Reddit reviews How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro
We found 12 Reddit comments about How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Workman Publishing Company
I've got some tips!
I went to film school at an expensive place and stopped going because the commute was a nightmare and the cost was unreal. I later enrolled in the state school in my town and found out that they were teaching much of the same stuff for a significantly lower cost. Moreover, everybody got director experience, not just the people who were "good enough".
Filmmaking is a tough career to get into, so consider what you want to do with it. I know lots of talented people working in news, sports, and documentary, but not a ton doing steady work for feature films. If that's the kind of work you're looking for, you'll need to live in a place where they are made on the regular. (LA, NYC, Vancouver, etc.) If you have a wanderlust, cool, but city living is expensive.
If you've got the bug and want to make movies, don't wait for school to start. Grab a book and your phone and start shooting. You'd be surprised how little it has to do with your equipment and how much it has to do with proper technique. (I was on a team that won a national award for covering an election. We used iPhones and Skype.)
Here's some helpful books:
How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck
Television Field Production and Reporting
This is an older edition of what they are using in schools to teach electronic news gathering.
Good luck!
This book focuses more on the general process of video production, but it has a section on editing and is filled with various exercises to help you improve filming as well as editing. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0761163239/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1456888590&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=how+to+shoot+video+that+doesn%27t+suck&dpPl=1&dpID=51MzH-YZtoL&ref=plSrch
This presupposes of course that you have at minimum a basic video camera but I don't think that assumption is too unreasonable. A phone camera should work in fact.
Additionally, an exercise I recommend is that you get someone to record dialogue for a fake (or parody) infomercial and then edit together a video to go with it using clips from YouTube (download with something like MP3 Rocket).
Most of all, it really helps to have someone else who also enjoys editing that you can form a constructive-competative relationship with. This is particularly beneficial when it comes to inspiration and getting notes as to what you've done well and what you need to improve.
/u/Iandeloney - enjoyed looking at your website - terrific work. I agree that aperture, shutter speed/angle and ISO are very important building blocks for video - but there are a few other topics you will want to master to make your filmmaking better.
Here are the books I would recommend to get started:
Hope this is helpful, good luck with adding video to your repertoire and Happy New Year to you and yours!
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239
I just this morning finished reading How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck and I'd suggest it as a good starting book, more for shooting your video but there is a little bit of general advice on editing.
It's written humorously, but also straight to the point and he doesn't skirt around issues. Each chapter is only a few pages long; makes for a good bathroom reader, hehe.
He also includes example videos on his website that directly relate to the material in the book.
Admire the initiative and effort of making your short film, must've taken some work!
Allow me to recommend the book "How to shoot video that doesn't suck" by Steve Stockman. It basically details every basic rule to help your viewers suspend disbelief, and how to look at cutting out any little thing that doesn't progress the story. If you do anything else, get this book. You're already on track to grow if you keep making films, the book will only expedite it and give you a strong foundation. Cheers!
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239
http://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239/ref=sr_1_1
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239 a good read
I've recently gotten into film making myself and found the book Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck! as a great introduction. It's an easy read and covers a lot of basics.
That's also a book-- I have it! Great tips for all levels. https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239/r
Don't want to make any assumptions, but the right gear is pretty low on the list if you are new to filmmaking or taking video. In photography here everyone will tell you knowing what ISO/Aperature/Shutter speed mean and how to work with them will make a MUCH bigger difference then if you don't learn that and just buy nicer gear.
In video this applies DOUBLE at least. Because now when you edit it all together you will need specific shots. My wife is an excellent photographer and spent a few weeks this summer doing photography and some video work for a nonprofit working in Africa and came back with some footage that was pretty tough to use, not for the sake that she didn't have the gear or equipment. Almost unusable just because the shots were not there, not the right length, not the right distances, etc.
Focus on the video aspect, the storytelling aspect, how to take and "think in shots" first and foremost. Don't worry about the gear yet.
This is incredible and concise and I cannot recommend it enough: "How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck"
But not to come across smug or anything and blow off your question, some gear recommendations:
A cheap, battery powered lapel mic with extra batteries. If you do any interviews on site (you should try!) this can improve your audio dramatically for dirt cheap.
Tripods make a difference in panning and zooming and whatnot, but honestly the MAJORITY of your shots should NOT be panning and zooming shots (this was the problem with all of my wifes footage). So don't worry too much about this.
SD cards obviously you'll need very fast cards, but even on top of that some are better than others with different cameras I have no idea why. I can put a "90m/s" SD card in my 60D that works fine, and another that runs out of buffer in 5 seconds, even when trying to reduce quality or other issues. Both are the same "speed" cards! I recommend checking your specific camera or some forums where people have discussed that.
Some of those editing tips:
What it is going to boil down to is if you sent some professional video crews out with iPhones they would come back and put something much more watchable, interesting, and engaging than a group of beginners with the best equipment. This is sort of true in photography as well to some degree, but absolutely a fact in video. So focus on the important part.
Anyway tl;dr, focus on learning the language of video, filmmaking, and that kind of stuff before worrying too much about gear.
(But really let me if you have any more specific questions or need any other help, I am not professional at all, but have been doing a lot of amateur video work and editing perhaps a dozen small projects and stuff over the last few years, I can show you some specific examples of stuff too. Do a lot of overseas work and deal with portability issues and stuff. Have even been teaching a beginners crash course "media" class with the disaster relief organization I work with, mostly focuses on ethics and stuff. We send teams with a very low end but user friendly video setup I put together to use for the work we do).
A couple ideas
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=
https://www.amazon.com/YouTube-Channels-Dummies-Rob-Ciampa/dp/1118958179/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=