4 Videography Tips for Complete Beginners
Videography, or Video Recording and editing is a fun and exciting hobby to get into and it is a hobby that can easily become something more. However, it is not exactly easy for beginners to get into since it isn’t always obvious what they should be doing. With that in mind, I have compiled a list of basic things to help you get started recording and editing videos as a complete beginner. These tips won’t make you the next Steven Spielberg overnight or anything but they will give you a solid idea of where to start your videographer journey as well as some basic suggestions of what to do at the start.
Tip #1: PLAN EVERYTHING
This is especially important for beginners but can benefit more experienced video makers also. It is critical that you plan every stage of your project so that you know things are turning out how you want them to. The more time you spend planning and preparing the less you will have to spend editing out mistakes or re-shooting parts of your video that went wrong. Take the time to plan out what you want your video to look like and you can minimize any problems that crop up later down the line.
Tip #2: ALWAYS Use a Tripod with Videography
When it comes to the actual shoot, it is vital that your shots remain stable and aren’t shaky. Camera shake can make some shots completely unusable by anyone if there’s enough of it, so deal with this issue early on by investing in a tripod and stay away from handheld shots unless absolutely necessary.
Tip #3: Use Manual Focus when Possible
Autofocus is the bane of your existence when recording and can quite easily screw you over. The best way to avoid potential autofocus complications is to just avoid using it. Manually focusing your camera may take a little bit more time and add to how long setting up a scene does but it will prevent lighting issues and also make the editing phase a bit easier if you don’t have to correct for the autofocus as well as everything else.
Tip #4: Don’t be afraid to ask for help
A lot of people have a “do it yourself” mentality when it comes to videography and while there’s nothing wrong with this, it can cause you to produce a subpar product if you are trying to record or edit something in a specific way that you don’t have experience with. If you know someone who can do a certain part of your project better than you can, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help and watching them work can even help you learn how to do it better next time so take advantage of others who have more developed videography skills to both get help and learn how to do it better.
There is still so much more to learn about videography but the only way to truly learn it is to get out there and practice. As the old saying goes: “Practice makes perfect!”
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