Video Rule Breaking

OK, I don't usually blog about making videos.  I'm still experimenting with this genre, and as part of that experimentation, I've been carefully watching videos to see the visual techniques of "successful" videos (read "popular" videos). And there's no more successful video than music videos on youtube.

In my brief experience making videos, I've tried to keep camera angles simple, not zooming during a clip, and letting the scene make the motion, rather than the camera. This follows all of the "rules" of video. And this really is a good starting point - knowing the rules before you start breaking the rules - a fundamental part of the Composition and Creativity workshop that I offer (next offering begins later this month - hint, hint.).  But once comfortable with the rules, then breaking them - and knowing when and how to break them - comes next.

Same with video. With a 13-year old at home, I'm exposed to quite a bit of music video. Check out this popular music video by Taylor Swift, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4iX5D9Z64. And watch very carefully. Through clever staging, camera work and editing, the 3 1/2 minute video looks like a continuous camera shot. Of course, most of the effect is done in the editing phase, but there's also a carefully laid out storyboard and choreography.

(UPDATE: Well, guess what? The video WAS a a single straight shot - no splicing!  All the more amazing. Shot with a Sony digital camera and Leica lens and a very large crew. Check out: http://www.fdtimes.com/2012/09/05/taylor-swifts-we-are-never-ever-getting-back-together/.

When you see a video that you really like (it helps to like the music as well!), watch carefully to see what it is you like about the "cinematography." In video, this is one of your roles, along with producer, writer (storyboard), editor, and sometimes even star!

Would Chuck Stay Here Again?

Well, I've finally moved into the video-era, several decades later perhaps, but progress is progress.  I just completed a workshop with Bainbridge Island TV on creating your own YouTube video.  The project I assigned myself was the start of a hotel review series entitled: "Would Chuck Stay Here Again?"  The results are on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU5rZb9xM0k. 

The workshop entailed learning about the use of video cameras, video techniques, use of iMovie software, and the melding of video, graphics and audio into a cohesive video.  It was really a lot of fun and I'm generally pleased with the result.  With cell phones of the iPhone variety in wide use and with the newest digital SLRs incorporating video capability, its clear that video is taking on a larger role in our photographic life.  If you have the opportunity to take a video workshop in your community, I strongly recommend it.  Enjoy.