound. So, I defaulted to using a voice over( the voice is co-worker Robin Trimarchi). It's a relatively quick and painless way to add informative audio. You'll just need to play with the clip lengths to match the total running time of the audio. So, don't do any final trimming until you FIRST get the audio completed to your satisfaction. I also ordered a better external shotgun mic that attaches to the hot shoe on the camcorder. I'll keep you posted on how it does after it arrives.

A few words with Josiel Smith

For years, Josiel Smith has lived in a house that on the best of days would be described as dilapidated. She recently learned her situation will change for the better. I went to interview her with reporter Ben Wright and found myself juggling a still camera and a small video camera. I learned a few valuable lessons. First,whenever possible, let the subject's voice move the viewer through the story. Secondly, shoot off of a tripod whenever possible. I didn't have one and it's apparent in some of the resulting video. Third, when your planning to extract the audio and use it for the spine of the story, make sure you have plenty of "B roll" so the viewer doesn't have to watch a talking head the entire time.