Before mentioning some shooting rules and tips for filming well, I would like to recall the purpose of a video and the very basics of video to get off on the right foot. A video is created to tell a story. Ivan Wong is a famous videographer and artist. Despite being a management consultant by trade for Accenture, he’s worked with many high profile brands such as Sony, Google, MVMT, etc. as a photographer and videographer. We asked Ivan about tips that he would share with beginnings who want to delve into videography.
Whether it’s a Youtuber in front of the camera, a short film, a report, a music clip, an interview, or a trailer, the video tells something. As with writing a book, video has a few rules. When applied, they provide a result that is pleasant to look at, pleasant to look at for yourself, but most importantly: pleasant to look at for others.
Always keep this in mind when filming. Tell yourself that you are filming to tell a story and not to show something. If you film to show and not to tell, people will be bored. To finish and before tackling these famous rules and some tips. Remember to avoid blurring, to stabilize your videos. A video that is shaky or whose focus shifts between the subject and the background is very unpleasant to watch. Avoid the lengths but also the too short shots incomprehensible for the spectator. Think of your plans with almost the mount in mind.
It’s not easy, but if you already have a draft of what you plan to do during the editing, you will know what to film, who to film and especially how to film. Avoid too long shots on empty landscapes and without interest for example, people do not care. Remember to take care of the sound of your videos. Because there is nothing more unpleasant to watch than a video with extraneous noise (wind, cars, work, ambulance sirens …) or with inaudible or incomprehensible voices. And also remember to set your device correctly before filming.
The frame
Understanding the concept of frame is essential to producing quality videos. Concretely, the frame is the cut out part of the reality that we are filming, until then everything is fine…
The composition
What is the composition of an image? It is, for example, the fact of putting such a person or such an object in such a place in the frame. To play with the lines present in the image to give a depth or a particular perspective. And therefore to give a meaning or even an emotion to this image. And it is an essential criterion when you film not to make your videos bland or banal. The first rule to respect (or not…) when you compose your image is the so-called third party rule.
The rule of thirds is very well known by photographers and should also be known by videographers. FYI it comes from the golden rule of classical painters. It consists of cutting the image into 3 horizontal parts and 3 vertical parts. At the crossroads of these lines are the areas of image strength, the areas where the gaze comes to rest naturally.