Monkeys and Penguins, Oh My!

Here's a short piece from our visit to the Saginaw Zoo. I thought I would try a POV(point of view) shot. Basically, it's when you show viewers what's happening from the perspective of the subject. In this, it's the shot coming across a fun little bridge at the zoo that shakes and wobbles as you cross it. I added a little extra camera movement to emphasize it. Perhaps, a bit much. Oh well, it's all about learning from our mistakes.

The trouble with tridges

So......here's a quick look at the Tridge in Midland, Michigan. It's a unique three-pronged bridge spanning two rivers. To help your vacation video, feel free to do a little narration behind your video. Just grab some tourist brochures to give you the information and then record a little video as you read it. You can then strip the audio our or, if you look better on-camera than I do, treat it as an opportunity for a little screen time.

Vacation Video:Dow Gardens

Here's a short piece from our visit to Dow Gardens in Midland,Michigan. Today's tip involves the length of individual shots within the piece. It's a simple tip. Keep the shots short, a few seconds at most unless you have something really dramatic to show. Doing so will move the video along much better but will require you to shoot a greater variety of shots while in the field.

Tawas Lighthouse

Yes.....time for more vacation video. Here's a brief look at the lighthouse in Tawas, Michigan. Pretty cool and only two dollars to enter. The view from the top is great. When shooting something like this, shoot wide shots(overalls), tight shots(details) and try to different pans and zooms, since your subject is static. For audio, have someone at the attraction describe it(you can strip the audio out), or, if you get lazy like I did, just whip something out in Garage Band. What's a "home vacation movie" without a cheesy soundtrack?

Vacation Video Tips 1

So, since I'm on vacation, and shooting video, I thought I would offer some simple advice to make your vacation videos better. The previous post talked about keeping it simple. You're on vacation, not making "Citizen Kane". So don't go too crazy.....except in the editing process. Keep your videos simple, themed and short. No more than 2-3 minutes. Here's a small example from the 2009 Bavarian Festival parade. It features a few of the many different musical performances......everything from fife and drum to calliope music.Look for more later this week.

Vacation Video

Here's a little video, shot with the Flip, from Frankenmuth, Michigan. The Flip is great when traveling because you don't draw unnecessary attention with a big, high-speed camera.