Tips for Directing Non-Professionals
Lights. Camera. Action. You hope. Directing professional talent isn't always easy, but they usually know their jobs. Directing non-actors requires a different set of skills. Directing non-professionals can be both rewarding and a real challenge. Whether it is the producer's daughter or the CEO of a Fortune 500...
Directing Children
W. C. Fields warned us all of the perils of working with children and animals. Children add a unique and challenging element to any video production. They can be wonderfully imaginative, yet turn around and be stubborn and non-cooperative. In this column, we will look at some tips on...
Cutting on Action
Every day on TV and in the movies, we see conventions of editing that build upon the hard work and genius of those who have come before. Actually breaking editing down into its constituent parts and figuring out how they work, however, can be very difficult. Although we...
Small Crew Directing
Someday, you may have to hire, beg, borrow or coerce some people to join you on your video adventure. Keep it friendly, stick with a plan and you - and they - will enjoy the trek. Summertime is a great time to shoot that special video. Load up...
Jennifer has tips on a difficult subject for some men... how to apply makeup on your talent.
Practice Makes Perfect
Artists, athletes and entertainers all know that the best way to become the best at what you do is to practice as often as you can. Why shouldn't video producers do the same? A lot of people buy or upgrade their camcorders for a specific event -- aunt Marge finally...
Making the Most from Outtakes
If you've been around video productions for any time at all, you know that Murphy was right. If something can go wrong, it will. If the camera is rolling (and hopefully, it is!), you've witnessed the creation of one of our industry's true joys: the outtake! So just what is...
You don't need puffy pants and a megaphone to be an assertive, successful director. But you do need to take control. Many readers tell us they want to direct but they don't want to be a director, whom they see as an egomaniac dictator wearing riding pants and yelling through...
Directing to Edit
As long as you edit your own shows, you can shoot any kind of footage you like, but if another editor handles post production for you, you have to deliver the materials to let the cutter do the job right. And even if you always do your own post,...