Shooting for the Final Edit

Brian Pogue
November 2003

There's a big difference between a birthday party video and a Martin Scorsese film. It's not just the budget or the Hollywood stars, but also the techniques that the movie makers use. Where home videos document an event, often in real time, filmmakers take a different approach. They start with a concept of how their final product will look and then work toward those ends. They shoot their story with the final edit in mind; with every shot designed to fit in with the shots that surround it.

In this article you'll find some tips on shooting for the final edit. This advice may not land an Oscar on your mantle, but it will give your videos a more polished, professional look.

Unlike film, tape costs next to nothing. That being the case, use it - lots of it. Mini DV tape costs about a dime a minute, so don't be afraid to overshoot a scene. When you're shooting to edit, multiple takes should be the norm, and you should shoot the scene until it feels right. It's much less time-consuming to shoot extra angles of a shot than it is to struggle with trying to repair it in post production.

Variety is the spice of life, so shoot your scenes from multiple angles and elevations. Once you have a usable take with your standard shot, shoot the same scene again from a low or high angle. Try a take where you use lots of extreme close-ups or extreme wide shots.

Experiment with both hand-held and tripod shots. There are places for both, so see which one best suits the scene. Try several different speeds when panning and tilting. A nice, slow pan may feel right when you're shooting it, but it can turn out to be painfully long in the final edit. Experiment with using a movement that feels unnaturally fast. You may find that your uncomfortably quick pan is the shot that looks best.

Or, dump the movement altogether. Instead of tilting down to a man's hand as he picks up his coffee cup, shoot two different shots. One medium close up of the man's face, then a close-up of the cup as his hand grabs it. Editing these shots together can give the scene a different pace.

When shooting for the final edit, it is important to keep in mind the relationships between your individual shots. When pieced together they will need to flow seamlessly and give the impression that the onscreen action is instantaneous. The better your visualization of the final product, the easier it will be to tape the shots you need.

It's helpful to have a rough storyboard of your project. A storyboard is nothing more than a sequenced series of thumbnail sketches that represent your individual shots. The sketches don't need to be terribly detailed, just enough to show the basic framing and subject matter of each shot. You can also use a numbered list of brief shot descriptions.

Take your list or storyboard with you to your shooting location and check off the shots after you've completed them. This helps ensure that you won't get to the edit bay and realize that you're missing part of your scene.

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