Chapter 6
Acquiring the Tools of the Trade
In This Chapter
- Choosing the right camera
- Keeping your camera on the straight and narrow
- Seeing your way with light
- Getting the sound just right
Let's face it: Making video is easier now than it has ever been, and that trend is growing. Cameras, editing software, and computers that can edit video are now relatively cheap and available, which means that, following a few best practices, almost anyone can make a decent YouTube video with equipment they may already own. This chapter looks at a few of those best practices and helps you make a decision about price versus quality by examining the advantages of new camera and recording formats. To close out the chapter, we also take a look at the production tools you'll need in order to produce great video for YouTube.
Checking Out Your Camera Options
Let's get the good news out of the way right off the bat: There's a good chance that you already own a High Definition (or HD) camera. Video cameras are everywhere. According to the Pew Research Internet Project, as of January 2014, 58 percent of American adults own smartphones. Pretty much any modern smartphone has an HD camera, as do most modern laptops and all-in-one desktop computers. But just because access to cameras is easy doesn't mean that choosing the right camera is simple. Quality varies widely, and there are some tools and techniques that can help even a basic camera shoot good video. We talk about several types of cameras specifically, but you have to take a few (mostly universal features) into account when shopping for cameras. For the most part, we talk about these three types of cameras:
- Camera phone: We use the term camera phone as a catchall term for a camera built into a mobile device. (So don't write in to tell us that your tablet or music player isn't a phone; we are well aware of that fact.) When we say camera phone, you should see in your mind “a camera that is built into your iPhone or Android or Kindle Fire or whatever.” A camera phone may not produce the absolute best images out there, but when the moment comes to capture the footage of one of your dogs sitting on your other dog and howling the tune to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” the best camera is the one in your pocket that you can start shooting with immediately.
- Camcorder: The venerable standalone camcorder was for many years the average person's entry point to the home video market. In recent years, camcorders have been pressured from both sides because camera phones are generally good enough these days to satisfy the needs of the casual video shooter, and the very high quality (and dropping price) of digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras has captured the interest of shooters who are interested in higher video quality and feature control. Camcorders can be quite convenient, though, and the best of them offer a happy medium between features and ease of use. Camcorders also range widely, from the most basic entry-level devices to full-blown professional machines that cost tens of thousands of dollars.
- DSLR: DSLRs have exploded in popularity in recent years. DSLRs have traditionally been used for still photography, but now all DSLRs include an array of video features and settings. You can capture great-quality video and easily stay under a $1,000 budget for your camera gear.
Working through the (camera) basics
Before getting into a detailed discussion of the pros and cons of the different camera types out there, we want to talk a bit about a few features and elements that all cameras share. That way, we can get some terminology out of the way that may prove helpful when you're comparing cameras:
- The sensor: The heart of any digital video camera is its sensor. The larger the sensor, the better the image quality. That's because a larger sensor has larger pixels, which capture more light, resulting in higher image quality. Currently, a “big” sensor is a full frame sensor measuring in at 36x24mm, the same size as a 35mm film negative.
When people talk about megapixels, that's something of a red herring. A 10 megapixel camera with a larger sensor can likely capture better-looking video than a 12 megapixel camera with a smaller sensor. Though this description can be confusing and technical, the important thing to note is that a larger sensor is generally better. - The lens: The pros will tell you, it's all about the glass. The lens in a camera is a huge factor in image quality, and it's a factor that can be difficult to understand. The most important feature of any lens is its aperture capability. The aperture of a lens controls how much light enters the camera body and hits the sensor. Basically, along with shutter speed and ISO, this is the control that makes the picture brighter or darker.
The aperture is also called the f-stop (or t-stop on cinema lenses), and aperture ranges are denoted as f2–f24 or similar language.
The most popular look on YouTube currently is an f-stop of 5.6; this draws the viewers' attention to the foreground, keeping it in sharp focus, while leaving the background soft.
Try to use lenses that have a fixed f-stop, not a variable f-stop. Such lenses often are a much higher quality — with a price tag that reflects that fact. A Canon 50mm 1.8 is a great starting lens and usually will cost you around $100. - Resolution and format: The YouTube player supports High Definition (HD) video and you really should have an HD camera to take advantage of that support. Most modern video cameras are capable of shooting full 1080p HD (1920x1080 resolution), and that is what you should look for. Some cameras have variable frame rates, but as long as they can shoot the standard rates, such as 24p, 30p, and 60i, you should be able to find something you like. Look for all these numbers in the specs when shopping for cameras.
The numbers before the letters indicate how many fields per second are shown. As for the P, it stands for progressive, where the video image is drawn progressively line after line. In 30p, to take one example, one whole frame is typically shown every 1/30 of a second. The I stands for interlaced, meaning the odd or even rows in the picture show every 1/60 of a second. 60i is typically used for sports or fast paced videos, because it results in less of a flicker feel. 30p is often perceived as higher quality for less action-based footage because its resolution brings with a clearer image. 24p is the frame rate of film — but getting that “film look” also depends on lighting and composition. The latest and greatest DSLRs can shoot in the format 4k (4k is short for 4,000 pixel resolution), which is a much higher resolution than 1080p HD. Though footage shot in 4k is beautiful, the cameras that shoot 4K tend to be expensive. The reality of shooting video for YouTube is that 4K resolution is, for the moment, overkill. The site can display 4k, but the vast majority of views are on computer screens or mobile devices incapable of displaying 4k or 8k content.
- Codecs: Most cameras compress the captured video to save space on whatever recording media you're using. The compression software that the camera uses is a codec. In the past, different codecs could result in wildly variable performance when the time came to edit. Often, footage would need to be transcoded to a different format in order for the editing suite to understand it. Thanks to improvements in editing software and hardware, transcoding is largely a thing of the past. All the major editing packages these days can handle just about any codec you care to throw at them. Just be sure to record in the highest quality codec for your device — which generally means the least compressed video.
- Monitoring: You need to be able to see your video as you shoot it. Most modern video cameras have an LCD screen for monitoring video. Usually, manufacturers talk about these screens in terms of pixels. When choosing a camera, make sure you can tell if the image is in focus from the view on the LCD. Built-in focus assist options will also help when using a smaller LCD. If you cannot tell if your image is in focus, you may need an external HD monitor or you may want add an EVF (electronic viewfinder) from a third party for monitoring.
- Zoom: Zoom involves changing the focal length of the lens to make it seem as though the camera is closer to its subject. Though it's a somewhat familiar concept, one important thing to remember about zoom is the difference between optical and digital zoom:
- Optical zoom is the actual telephoto effect produced by the physical change in the focal length of the lens, and it is the only zoom you would ever want to use. It allows you to zoom in on the subject with no significant degradation of picture quality.
- Digital zoom is usually a very high, seemingly impressive number, but it is a feature to avoid. Digital zoom doesn't actually change the optics of the camera; it simply scales the image up, which produces a lot of noise and artifacts in the picture. Stated simply, it won't do anything but make your footage look bad.
- Memory, tape, and hard drives: Pay attention to how your camera is storing the footage you're shooting. Each of the following formats has upsides, and downsides.
- Tape: Cameras that record on tape are less common these days, but there are still a few out there, and many used ones are available. Tape has a few upsides, in that it is durable, but its downsides are many. Generally, tapes are expensive because it's really not a good idea to reuse them. After you use them once, the quality degrades significantly upon a second use. Tape also degrades over time, so it turns out not to be a great place to store your footage. Tape can also be difficult to deal with. Generally, taped footage has to be captured to your editing computer in real time, which is quite time consuming when compared to tapeless workflows.
- Flash memory formats: The video industry is rapidly moving toward the use of the standardized flash memory cards for all kinds of cameras. These cards are inexpensive, almost infinitely reusable, and easy to use for both capturing and transferring footage.
There are still a few competing standards when it comes to memory cards, so make sure you purchase the right card for your camera. The two most popular memory card types are Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC or SD, the more common title) and Compact Flash (CF). Both are excellent. They're relatively cheap, reliable, and ubiquitous. You can buy them just about everywhere. Our recommendation when it comes to memory is to choose your camera first — that will often determine what kind of memory card you need to purchase. When purchasing your memory card, either SD or CF, choose a card that can read and write data as quickly as your camera. An example of a write speed is 1000x; this means the card reads and writes at approximately 150MB/s.
- Proprietary digital memory card: Many high-end professional camcorders use proprietary memory cards. For example, Panasonic's pricey pro camcorders use either the P2 or Sony's SxS-1 format. Though these cards perform well, they work with only their cameras, and they're extremely expensive. These formats tend to be used on cameras that are also quite expensive, so it may not be a problem encountered by the YouTube beginner. But as your skills progress, you may want to upgrade your camera, so keep this information in mind.
- Image stabilization: Higher-quality cameras often offer image stabilization, a feature that does just what it says — it stabilizes images. One hallmark of footage from people who are new to videography is shaky footage. Image stabilization can help with this problem, and it comes in a couple of different flavors:
- Optical image stabilization: This type of correction features gyroscopes and moving elements inside the lens itself. When the camera shakes, the lens detects the movement, and the lens elements roll with the punches, so to speak. The lens parts move to correct for the motion, and the sensor captures a stable image.
Internal gyroscopes can be noisy, so be sure to use an off-camera recording device when using optical image stabilization. (An internal camera mic is sure to pick up the noisy gyroscope sounds.)
- Digital image stabilization: This correction uses various software algorithms to reduce the impact of shaky hands on your video. Unfortunately, some to the tricks it comes up with aren't that aesthetically pleasing. For example, the most common way digital image stabilization corrects an issue is by removing the edges of the frame. More often than not, you end up with a degraded image that's just not worth keeping. Yes, you may be able to correct in post-production, but your best bet is to collect the highest quality image while recording in the field.
- Optical image stabilization: This type of correction features gyroscopes and moving elements inside the lens itself. When the camera shakes, the lens detects the movement, and the lens elements roll with the punches, so to speak. The lens parts move to correct for the motion, and the sensor captures a stable image.
- Manual controls: An important feature to look for in a camera is easily accessible manual controls. Though at first you'll probably want the camera to manage most aspects of image capture for you, as your skills as a videographer develop, you'll inevitably want to take control of the camera's controls. The manual controls have to be easily accessible — ideally assignable to physical buttons on the outside of the camera. These physical buttons allow you to change settings quickly, which can be important when you're trying to capture a moment. Controls that are buried deep in the camera's settings menus aren't truly useful.
Looking at DSLRs
DSLR stands for digital single-lens reflex, but its initials are not the key concept to understand here. The big reason that DSLRs are massively popular these days is that they can produce great image quality for a relatively low price; the many happy DSLR owners out there probably don't know — and don't care — what the initials stand for.
As with any camera, the DSLR has both upsides and downsides. The upsides are clear:
- The big picture: By a large margin, the most important advantage that the DSLR affords a filmmaker is the large sensor. Some DSLRs even have a sensor that is roughly the same area as a traditional frame of 35mm film — these are full-frame sensors. Without getting too technical, the larger the sensor, the better the image quality. Also, the large sensor, when combined with the right lens settings, produces a shallow depth of field, which is desirable if you want your video to have that sheen of professionalism. This depth of field effect is, put simply, the phenomenon in which the subject of the video is in focus but the background is out of focus, which makes the subject feel separate from the background. This out-of-focus background — called bokeh by all the arty film school types — is an important trick to have in your repertoire.
- The lenses: Another great feature of the DSLR is its interchangeable lenses. A DSLR allows the operator to choose the type of lens that is required for the shot. Some lenses are better for action shots, and some lenses are great in low light; macro lenses shoot subjects in extreme close-up, and zoom lenses allow you to capture distant subjects. This sort of flexibility, which is crucial in higher-end filmmaking, can really improve the visual quality of your videos. A nice bonus is that each manufacturer has a standard lens mount that most of its cameras use. For example, if you start with an entry-level Canon camera and obtain several lenses for it, those lenses also fit the fancier Canon camera if and when you decide to upgrade.
- Manual settings: Most serious videographers will tell you that capturing the best image requires understanding and using the camera's manual settings, and setting characteristics such as ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. We don't get into explaining all the details of how to use a camera in this chapter. The important point here is that even entry-level DSLRs have robust manual controls that are usually easy to use and understand. Advanced videographers want to make changes to these settings quickly and easily, and most DSLRs have dedicated buttons on the camera body to change each of these settings quickly.
As proof that not everything is hunky-dory in DSLR-ville, check out these things that folks love to hate about DSLRs:
- The sound: Though this situation is slowly changing, DSLRs have traditionally been reviled for their inability to capture sound well. Audio is extremely important to making a watchable video, so this is kind of a big deal. We will say up front that no DSLR on the market today has an acceptable built-in microphone. We believe that you should not use the built-in mic on the camera when you can avoid it — we recommend you buy more stuff to accompany your camera. There are a couple of ways around this problem.
- An external microphone: This is the simplest solution to the DSLR audio problem. Most DSLRs have a connection that allows the user to plug in a separate microphone. Because this audio problem is widespread in the DSLR market, quite a few options are available that are designed to work specifically with DSLRs. There are many choices in this space, but we find one solution to be the Rode Video Mic Pro; it has an excellent cost-to-value ratio.
- An external audio recorder: Even with an external microphone, many DSLRs still don't have a great way to monitor the audio you're recording. This is a very big deal. If you don't know what the audio sounds like as you're recording the footage, you can quickly ruin the shoot and waste a lot of time and resources. A number of digital recorders on the market are designed for this very purpose. These recorders come in a wide variety of price points, but they do confer a lot of advantages. Going down the list, they offer balanced inputs (eliminating hiss and hum noises), phantom power for professional mics (recommended is the mkh416), more control of audio levels, and compressors and limiters for keeping levels from clipping.
Recording the audio externally does mean that you have to synchronize the footage and the audio recording in editing, which introduces more work and an opportunity for problems to arise. Just because you're using on off camera recording device doesn't mean you should turn off the in camera audio recording. You'll want audio from both devices captured for reference when syncing in post production.
- Manual settings: Extensive manual controls can be both a blessing and a curse. The best part about shooting manually is the amount of control you have over the quality of light in every shot. You can choose how bright you want the shot to feel based on the emotion of the scene, whereas if you use an automatic setting you may lose some of the mood you could have created with your lighting setup. The sheer number of settings and the fine gradations of adjustment can be overwhelming to an inexperienced user. Though DSLRs generally have a full automatic mode that will allow you to point and shoot quickly, we recommend working in the manual controls and maintaining control over the quality of each shot, even if it takes more time.
- Record time limitations: One long-standing complaint about DSLRs is that all of them have some kind of record-time limitation. Admittedly, popular cameras like the GH4 or a7s do not have duration limits, but in some cases, a camera can shoot only 29 minutes of continuous video.
Before planning a long video, be sure to check the upload limits for your particular YouTube channel. To do so, point your browser to https://youtube.com/my_videos_upload to check your limits or extend your limits.
- No autofocus: Not all DSLRs can autofocus while shooting video. This can be inconvenient, especially when you're shooting a moving subject with a shallow depth of field. The fact is, it doesn't take much for your subject to move in and out of focus; it doesn't have to move far at all. This is most problematic when shooting scenes with lots of action and movement at low aperture settings.
- Manual zoom only: The only way to zoom with most DSLRs is to manually adjust the zoom ring on the lens barrel. This can cause a number of problems while shooting video. Touching the lens more than likely is going to produce a shaky image; it takes a steady hand to make a smooth manual zoom. If you're planning to do lots of zoom shots, a DSLR may not be for you.
- The expensive aftermarket: A lot of the issues we've described with DSLRs do have solutions, but you're going to have to pay a pretty penny for them, or try to build them yourself.
For most YouTube video creators just starting out, a DSLR may be just the ticket for you. If you have no experience with video production or photography, be patient, the DSLR will have a learning curve. The inexperienced creator often can use a simple webcam to get started. If you do have experience creating video, and you're making content that requires the best image quality for your buck, a DSLR is the way to go.
Several manufacturers are in the DSLR market, including Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Panasonic. Though all these companies make good DSLRs for still images, we generally recommend the Canon DSLRs for shooting video. In our estimation, they offer good features for the price. Start by looking at some entries in the Canon line:
- Canon EOS 5D Mark III: Though this option is a bit pricey, running around $3,000 for the camera without a lens, this is a truly excellent camera choice for shooting video. The 5D Mark III has made huge improvements to its video capture capabilities, and its full 35mm sensor gives you the ability to capture beautiful video. As with any DSLR, you need to have at least an external microphone, and maybe even an external audio recorder; but as far as image quality goes, the 5D is hard to beat. The latest Canon DSLR cameras have done a lot to improve the on-board audio capture quality.
- Canon EOS Rebel t5i: The Rebel series is Canon's more affordable DSLR line, and the t5i is certainly cheaper than the 5D. The t5i is widely available for under $600, and it delivers excellent image quality. It features a somewhat smaller sensor than the 5D, but the sensor is considerably larger than can be found on any camcorder.
- Panasonic GH4: Currently the only DSLM (digital camera without a mirror) that shoots 4k video. This camera is known for reduced noise and great color reproduction. This is a great camera for both novices and professionals at around $1,500.
- Sony a7s: Sony's very popular a7s, coming in under $3,000, is currently the world's smallest full-frame camera with interchangeable lens capabilities. Since lenses are truly the part of the camera that you can continue to invest in, it's best to stick with one camera manufacturer. Most DSLR lenses can be used on many different models within the same manufactures products. Double-check your manufacturer of choice before making large investments in lenses.
Checking out camcorders
A camcorder is an all-in-one camera that is dedicated solely to shooting video. For the vast majority of users, a camcorder is what comes to mind when they think about video cameras. Camcorders have traditionally recorded to videotape cassettes, but pretty much any camcorder you can buy these days uses some sort of file-based system utilizing digital media.
There are generally two types of camcorders that are at all relevant to YouTube creators. The consumer camcorder is the type of camera available at big box electronic retailers. Prosumer is the term for cameras that add many of the features of professional cameras while retaining at least some semblance of affordability.
The professional range of video cameras tend to be the cameras that are designed for news gathering for television stations; those cameras can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and they aren't really cost effective for creating YouTube videos. For the purposes of this book, we focus on consumer and prosumer camcorders.
The consumer camcorder
First off, let us point out that consumer camcorders have come a long way in the past ten years. The video cameras that you can buy in an electronics store these days affordably deliver a lot of great features. They have some downsides, but if you're just starting out shooting videos, excellent consumer camcorder choices are out there. As usual, these cameras have positives and negatives.
First, the positives:
- Low cost of entry: The greatest appeal of the consumer camcorders is by far the price. The market for these types of cameras is competitive, which means that manufacturers have really packed a lot of features into these cameras for very little money. A basic camera is less than $200, and the best of the best consumer cameras generally cost less than $1,000.
- Ease of use: Consumer camcorders are designed to be easy to use. They are intended for consumers who may not know a lot about shooting video, and, as a result, they do a lot of work to make up for that. These cameras generally have effective automatic settings that do a good job of capturing usable video in a wide variety of situations. Both the video and the audio recorded by these cameras tend to be pretty decent. It won't win any cinematography awards, but it can get the job done, depending on the job. Especially for vlog-style videos, these consumer camcorders may be all you need.
Now for the bad news:
- Picture quality: If you already have experience in shooting video, and you like to control the image, you'll find a consumer camcorder annoying. These cameras generally have unremarkable lenses, and very, very small sensors. This means that anything you shoot on these cameras will likely look like a home video. That works for some formats, but if you're making short art films, this may not be the camera for you.
- Lack of manual control: Part of the consumer camcorders ease of use, which is generally a positive, can be a negative for someone who wants to manually control settings. For the most part, manual controls are nonexistent, and if a consumer camcorder does have manual controls, they can be very hard to use. They are often buried in onscreen menus and are difficult to operate. Users who want to fine-tune their footage won't find much to love here.
- Feature bloat: One of the most annoying aspects of the consumer camcorder market is the feature arms race that goes on between the various manufacturers who operate in this market. Rather than improve lenses or sensors on their models year over year, they focus on silly features like built-in projectors, Wi-Fi connections, digital zoom, and near field communication. All this stuff is useless when it comes to improving your footage.
The prosumer camcorder
Prosumer camcorders aim to be a true all-in-one solution for capturing video, and most of them are flexible enough to address a wide variety of shooting scenarios with aplomb. We tend to think of prosumer camcorders as the happy medium of video cameras. They combine a lot of the ease of use of a camcorder and can produce a picture quality that can rival some DSLRs. They have weaknesses and trade-offs, of course, as does any camera.
Here's why prosumer camcorders have a dedicated fan base:
- Picture quality: In almost all cases, a prosumer camcorder will produce a better image than a consumer version does, primarily because of the larger sensors and the better lenses that these models tend to have. Any decent prosumer camcorder will capture a sharper image than its consumer counterpart.
- Ease of use and manual control: The best of the prosumer camcorders are straightforward to use and have a lot of useful automatic settings. Videographers are able to capture images on the fly without a lot of fuss. However, they also have extensive manual controls. On the good ones, those controls are operated with buttons on the camera body.
- Robust audio capture: Most prosumer camcorders do a good job of capturing digital audio, and they often have a robust set of inputs for getting your audio into the camera. In most situations, you'll use an external microphone, and a prosumer camcorder should have plenty of connections for those mics. As a bonus, the external mic audio is often recorded on a separate track from the internal camera microphone — both in the same video file. That means you don't have to sync the audio and video later.
- Long record times: Unlike the DSLRs with their recording time limitations, most prosumer camcorders can record as much footage as your memory cards can hold. This makes them suitable for shooting longer events and in other situations calling for longer recording times.
- Excellent monitoring: The prosumer camcorder niche seems to be crowded with cameras that have bright, clear, articulate displays that swing out from the body of the camera. This makes monitoring what you're shooting a breeze, with no need for an external monitor.
Here's why prosumer camcorders have generated some critics:
- Image quality: The relatively small sensors found in prosumer camcorders is the most common complaint. Though they do have larger sensors than consumer camcorders, their sensors are dwarfed by the DSLR sensors. Although this is not always the case anymore, it is important to point out that Canon c-series cameras have super 35mm sensors, as do the Sony NEX cameras and all in the prosumer camera range.
- Being stuck with one lens: The vast majority of prosumer camcorders do not allow for interchangeable lenses. This rule has a few exceptions, but generally the only cameras that have this feature are expensive. (Many videographers will use adapters to add on a better lens on those less expensive models.)
- Non-modular: In camcorders, it's all or nothing. None of the parts are usually interchangeable, which means that after part of your camera is obsolete, the whole thing is obsolete. With a DSLR, at least the lenses can transition to your new camera when you upgrade (as long as you stick with the same camera manufacturer).
The mighty, miniature GoPro
Many specialty cameras are available in addition to the types we discuss in this chapter. One that is hugely popular for making YouTube videos is the GoPro. The GoPro is often used in extreme sports videos. It is extremely small, durable, affordable, and it comes with a waterproof case. It also happens to deliver excellent HD video, considering its miniature size and miniature price. The GoPro isn't only for sports, though. It can be useful for capturing risky shots for which you may not be willing to use your fancy DSLR or camcorder. This can provide you with some freedom to try interesting cinematographic techniques. (Check out the features of the GoPro at http://gopro.com/cameras.)
Settling for smart phones
We won't argue that the camera on your phone should be your primary camera. Smartphones aren't the best video cameras, they can be difficult to stabilize, and the footage files they produce can often be difficult to work with. Still, sometimes in the heat of an amazing moment unfolding in front of you, the best camera is the one in your pocket. It may not have much in the way of manual control, and it may not produce the most beautiful image, but in a lot of cases, being quick on the draw is more important.
The specs for smartphone cameras are a moving target. Smartphone manufacturers are constantly trying to outdo each other by packing more powerful cameras into phones. We won't make a specific recommendation, but we know pretty much any high-end or flagship smartphone has a camera that can shoot passable HD video.
In many ways, choosing the camera that works for you is a matter of personal taste. If you're just getting into videography, you should watch a lot of videos. Find the stuff you like on YouTube, and find out how those videos were made. The beauty of YouTube and social media is that the barrier is much lower for reaching out to creators. Find creators that make stuff you think looks good, and then ask them nicely how they shot it. Though you may not get a response from a creator with millions of subscribers, smaller creators are often happy to help out. Give it a try.
Stabilizing the Shot
One of the most important things you can do to give your video an air of professionalism is to stabilize your shot. Nothing says amateur video like extremely shaky handheld video. We've all watched home videos that induce motion sickness as the camera whips around. Many tools can help you lock down your shot:
- Tripod: The most useful stabilizing tool is the simple tripod. It has three legs; you attach your camera to the top, and your shot is as stable as stable can be. Tripods are readily available online, at camera stores, and at electronics stores, and they have a wide variety of price points. We recommend investing at least $50 here. It can be helpful to get one that has a built-in level to keep your shots from being crooked.
When you're shopping for a tripod, make sure you choose a model that has a fluid panning head. At some point, you'll want to add a few camera moves to your repertoire, and you'll need that fluid head when that time comes. A basic still photography tripod may be cheaper, but you're going to regret it when you need to move the camera during a shot. Tripods with nonfluid heads cannot replicate the smooth motion that a fluid head can provide.
- Dolly: A dolly is simply a set of wheels for the camera. The simplest dollies attach to the bottom of the tripod, and — voila! — your camera is now on the move, allowing you to create interesting motion and following shots.
- Steadicam: A number of handheld Steadicam rigs are available these days, but they can be a little expensive. They also require a great deal of skill to use effectively. That means practice. If you want to get good handheld shots using a Steadicam rig, you have to practice, practice, practice to get the hang of using the thing. If you do put in the time and get good at it, you can create some pretty cool shots with these devices.
- Sliders/cranes/jibs: A wide variety of devices are also on the market to create moving shots. Sliders allow the camera to move on rails, providing a sense of smooth motion in the shot. Cranes/jibs allow the camera to move from side to side and up and down in space, creating a smooth sensation of flight. Many of these are available as add-ons to tripods. Though they aren't absolutely necessary, a few nice moving shots do provide a feeling of high production value to almost any project. Sliders start at around $200; if you are ready to build something in order to save money, search YouTube for some DIY glider videos.
Seeing Your Way with Light
Another super-important aspect of creating a video with some level of professionalism is lighting. You don't need to win any lighting awards, but decent lighting goes a long way toward making a watchable video. There are a couple of ways to approach lighting: You can buy specialized lights, which will probably produce the best results, or you can work with the lights you already have. Just using lamps from around the house isn't ideal, but it can get you started, and there are ways to improve your video's look just by putting some thought into light placement.
Setting up 3-point lighting
The simplest and generally most useful lighting setup for shooting a person inside is 3-point lighting. As its name implies, this lighting setup involves three lights, and it illuminates a subject in what is considered a traditionally pleasing way.
We describe the three lights that are involved (see Figure 6-1) in the following listing:
- Key light: The key light is the main (and brightest) light in a 3-point lighting setup. It is usually placed to the right or left of the camera, and it points directly at the subject from a 30- to 60-degree angle. The height of the light should ideally be set so that it points slightly down on the subject's face, but not so high that it creates shadows on the face. It should point down from slightly above the subject's eye level.
- Fill light: The fill light is a generally a softer light that should be pointed at the subject from the opposite side of the camera. The fill light shouldn't be as bright as the key light. It is there mainly to create a more even light on the subject. Using only a key light would usually result in creating dramatic shadows on the subject's face, and unless you're shooting a horror movie or a serious drama, you probably should want to stick with somewhat even lighting.
- Back light: The back light (sometimes called a hair light) shines from behind the subject and casts a thin outline of light around the subject's head, almost like a halo. This isn't intended to give the subject an angelic look — it's intended to create depth and separate the subject from the background. The back light can be directly behind the subject, but it can also be placed at an angle to the subject. Be sure not to get the light in the shot if you're going to place it directly behind the person.
- Background light: We know, it's confusing to add a fourth light into a section about 3-point lighting, but the reality is that most 3-point lighting setups also use a background light. This light does what its name implies — it lights the background. This is sometimes used to call attention to the background, but it is most often used to light the background separately from the subject. This can help create a sense of distance between the subject and the background, and can help enhance the separation between the two.
Figure 6-1: Three-point lighting.
Working with the lights you have
Your video will look best if you have actual video lights. The problem with this strategy is that video lights are expensive. So why can't you just use the lights you have in your home? The good news: You can. You can create a simple 3-point lighting system using lamps from around your house. If you use them, though, you should follow a few guidelines:
- Move the lamps. Using home lights is the easy way out, but it's usually not quite as easy as just turning on the lights and rolling the camera. You need to move the lights around into something resembling the 3-point setup. You also might have to move some lamps from other rooms because house lamps don't have the same brightness as video lights.
- Standardize. When possible, try to use the same type of bulb in all the lamps you're using to light the scene. LED lights are very popular with a color temperature you can manually change. Mixing fluorescent and incandescent lights can cause weird-looking results in your picture, so you should choose one or the other and make sure your bulbs are all the same color temperature (color of the light is measured in temperature). Each different type of light bulb emits a different temperature; mixing bulbs can make skin tones look very unnatural for example.
- Lose the shades. Lampshades can cause uneven lighting, so you should take those things off while you're using your lamps as video lights. This will also help with maximizing the limited power of household lighting.
Setting up high-key lighting
Another viable, if less popular, lighting scheme is high key lighting. This involves using multiple high-powered key lights and turning them all on very brightly. This setup basically floods the subject with light. Though this setup lacks subtlety, we recommend it because it is simple. It also allows for quick production, as pretty much all shots require the same lighting setup. No one will comment on your beautiful lighting if you use this setup, but it does make things easy.
Capturing Sound
A crucial factor in creating an air of professionalism in a video is the sound. In this sense, audio is truly king. Capturing good audio to accompany your video is essential. Good sound is, in most cases, transparent. If you're able to record your talent's voice clearly and cleanly, the audience won't notice, which is exactly the reaction you're looking for here. If you record echo-laden bad audio, the audience will notice, and not in a good way.
Looking at microphones
The single biggest thing you can do to improve the audio in your videos is to obtain a decent external microphone. Though some camcorders do have a decent built-in microphone, you'll almost always obtain better results by using an external microphone. You can use a few different types of microphones:
- Lavalier: The lavalier mic — or lav mic, for short — is also known as a lapel mic. A lav mic's primary advantage is that it is small. The microphone can be attached to the speaker's clothing, and it's small enough to be unobtrusive. Most viewers are accustomed to seeing newscasters and other video subjects with visible microphones, so it isn't generally off-putting for the audience. Lav mics are usually omnidirectional, which means that they pick up sound from every direction: You cannot only hear your subject, but you'll also hear every sound in your recording environment.
Lavs work best in quiet environments or controlled studios. The nice thing about the lav mic is that it is, for the most part, a set-it-and-forget-it solution. After the lav mic is attached correctly to the talent and the levels are set, you only need to check periodically to ensure the levels are maintained.
- Shotgun mic: A shotgun microphone (or boom mic) is a highly directional mic that is often used to record voices in videos. The shotgun mic is designed to record audio from a single direction, and it's less sensitive to sound coming from behind the mic, to the sides, or elsewhere around the subject. This type of mic is especially useful for isolating sources in noisy situations, where background noise can overwhelm the subject's voice. Shotgun mics, which are a lot larger than lav mics, need to be pointed at the talent from just off camera, no more than a foot from the speaker's mouth. This is usually accomplished by a boom operator, who is a human who holds the shotgun mic attached to the end of a pole and points it at the talent, or a c-stand with a clamp.
- Handheld: You often see onscreen talent using a handheld microphone. A handheld mic can be a practical solution for capturing audio, but it is clear that the talent is using a microphone. This is completely acceptable in newsgathering situations, and it can be a great solution for videos of that type.
Most microphones for video can be purchased in either a wired or wireless version. The wired version is connected directly to the camera with a microphone cable, and the wireless version uses some kind of radio signal to send audio to the camera or audio recording device without wires. The wireless option can be very useful, and it certainly feels futuristic, though it can be impractical. As with any device that relies on radio transmission, interference can be a problem, especially in crowded urban areas. Wireless devices also use batteries, and dead batteries can be just one more thing to go wrong. Wireless mics are necessary for applications where the subject moves around a lot, or is far from the camera, but in other situations, it may be wise to consider wired mics. They may not have the same level of tech appeal, but they can remove a couple of layers of complexity from your shoot.
Capturing good audio
Capturing good audio is important, so it's worthwhile to look at a few factors that go into capturing it. You may already know that you need a decent mic, but a couple of other factors go into it:
- The recording environment: Modern audio-editing software allows you to make quite a few changes and fixes to your audio after the fact, but the best way to end up with good audio is to capture good audio. A huge part of capturing good audio is controlling the environment in which you shoot. If you shoot your video in a busy coffee shop, it's difficult to keep the sounds of the coffee shop out of your video. Make sure you've chosen a quiet place for your video recording, away from traffic, refrigerators, air conditioners, pets, crying children, televisions, and so on.
- Monitoring your audio: Another key aspect to capturing good audio is to listen to what you're recording while you're recording it. Though a good camera will have an onscreen monitor visually representing the audio you're capturing, it is essential to listen to the audio in headphones as you're recording. Ensuring that everything sounds good, and retaking shots with audio glitches and noises, is much more time-effective than trying to fix all that stuff in post-production.