Video Content Shooting for Dummies
By Superfantastique
YN Multimedia/Video Producer

Make Internet TV (MITV) helps a budding content producer turn into a production pro in no time. In MITV’s wiki, learn about different types of video equipment, basic cinematography, and exporting and publishing the final product. MITV also covers fundamental methods in Applied Media Aesthetics such as lighting, 2 and 3 dimensional spaces, shot composition and sound.  Use MITV to make your next video sparkle!

The Best Features in MITV’s Wiki:
License
Check out this knowledgebase to understand the various types of licenses to apply to content. Many of the licenses are complete with instructional animation and useful external resources.

Publish
Learn how to publish work on YouTube or Yahoo. Sift through a list of commercial and non-commercial video sharing outlets with and without Video RSS. Find video sharing sites for mobile devices.

Some Advice from Your Video-Lovin’ YN Staff:
Equipment
Don't worry about the type of video equipment you have. It’s possible to shoot great video with a camera cell phone, a basic camcorder or a high tech "pro-sumer" camera. In the old days, schlepping around tons of Lighting Equipment  and Audio Equipment to shoot a small fluff piece was a videographer’s rite of passage. Times have changed! Today, very popular video on the web is the shaky, grainy footage.

For example, take the London train bombings shot by an amateur with his cell phone camera. Tons of people viewed the exclusive footage on the Internet, and many news organizations used the footage as coverage for the incident. So, don’t be intimidated by big, flashy news vans equipped with the latest high definition shoulder-mounted (it's ok to drool) cameras and pro-cameramen. What you shoot matters more than what you shoot with!

Note:  Upload your video directly from your camera and make it live for everyone to see, or use computer equipment to edit your work for clarity and style. The choice is yours. However, these days, viewers love the raw, unedited look.

Shooting Video
Shooting a video can be stellar or stressful. Make it fun with these How-To’s:
Start with Using a Camera:

1. Find the On/Off button (I know, it’s an easy one) and Record Start/Stop.
2. Locate the F-Stop to open and close the Aperture, Manual/Auto Zoom and Manual/Auto Focus.
3. Adjust the Aperture Setting. The closer you get to f-stop 1.6, the more light you let through the lens. The closer you get to f-stop 11, the less light you let through the lens. One extreme washes out the image. Another extreme makes the image too dark.
   

Focus Tips
 Many consumer-grade cameras have an auto focus that will, well, focus itself. However, if pulling focus like Stanley Kubrick is your shtick, keep an eye on the focus indicator located somewhere in the viewfinder to reach the point of focus with your camera’s manual focusing ring.

Note: Use a soft focus to make close-ups look angelic during soft fuzzy moments. It’s very cool, especially for very emotional subjects (your subject is talking about the tragic death of his pet ferret, Monty).

Zoom Tips
Use the zoom in moderation. Overuse of zoom turns what would be an ordinary wedding video into a ‘60s psychedelic trip traveling through twisted visual territory. To avoid this, simply use the zoom to reframe your subjects. For instance, if you can get close enough to see tears roll down a cheek, use the zoom lens to capture that special moment. Frame the Scene as a close shot or extreme-close shot. Then, zoom back out to reframe and get a full body shot.

Frame Tips
Reframe by Moving the Camera. Get closer to the action with the camera to zoom out to a wide-angle lens. This provides greater depth of field while accommodating a medium-close shot, a close shot (the camera is right in the face of your subject). and even an extreme-close shot (the camera is right in the eye, nose, finger of your subject, etc). This provides a change in perspective, making your piece visually interesting. Shoot from different angles and perspectives. Combine long shots to extreme-close shot to keep the audience interested.

Lighting Tips
Lighting a Scene is an art more than a science. Be sure that there is an appropriate amount of light for the scene. This requires planning on your part-- especially if you’re working on a limited budget. The cheapest and easiest lighting is sunshine.

Outdoor Lighting
Plan to shoot scenes outside. Check the forecast and shift production from one day to another based on the weather. Shoot outside in the morning when the sun is just over the horizon (a.k.a. "the golden hour") or the late afternoon when the sun is on its way out. This provides dramatic, warmer lighting rather than nasty midday blue-spectrum light that makes your subjects look green and blue. When shooting outdoors, keep a reflector nearby to redirect the sunlight.

Indoor Lighting
Use a light meter to measure the light in a room.  There are 2 types of Light Meters:

1. 1. A camera’s Built-in light meter (usually a spot light meter) measures the amount of light reflected from the subject.
2. An incident light meter (usually handheld) measures the light that falls on the subject from the light source.
3. For indoor lighting Three-key-light setup may be the method you use for staging your lighting.

Note: Remember to stop down your camera’s aperture for the appropriate amount of light. And do not forget to adjust you shutters speed to compensate for your lighting scenario!
Note: Find a variety of these meters on eBay for an affordable price. Find the three-key-light kit from a manufacturer such as Lowell.

Sounds Tips
The final aspect of production is Capturing Sound during shooting. Most, if not all, consumer cameras have a built-in microphone. Some may also have an external microphone input. Use a directional microphone to record only where you are pointing the microphone. To learn more about shooting, editing and publishing great footage, check out http://www.makeinternettv.org.