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Film it Like a Pro.

I may not be good at videographing, but I know a lousy video when I see one. After watching these clips from my sister's friend, I was sure he/she must be first-timer in filming or never do video-editing before. I thought maybe I can point out five little tips based on those mistakes. It'll come in useful when you're doing some videographing for your company events, or even for your home videos! =)

Tip #1: Try not to pan too much: If you ain't clear with whats "panning", it means moving your camera left or right horizontally. I was watching about 1/2hr of clips and the videographer was perpetually doing fast panning. It may look ok in the small camera screen but when you view it on the big screen, its not. You can imagine how dizzy I got. And if you don't stop panning, the camera will not be able to focus, everything will be blur. heh heh. And when you pan, try to pan slowly. Combine it with zooming in or out.

Tip #2: Zoom smoothly: Practice the pushing of zoom button till you can do it smoothly. That means you will zoom in or out in one continuous motion at the right speed. It is easy and you should get it after you practice a few times.

Tip #3: Face away from the light source: This is similar when you are doing photography. If you are shooting indoor, don't point the camera outdoor. Everything will become black.

Tip #4: Don't be shy. Will you rather capture what you want clearly or have a buncha photographers and cameramen in front of you, taking up most of the space in the frame? Go right in front, position yourself close to your subject, especially if you are filming somebody giving speech. You want to capture what he/she is saying and his/her facial expression clearly. Try not to position from far and zoom. Remember when you zoom, any little movement will appear large on the screen. Unless you are using a tripod, any fidgiting will be disasterous.

Tip #5: Off the camera when you are not filming: Imagine how dizzy the video-editor will be when he/she watches the upside down clips, the ground, or parts of someone's legs later. Besides, switching off camera also saves your battery.

For beginners, these five tips will definitely improve your skills and you can learn more techniques from there on. Remember always have an idea of what you want to film, before you start shooting. No matter you're arrowed to do the filming, or you doing it for your club, do it nice, do it professional, do it pretty, everything do shui shui!

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