An amateur guide to amateur filming
A basic 12-point checklist for every newbie broadcast journalist
Many a classroom session later, when I thought I had all the necessary rules and knowledge for filming neatly tucked away into my brain, I decided to finally put theory to practice. I got myself a camera and tripod and decided to hit the streets for the real deal. Needless to say, it was a disaster. Because all those great classroom tips and techniques suddenly flew out of my brain, rendering me about as confident as a soldier in a minefield.
But I did it again. And again. And again. And though I learned the hard way, by collating everything from classroom notes to little tips given to me by an ex-BBC presenter, I seriously wished someone had given me a ‘dummies check-list for news filmmaking’.
I’m sure I’ve left out many important points, and this list will definitely grow as I remember them.
But for now, it goes something like this:
1. What’s the story? Ensure you know what you’re going to cover, do as much research as you can and prepare little notes of questions you may want to ask. Also roughly prepare your piece to camera, if you have one.
2. Camera basics: Are your batteries charged, and if you have a spare pack, is it charged too? Are your memory cards in place? Have you formatted them?
3. Tripods and leg spreads: Are you tripod legs evenly spaced out? And are all three legs balanced and of the same height? Because if your tripod stands funny, all your shots are going to be at either a weird angle, or too high or too low. Trust me, it’s easy to miss this.
4. Spirit level: The little yellow-green eyes on your tripod are the spirit levels. As long as your little bubble is within the concentric circles, you will have straight shots. A great way to tell if your tripod is off-centre is by keeping an eye on the spirit levels from time to time.
5. White-balance: ALWAYS carry a white sheet of paper with you — more so if you’re filming outdoors. It’s easy to mess this up, be it on the screen or even through the viewfinder. If you’re filming alone, don’t be shy to ask a random curious person to help by holding up the paper in front of the lens while you adjust your white balance. If you’re there to be a journalist, you’ve already lost your right to an “I’m shy” card. Besides, you’ll be amazed how many people want to help, and if you’re lucky you may even find yourself a story.
6. Audio: Brightness and colour can be adjusted. Audio is far less kind, especially if you don’t have anything to begin with. Make sure you’re using the right inputs for the right kind of microphones, and always check your sound levels. Stay between -12 and -6, and keep an eye on the levels on your screen. I messed up here myself — but luckily it was only over a few GVs.
7. Focus & Exposure: Zoom right into your subject before you adjust the dials for focus and exposure. Small blurs go undetected on the small screen of your camera. And few things are worse than seeing a blurry haze in what you thought was your winning shot. My advice: keep turning the dial till you can see that you’re visibly out of focus. Then turn it back and you will automatically see the sharpest point. It’s the same with exposure. Always remember: the brighter the light around you, the lower the exposure needs to be.
8. Angles: Our professor taught us an extremely interesting concept that just sticks like glue once you understand it. We call it 3–6–9 and it goes something like this: 3 shots (a long, a mid, and a close-up) of the subject from 3 different angles; each shot 6 seconds long; a total of 9 shots of the subject. Not only does this give you an array or shots to choose from, but you will suddenly find that you have options for continuity shots, which go a long way in improving the fluidity of your final film. In fact, if you’re an amateur like me, the vital importance of continuity shots will only strike you once you’re at the editing table.
9. General Vision shots (GVs): GVs are shots that basically move your story forward, or give the viewer something to look at while your voice over does the talking. GVs need to give a visual depiction of what you’re talking about; they help with continuity; and they work wonderfully when you need to cover up a mistake/jump cut/shaky interview etc. Good GVs are worth their weight in gold, and can often make or break your story.
10. Background and framing: Don’t forget to pay attention to your background. If you’re facing the light, your subjects will be dark and silhouetted. If you’re filming against a prominent monument, don’t cut the head off. Try to set your shots against a backdrop that lend to the story.
11. Rule of Thirds: Always imagine that your frame is divided into three vertical sections. Then balance out these sections. If you have an interviewee, ensure that he/she is on one side of the frame rather than the center, and further ensure that he/she is looking into the empty space of the frame rather than on the other side, outside of it. Also, never have your interviewee talk down the barrel of the camera.
12. Piece to Camera: Never, EVER do your piece to camera against the exact same backdrop and framing as the shot that precedes it. This may not look weird to you, but it will almost certainly get you in trouble with your editor/professor. So save yourself the trouble of a retake, and find a different angle.
To be updated as and when more points strike. If you would like me to add something I may have missed (amateur guide, remember), suggestions are more than welcome!
