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TWIF

As someone who has made working in the electronic media a lifelong adventure, I not only enjoy everything about producing video myself, I'm also an avid viewer of the moving images created by others. Watching their work, regardless of the source or the topic, is a great way to learn new techniques and styles, from the script to the final edit. A television commercial might give you new ideas for camera angles or composing a more interesting scene. A documentary can introduce you to a new lighting technique or editing approach.

As a teacher, I always remind my students to become more active participants in the videos they watch. Not only do I encourage them to learn from what they like, I remind them of what they can learn from what they dislike. A poorly produced video can be as good a learning tool as a top-notch production. Avoiding and learning from the errors of others can make your own work better and there's nothing wrong with using that to your advantage. Surprisingly, these errors often occur at the very basic level.

The same basic errors seem to pop up in video productions again and again. And we are all prone to making these mistakes. If you become a more active viewer of the video around you, then you'll start to notice these errors, too. The beauty is that all of these basic errors are also the easiest mistakes to overcome.

So what about this TWIF business? Simply remember TWIF whenever you begin a video …