Basics of Shooting Video

Creative Arts For Everyone (C.A.F.E.) recently ran a workshop on Zoom about shooting video with a view to creating short clips to be used in their creative arts. These are a brief summary, available to everyone, of what was taught.

There will be other courses. If you would like to know more or are interested in joining us then contact us via our contact page.

Getting the best from your smartphone

It is not obvious but your smartphone settings are probably not set up for the best quality videos straight out of the box. So let’s take a look and change them to give the best quality we can.

I have an iPhone so the illustrations will be using that. However, most things will be similar no matter what smartphone you have. You just have to explore a little bit more.

In settings find record video (it may say just “video“) and tap it. You should come to a screen similar to the one on the right.

There are two sets of numbers listed on this screen. The first is the resolution of the finished video in pixels. The higher the number the better, and sharper the video. 4K stands for 4000. Your smartphone is likely to be set for the best resolution as this uses up a lot more memory. Always go for the highest resolution you can.

Every video is made up of hundreds of single shots. The number of these the camera takes per second will determine how smooth your video is and whether you can do some slo-mo in the editing. This is referred to as frames per second or fps.

In the right-hand picture above you can see there are two options 30 fps and 60 fps. Which do you choose? A rule of thumb is use the highest resolution you can if your video is slow moving or static. Us the highest fps if you are videoing a fast moving subject.

Setting up the shot

Keeping the smartphone steady

If your camera is not steady and/or smooth you will ruin a good video and nothing can be done about it in the editing. It is essential to take steps to keep the camera steady and move it smoothly when taking the video.

Here is a list of what to do and what not to do

DO NOT hold the smartphone with one hand like in the picture above
DO hold the smartphone with two hands, elbows against your body
DO rest your elbows on something solid like a wall, table or car
If you can DO use a tripod or other support for your smartphone
If moving the smartphone while recording DO take it slowly
DO use stabilising aids when taking videos where you have to move

There are a number of things you can use to help keep your smartphone steady or stable when shooting. Below is some of the equipment I use. All are available on Amazon. The first two are for keeping the camera steady when the camera is static or not being moved. The second two are useful for smooth shots when you need to move the camera around.

Check the background

Look around the picture on your smartphone. Is there a tree, a pole or something else growing out of a person’s (or puppet’s) head? Is there a person or animal “photobombing” you’re shot.

Check too if you have chopped off someone’s head. This is especially important if you are videoing yourself.

Look at the background on your smartphone. Is it fussy? A plain or out of focus background is best. Check for bright light sources, including windows, as these will make everything in front a silhouette. The exception to this is if you are trying to include a sunset. Even then try not to have the bright sun in the frame.

Most smartphones will allow you to tap the screen where you want the correct focus and exposure to be.

The picture below has a bright light source that would have made the girl too dark. Tapping the area where the girl is adjusts the focus and exposure to the back of her head. This means we see more detail of the girl. Note too that the background is out of focus and less distracting.

Which way round to shoot

There are two ways of shooting your video. Upright or vertical (often known as portrait format) is best when shooting videos for Instagram or Tik Tok. This not ideal for videos for YouTube or showing on a TV screen. Videos for these should be shot in the horizontal (often referred to as landscape format) with the smartphone on its side

Left is vertical format and the right is horizontal format

Top picture is vertical format and the bottom picture is horizontal format

Where to put your subject

Have you ever noticed how weather forecasters and news reporters are standing off to the side of the screen? They do that so that you can see what is going on behind them or so they can show the weather map.

Don’t always have your subject right in the middle of the frame. Video them off to one side. Yo will be able to do so much more when it comes to editing you video (see picture below)