So if you have no crew, how do you get sound? Typically on a production, there's a sound assistant holding a boom to get the microphone in place. Instead you can...

• Use a lavaliere. These small microphones clip to your shirt, jacket or tie. Down side is, they're visible.
• Hand hold the microphone. The type of production you're doing will tell you whether you can get away with this news-reporter type technique.
• Use a microphone stand. Any medium sized music store will be happy to sell you a boom microphone stand designed for guitar players that allow you to position the microphone horizontally and vertically.
• Hang it from the ceiling. Wrap the cable around your chandelier or put a hook in the ceiling.
• Gaffer's tape it to the back of a chair, a plant, etc.

After setting up your background and lighting, you're going to want to roll some tape and look at it -- preferably on a well-adjusted, full-sized television monitor.

Make sure there are no trees or lamp posts growing out of your head, that the highlights aren't blown out, that the cable from your microphone isn't in the shot, and that the focus is set the way you want it to be for your shot.

Sometimes there's no need to go to great lengths to videotape yourself. There's a whole new genre of holding-the-camera-backwards-at-myself video, from The Blair Witch Project to the Hong Kong action extravaganza So Close. This current popular culture imaging is timely right now, it might not be next year. A hand held camera pointed backwards at the operator can give a real and intimate feeling to a video letter or a travel piece. It gives an informal air to autovideobiography that a static shot from a tripod lacks. To do this technique best, you'll want to have your zoom setting at its widest angle.

Sometimes it's just you and the camera, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to get the job done. Some simple tools along with a little know-how and common sense will guide you through being the talent, key grip, gofer, sound AND cameraperson.

Contributing Editor Kyle Cassidy is a video artist and network engineer and co-author of Enterprise Internetworking and Security.