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15 Quick Tips to Videotaping Fireworks (page 2)

Try framing dark subjects so there is a rim light behind them from a porch light or street light. Make sure it doesn't spill on their faces, as it will wash out the glow from the fireworks.

After capturing the people, move away to get better sound. You'll hear the boom as the fireworks are blasted from the cannon, a great audio clue that the flare is on its way. Once you've seen a few blasts, you can anticipate where they'll end by following the tracers.

If you can, ask the pyro-expert beforehand where he thinks the blasts might go. Set up so you have no background lights at all, especially no moving lights like headlights. You'll want your black area as clean as possible for editing.

A one-hour tape should be enough for most shows. If you stop between blasts, begin recording on full black, before the flares enter the sky, Hold the shot until all sparkles have dissolved.

Stay wide at first to anticipate where the fireworks will land and keep them centered. Pay attention to the wind. If you're downwind, you might get smoke from the fireworks.

Unlike still shooting, after you've shot a few bursts, you can experiment with movement. Zoom in to one blast, until it fills the screen, then let it to go black. Hold the focal point zoomed in for the next shot; hopefully the next blast will fill the screen. Then zoom slowly out. This makes for fun cross-dissolving.

As I see a tracer beginning, I like to pan across the sky in hopes of capturing as I pan. Then I keep panning to black.

Try framing your shot so one burst lands in the lower left third of your screen and another in the upper right third. Then you can cross-dissolve them in the scene at the same time.

Vary your editing so it's not boring. Start with a few people shots, then cut to a closeup of a face, as a flare flashes. This cutaway bridges the wide twilight shot with the darker nighttime shots. Then let one blast fill the screen. As it fades out, but is not fully black, dissolve your next shot in. I like to edit scenes in odd numbers: three blasts followed by a cutaway of someone enjoying the show. Then several more blasts, etc. The Grand Finale is always your ending shot, perhaps with a closeup of the joyous look on a young child's face. Have fun!

Jennifer O'Rourke is an Emmy award-winning videographer & editor and Videomaker's Managing Editor.

View Videomaker's Tips & Tricks segment on videotaping fireworks here.

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