The modern infrared camcorder is a wonderful piece of technology. The ease of use, quality of the video and the inexpensive cost of digital storage all combine to make your camcorder a tool that can be used to create pro quality video.
In order for someone to make the transition from point and shoot haphazard videos to professional style finished quality films you'll need a plan. And here in broad outline are the initial steps you need to take in order to create a well organized and polished completed product.
If you want to create a video that tells a story or professionally captures an experience or adventure, especially one where you will want to totally or partially use the low light or night vision modes of your digital camcorder, the first thing you should do is become completely acquainted with your camera itself.
Learn All You Can About Your Camcorder and it's Settings and Controls:
The old saying 'practice makes perfect' might be trite, but it's true. Learning to make use of all the controls on your camcorder in both automatic and manual mode is one of the first things that you should master. There are so many features that are part of current cameras that you must take time to get yourself familiar with all of them.
Read your manual carefully and keep it with you when you shoot. Compose a list of the different features and spend some time shooting practice video in every one of the different modes and options that you can set. Often settings on the camera may be difficult to find or remember due to the need to go through all of the various menus on your lcd screen. When you understand the settings and become comfortable with those that you think that you'll use the most, make yourself a cheat sheet and keep it with your gear so that you can quickly refresh your memory when you want to make use of one of the more difficult to set features of your camcorder.
Pay special attention to learning the best way to adjust settings and what other tools you might need such as a helmet light or flashlight to enable you to change settings and setup in the dark. Doing video and filming in the dark using a night vision digital camcorder is much more challenging than operating in the daylight. And if you are using additional infrared floodlights or other ir illuminators, practice with them whenever possible.
Learn How To Create a Story:
The second part of creating professional video is developing the ideas and thoughts that you have into a coherent plan that you formulate beforehand. You may want to make a documentary, a story telling film or even an effort at a movie. No matter what your original idea, set down an itemized plan in advance to create a path you can follow to be able to create a finished product.
This can be as complex as laying out an extensive story board which includes all the scenes you want to shoot along with the style and effects that you plan on using. Or if your project does not require this much advance work and planning, you should still lay out a rough outline of the scenes you will need to accomplish a total end result.
By laying out your storyline and considering what you will have to do prior to your filming, you're more likely to make sure you have thought through your story completely. By doing this you'll find that when working on the individual scenes or interviews that you will do a better job of making sure it's going to be a good part of your completed project.
Pay special attention to any work which you do in night vision mode. Practice as much as you can using your low light camcorder modes so the quality of your night video can hold up to standards of regular daylight work. Especially practice on situations in which you move from lighted to night vision mode without having a cut. This really is one of the most difficult types of transitions to make.
The Basics Are the Building Blocks to Professionalism:
The information above is only a starting point on the road to changing from shooting home video to pro video. There are many resources on the Internet where you can go and as your skills increase search out more detailed information.
But the fact remains that when you spend the time in practice and master the basics plus learn your camera settings completely and be able to make changes quickly, you'll be well on the way to producing superior professional video with your camcorder that you will be proud to show off to the world.
In order for someone to make the transition from point and shoot haphazard videos to professional style finished quality films you'll need a plan. And here in broad outline are the initial steps you need to take in order to create a well organized and polished completed product.
If you want to create a video that tells a story or professionally captures an experience or adventure, especially one where you will want to totally or partially use the low light or night vision modes of your digital camcorder, the first thing you should do is become completely acquainted with your camera itself.
Learn All You Can About Your Camcorder and it's Settings and Controls:
The old saying 'practice makes perfect' might be trite, but it's true. Learning to make use of all the controls on your camcorder in both automatic and manual mode is one of the first things that you should master. There are so many features that are part of current cameras that you must take time to get yourself familiar with all of them.
Read your manual carefully and keep it with you when you shoot. Compose a list of the different features and spend some time shooting practice video in every one of the different modes and options that you can set. Often settings on the camera may be difficult to find or remember due to the need to go through all of the various menus on your lcd screen. When you understand the settings and become comfortable with those that you think that you'll use the most, make yourself a cheat sheet and keep it with your gear so that you can quickly refresh your memory when you want to make use of one of the more difficult to set features of your camcorder.
Pay special attention to learning the best way to adjust settings and what other tools you might need such as a helmet light or flashlight to enable you to change settings and setup in the dark. Doing video and filming in the dark using a night vision digital camcorder is much more challenging than operating in the daylight. And if you are using additional infrared floodlights or other ir illuminators, practice with them whenever possible.
Learn How To Create a Story:
The second part of creating professional video is developing the ideas and thoughts that you have into a coherent plan that you formulate beforehand. You may want to make a documentary, a story telling film or even an effort at a movie. No matter what your original idea, set down an itemized plan in advance to create a path you can follow to be able to create a finished product.
This can be as complex as laying out an extensive story board which includes all the scenes you want to shoot along with the style and effects that you plan on using. Or if your project does not require this much advance work and planning, you should still lay out a rough outline of the scenes you will need to accomplish a total end result.
By laying out your storyline and considering what you will have to do prior to your filming, you're more likely to make sure you have thought through your story completely. By doing this you'll find that when working on the individual scenes or interviews that you will do a better job of making sure it's going to be a good part of your completed project.
Pay special attention to any work which you do in night vision mode. Practice as much as you can using your low light camcorder modes so the quality of your night video can hold up to standards of regular daylight work. Especially practice on situations in which you move from lighted to night vision mode without having a cut. This really is one of the most difficult types of transitions to make.
The Basics Are the Building Blocks to Professionalism:
The information above is only a starting point on the road to changing from shooting home video to pro video. There are many resources on the Internet where you can go and as your skills increase search out more detailed information.
But the fact remains that when you spend the time in practice and master the basics plus learn your camera settings completely and be able to make changes quickly, you'll be well on the way to producing superior professional video with your camcorder that you will be proud to show off to the world.
