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Videomaker Handbook

Handbook Companion

Welcome to the Web companion to the Videomaker Handbook! Here you'll find links to downloadable and/or streaming video clips that illustrate some of the techniques described in the Handbook itself. A video icon appearing on the title page of a chapter of the book indicates that one or more video clips can be found here to illustrate that chapter. Scroll down this page to the number of the chapter you're reading to find its associated clips. Click on the link to view the clip. We hope these short clips add to your understanding and enjoyment of the craft of videography.

Chapter 1: All About Lenses

Chapter 2: Filter Features: Camcorder Filters and How to Use Them

  • Polarizing filter - Shows the effect, reduced glare, of a polarizing filter. The image is shown before and during polarization as well as after the polarization is removed.
  • Neutral density filter - Shows the subtle effect, dimmer image, of the neutral density filter.

Chapter 3: The Magnificent Seven: Choosing a Video Format

  • Capturing DV - Shows screen shots of a popular software program as it is being used for capturing Digital Video to a computer's hard drive.

Chapter 4: Solar Panel Imaging: Secrets of the CCD

  • Outdoors - Shows examples of two types of poor outdoor color balance, and one balanced well.
  • Color balance indoors - Shows examples of two types of poor indoor color balance, and one balanced well.

Chapter 9: Degeneration: Limiting Signal Loss

Chapter 12: Try a Tripod

  • Pan-and-tilt arm - Shows a pan-and-tilt arm, a good feature for camcorder tripods.
  • Bubble level - Shows a bubble level, a good feature for camcorder tripods.
  • Adjustable pedestal - Shows an adjustable pedestal, a good feature for camcorder tripods.
  • Leg lock - Shows a screw-type leg lock, a good feature for camcorder tripods.

Chapter 14: Honing Your Ideas: From Concept to Finished Treatment

Chapter 16: Script Right: Video Screenwriting Tips

Chapter 22: Recruiting a Crew

  • Multicamera crew - Shows a multicamera crew in action, shot from over the shoulders of the director and technical director seated at their controls.

Chapter 23:

  • Shots from a marriage - Shows the types of shots possible when the videographer does a good job of scouting the location for good camera placement.

Chapter 25: Reflecting on Reflectors

  • Reflectors: daytime - An example showing the effects you can achieve with reflectors during the day.
  • Reflectors: nighttime - An example showing the effects you can achieve using reflectors during the night.

Chapter 26: The Power of Three Point Lighting

  • Three-point lighting - Shows the effects of each of the lighting instruments in a three-point lighting set up.

Chapter 27: A Dose of Reality: Lighting Effects

Chapter 31: Great Shots: the Art of Composition

  • Headroom - Shows images framed with proper headroom.
  • Leadroom - Shows images framed with proper leadroom.
  • Low angle - Shows the dramatic impact of a low angle shot, in this case a worm's-eye view of a car pulling away.
  • High angle - Shows the dramatic impact of a shot taken from a position high over the shoulder of the talent.

Chapter 32: It's Your Move

  • Handheld pan right - Shows the technique for panning right with a handheld camera.
  • Handheld tilt up - Shows the technique for "tilting up" with a handheld camera.
  • Handheld tilt down - Shows the technique for "tilting down" with a handheld camera..
  • Handheld pedestal up - Shows the technique for "raising the pedestal" with a handheld camera.
  • Handheld dolly in - Shows the technique for "dollying in" with a handheld camera: moving the camera toward the subject.
  • Truck - A "truck right" move followed by a "truck left." These are executed using an inexpensive dolly on PVC pipe track.
  • Dolly - Shows a "dolly in" and a "dolly out": moving a camcorder toward and away from the subject, here using an inexpensive dolly on PVC track.
  • Shooting from a vehicle - Shows how shooting from a vehicle adds dynamism to a shot. In this shot, both the subject and the camera are moving.

Chapter 33: It's All About Direction

  • Diction bad and good - An example each of talent using bad, then good, diction.
  • Poorly directed talent - Shows nervous talent giving wandering and unfocussed presentation. He is badly in need of direction.
  • Well-directed talent - Shows well-directed talent confidently giving a concise presentation.
  • Multicamera TD - Shows the work of the technical director of a multicamera shoot, from a perspective over his shoulder. We see his preview monitor to the left and his "on air" monitor to the right.
  • Multicamera director - Shows the director of a multicamera shoot giving directions.

Chapter 35: Looking Good: Makeup and Clothing Tips for Video

  • Makeup female and male - Shows a woman applying her own makeup; then someone applying powder to the shiny forehead of male talent.
  • Shirts good and bad - Shows shirts good and bad for video. Avoid clothing with checks or other small patterns, and the color red, which tends to "bleed" on TV sets.
  • Broken nose makeup - Shows the use of special effect makeup to create an artificial broken nose on the talent.
  • Artificial wound makeup - Shows the use of special effect makeup to create an artificial wound on the talent's face.

Chapter 37: Move Over MTV

Chapter 39: The Art of the Edit

  • Diagram and animated titles - An example of a diagram made for video, followed by some examples of animated titles.
  • Compositing - Shows two shots made by compositing in After Effects. What appears to be a cover of Videomaker Magazine is actually a composite, made up of layers of text, a photo and the Videomaker logo. In the second shot, the host is composited over the cover, and the shadow he casts on it is similarly a creation of the compositing software.
  • Two tools for compositing - Compositing using Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects.
  • Cut out the bad - Chuck explains the fundamental reason to edit video.
  • Timelines, storyboards and titling - Explains the difference between timeline and storyboard editing programs, and gives some titling tips.
  • Dissolve - The dissolve transition, a special effect commonly found in consumer video mixers and editing software.
  • Clock wipe - The clock wipe transition, a special effect commonly found in consumer video mixers and editing software.
  • Baby stills - Sequence of stills of bride and groom as children build anticipation.
  • Ceremony preparation - Shots taken before the ceremony build anticipation.
  • Reception stop action - Use of stop action saves unsteady camera work.

Chapter 40: Linear vs. Nonlinear Time Trials

  • Fast ad, slow documentary - Shows a fast-paced Videomaker ad, a good production for a nonlinear system, followed by a slow-paced ducumentary, a good candidate for a linear editing system.
  • Fast paced edit - Shows a fast-paced edit ("Thunderpaw") a forte of nonlinear systems.

Chapter 43: Titles: From the Simple to the Sophisticated

Chapter 45: In the Audible Mood: Sound Effects and Music, Evocative, Legal and Inexpensive

  • Galloping horse sound effect - Clapping coconut shells before a microphone creates the sound effect for a galloping, though somewhat halting, horse.
  • Fire sound effect - Crackling cellophane paper before a microphone creates the sound effect for a roaring fire.
  • Rain sound effect - Spilling rice onto sheet metal creates the sound effect for rain.
  • Thunder sound effect - Rattling sheet metal creates the sound effect for thunder.

Chapter 48: Commercial Distribution: Mapping Your Way to Financial Success

  • Three interviews - Interviews with three videographers, using different methods of distribution: direct sale, leased access channels, and broadcasting.

Chapter 55: Top Tools for Streaming Internet Video

  • MPEG download - An MPEG-1 clip downloads, and begins playing after a large portion of it has arrived.
  • Encoders in use - Shows screen shots from the use of Windows Media Encoder and RealProducer as they encode video clips for streaming.

Chapter 56: How Do I Shoot Video for Streaming?

Chapter 58: Slide into "Thin Streaming"

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