Getting Started: In-Camera Editing

Arthur Aiello
September 1999

Video production is most exciting when you do it by the seat of your pants. You can capture some great video with just a camcorder, a tripod and some guts o' steel. Today, we're going to take that seat-of-your-pants approach to the next level.

I'm talking about in-camera editing, a bare bones, stripped-down method for shooting a finished video program. It's editing without a safety net--without any decks, cables, computers, or other techno-video-toys. All you need is your camcorder. Call it "extreme editing." Trust me. It doesn't get more seat-of-your-pants than this.

In-camera editing is actually something of a misnomer. When you think of video editing, you probably think of a time when the shooting is over and you can put all the pieces of your program together at your leisure. Not so with in-camera editing. Why? Because in-camera editing requires you to edit while you shoot.

In fact, in-camera editing is not true "editing" at all. Instead, it refers to the process of shooting your program sequentially--each scene shot in order, and at the length that it will appear in the finished program--so that you have a complete program as soon as you are done taping.

While it is useful in just about any shooting situation, in-camera editing is really effective when shooting an event, i.e. something that you already want to shoot in sequence. In-camera editing is ideal for weddings, birthday parties and the like.

As with all extreme activities, in-camera editing leaves very little margin for error. Every shot must be right or the whole show's a bust. That means you need to do a lot more pre-production planning before you shoot, than you normally might. The order of your shots is especially important, as you must lay them down in their proper finished order. There are no second chances. Your shooting technique is also an issue, as botched shots and ruined transitions cannot be repaired after the fact.

Don't take my ominous tone too seriously, though. In-camera editing can be a lot of fun. Let's look at the process from start to finish to better understand it.

All programs require some planning, regardless of how you assemble them. However, since you will be shooting everything in sequence, a good plan is even more valuable to you. The heart of your plan is your shot sheet or storyboard. To begin, sit down with a pencil and a pad of paper, close your eyes and visualize your program from start to finish. As you do, jot down the shots you see in your mind's eye. A wedding, for example, might start out something like this:

• OPENING SHOT
  Fade up from black to a wide shot of the church from the street. Pan slowly from far left to far right. Show decorated limo parked in front of the vestibule.
• SHOT #2
  Cut to medium interior shot of the church. Pan slowly from right to left.
• SHOT #3
  Cut to close up of organist practicing wedding music before the service.

Continue with this process until you have written a sequential list of every shot in your finished program.

Now you can set up your shooting schedule. It may be that some program elements are only available to you at certain times.

If you're documenting a day in your life, say, then your family is central to your program and you will have to coordinate your shooting efforts around their schedules. Perhaps there are sets you need to treat. Shooting in your garage? You might have to clean up the clutter or maybe you'll need to trim your lawn for your shot

Go through your shot list and decide what shots you can get immediately and what shots you may have to wait for. You will end up turning your shot sheet into a shooting calendar, outlining the days and times you can get each of your shots in their proper order. Hopefully, you will be able to arrange shots in blocks that can be shot on the same day, so that your project doesn't stretch out into months.

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