As one of the most powerful forms of media storytelling today, videos give us a better way to tell stories that we normally couldn’t.
With a proper video setup for every job, though, you could make sure that you have it easier than ever when it comes to creating awesome, informative content. If you are trying to manage a videography project, though, you need to make sure that you take the following tips into account.
These come from videography expert Damien Heraclides, who wants to make it easier for you to start taking better snaps. What, then, matters for a videography project gone right?
1. What should you carry in your bag for videography, always?
If you think you have enough… you don’t!
The first thing you need to do is make sure you are 100% prepared for the job at hand. This means bringing extra memory cards, extra batteries, and even another form of power should you find that you need an alternative.
Also, make sure to pick plenty of filters. Both ND filters & filters in general should make a big difference to your videography sessions moving forward.
2. Always have a plan when you come in front of a problem on a shoot
Know your worst-case scenario!
The worst thing that can happen during an otherwise successful shoot is to have a problem come up that you were not expecting. No matter what might go wrong, though, you need to have a valid and successful plan B that you can put into action to solve the issues. If you don’t, then you run the risk of losing both client respect and future business.
You always need to have a Plan B and a Plan C in your mind to cover all probable scenarios; accidents happen, mistakes happen. If you can’t figure out the solution, or a solution does not seem possible, there is always another way around it.
3. Are you properly using organization of files?
As a videography expert, you should have tons and tons of folders!
Footage in one folder, music in another folder, sound FX in another folder, assets in another folder, my sequences in another folder… All of this goes a long way to making the process as successful as it should be. Once I put everything on my timeline, I colour code everything.
For example, my good shots would be purple, or my landscape shots would be yellow, so on and so forth. When filtering through my good vs bad shots, I would add them to a raw sequence. I would then copy/paste into a separate sequence, as further backup. This helps me to stay focused, organised, and prepared for any issues that might crop up as I work.
4. Equipment: Do you need super fancy equipment?
When it comes to creating your equipment that you bring with you to and from jobs, one thing you need to make sure you have is a stabilizer.
While many other tools are nice to have, a stabilizer is absolutely essential to your success. A lot of shots require that you need a smooth movement; that smoothness, though, is unattainable without a stabilizer. I personally love DJI’s hardware and find the evolution of their company very strong.
If you are looking to fill out your videography kit with must-have items, then you do need to make sure that you have a stabilizer in there if nothing else.
Make the rubber band your best friend!
When panning with a tripod use a rubber pan to move the head; it gives you less jitters, and makes you feel like MacGyver. This can be very useful for making sure that you can get the right kind of accuracy, too, as even the finest of hand movements can make it tough to get the right balance.
It can be extremely tough to pull these kinds of things off, but the rubber band trick is one of my most useful. Add that to your list of must-have videography aides, and you’ll soon find that you get much more accurate and attentive shots.
So, when you are next building for a videography project, make sure you kit yourself out with all of the above tips and tricks – you will soon find your job becomes much easier!
Wow!- Mmm
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