For all the people I know who own cameras, few make movies. I think it has something to do with lack of time/interest. Pity. Anyway, for those of you who are interested, I bet your camera has a video mode. Try it out. You paid for the feature, might as well see if it was worth it.
After making a few movies I thought I might share a few basic things I have learned along the way.
Filming:
Don’t use zoom. When you zoom in, camera shake is more noticible. Resulting footage reminds one of Blair Witch Project. Also, digital zoom lowers the resolution of you footage, so the zoomed in bits look more pixelated.
Pan slowly. We have a lot more perifial vision than a camera does, so if you pan at the rate that you would turn your head, the scene appears to move too quickly.
Tripods are your friend. I carry a small 4-inch one in my purse all the time.
Lighting:
If you can’t afford nice expensive studio lights, putting a small light behind your camera works wonders. It will illuminate the whole scene evenly.
I’m also going to start posting movies and writing about technique. I think about film too much and I’m hoping that if I write it down, I can get it out of my head.
