5 creative camera angles for your next video

In the highly competitive filmmaking world, your work needs to stand out and speak for itself. 

To stand out, it’s essential that you’re able to tell your story differently than everyone else. One of the major ways you can do that doesn’t involve putting words to paper. The way you shoot your motion picture is one of the core storytelling techniques you need to utilize.

There are a few shots that just wouldn’t be possible without adequate camera support. We’ll cover five shots that will make your shots unique and the best kind of tripods you should be using to capture those shots.

The Professional Selfie

Anyone with a smartphone can shoot a selfie. But if you’re doing professional video, which includes higher-end YouTube videos, a smartphone isn’t going to cut it. You’ll want a real, dedicated camera, and with that, a microphone and maybe a light. With all this gear, it’s a bit more difficult to get a great selfie. Larger rigs are simply more difficult to hold backwards while keeping things framed properly.

Seasoned vloggers have discovered flexible tripods like the GorillaPod 3K PRO work pretty well as hand-held support, thanks to the legs’ ability to bend and curve to better point the camera backwards.

The Extra Wide shot

Timelapse is a great way to shoot an extra-wide establishing shot. If you’re looking for a visually dynamic way to establish a location or even a scene transition, shoot a landscape timelapse. Modern cameras make shooting timelapse easier than ever. Your only limitation is the amount of time you have to babysit your camera

One aspect of shooting timelapse that can be challenging is that sometimes the perfect angle means putting your camera in a not-so-convenient location. Even outside the risk of your camera getting bumped and having it fall, you might need to deal with wind, rain, dirt and dust.

To get a great wide-angle timelapse, go in prepared with gear that is durable and suited for the elements. 

The Hero Shot

The iconic hero shot will make any subject look grand and powerful. You achieve the hero shot by shooting up at your subject, making them bigger than life.

The hero shot is an incredible shot, but presents its own challenges. You have to shoot the hero shot from the ground. Often times the ground you’re shooting on is an uneven surface. This can be especially tricky if your subject needs to step over the top of the camera. In these cases, camera support that can stay low to the ground and still be super-stable is essential.

The Hidden Camera

When you’re really looking to get some unique shots, you need to think outside of the box with your camera placement. Put your camera someplace where cameras aren’t expected to be. You aren’t bound to places that are close to your subject either. If you use a long lens, you really open your placement options.

When we say “think outside of the box,” we mean it. Place your camera in a flower bed. Hang your camera from a rear-view mirror, in a tree, or even on top of a wall-mounted TV. The more creative you are with your camera angles, the more creative your cinematography will be.

Eye in the sky

Drones can get some high perspective shots, but aren’t necessarily needed to get those kinds of shots. You can shoot from high places to get a high perspective. Maybe you can shoot from a tall building. Hanging the camera between two ladders is a common solution. You can even put your camera in a tree. If you have a GorillaPod, you can wrap it around a lamp post or street sign. Just make sure it’s secure, or you’re in for an expensive accident.

Camera attached to a tree branch using a GorillaPod.

Always think creatively

Creative angles make videos more dynamic and interesting. You should try everything we mentioned above, but do it safely. You want to make sure your expensive camera isn’t going to fall and break.

While you may have a premium camera, you need the right support to get the best possible shots. The Joby GorillaPod 3K PRO RIG easily holds onto the A7, EOS R, and GH5, among others, to capture shots you simply couldn’t get without a rig.

It’s so flexible that it can be converted into a grip and be used for vlogging anywhere. It supports top-tier cameras and has flexible legs and ball joints that help assist you when you’re trying to get a level shot from uneven surfaces. With it, you can really get creative with your camera placements. You also don’t need to fret about your light and microphone placement. The RIG  can hold both a light and microphone in addition to the camera, allowing you to shoot anywhere at anytime of day.

The difference between a normal video and a great video often comes down to using dynamic camera angles. The more you be creative and experiment, the closer you’ll come to making your masterpiece.

JOBY
JOBY
Have fun. Create. At JOBY we believe in creation as an act of creativity.

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