Beginner Video Making « Videomaker Community Forums

Snowdu3yahoocom
Member

Im a student in high school and i have to complete an exit exam project. I was going to make a skateboard,bmx, inlineskate video and i wondered if anyone has anyhelpful hints, tips, or tricks for a lowly beginner. Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

Posted 4 years ago #
Johnboy
Member

don't get caught up in transition effects, use simple cuts.

Posted 4 years ago #
Alainstamour
Member

Hi Snowdu3yahoocom,

That's great advice fromÂ Johnboy. Since 'extreme' sports like skateboarding, bmx etc, are already visually very interesting, you don't need to add a lot of special effects to make your videos stand out.

One suggestion I would have is to have at least two different shots of your action.

Example: someone doing a railslide on a skateboard. Sorry if I don't have the lingo anymore, I used to skate about a million years ago.

You would want to get an establishing shot of this railslide along with a different, probably closer shot of this railslide.

So what's an establishing shot? Basically it's a shot that captures the entire area, the rail, the concrete sidewalk at the top and bottom of the rail. Shooting an establishing shot provides context for the viewer so they know exactly where they are and what's going on.

Stick to the basics and your level and you will do great.Â Once you've gotten an A+ on your project, then you can play around and expand on your video skills.

Good luck!

In Solidarity,

Alain

http://www.crazyredacesproductions.blogspot.com/Â

Posted 4 years ago #
swat791
Member

Safety First! Don't put yourself in a position that you may get hurt or the person being taped gets hurt.

I still consider myself a beginner...I have done several hunting videos.
I use to try blend each scene with a transition...looking back it isn't good.

Watch a movie on the topic you are filming. You want to see what else everyone is doing to get an idea of what is good. When I say topic it would be anything having to do with extreme sports...skateboarding, surfing, BMX, etc...

Get on the ground and get some footage from low. Someone grinding on a rail you may position yourself at the end focus on the lastÂ foot ofÂ theÂ of rail, and as they come towards and past you your getting the board grinding. Those shots are pretty cool and easy to do.

Jump shots get the camera on a short tripod and off to one side just a little and have the person jump above the camera and about 2 feet away.

Just some things I would do.

Posted 4 years ago #
cdanddvdpublisher
Member

Get more footage than you'll ever use. If something goes wrong and you end up losing a segment then you want to have some backups available or you'll end up out there shooting again.

Posted 4 years ago #
jt4862
Member

I Support everything that has been said so far. Forget about fancy transitions, sports flicks and highlight reels use hard transistions most of the time anyway. Don't get all caught up in color correction, framerates and codecs. These will all come in handy once your post production skills increase. And definatly get more footage than what you think you will need even if you are not going to use it all. The more footage you have the more shot options you will have in post. One thing i think even a begginner can do with a shot in post is to have an establishing shot and then in post use your zoom tool and zoom in on a particular area of the same shot. This creates in my opinion a highlight area the lets the viewer know that there is something of importance happening, though this technique can degrade resolution if it is zoomed to much. hope this helps

Posted 4 years ago #
maxzilla
Member

Some slow motion and fish eye usually make for some good effects.

Posted 3 years ago #