Sometimes the highest compliment an independent video contractor can get is; “You made that without a crew?”
Many years ago I had a coffee shop meeting with a highly experienced Producer from New York City to discuss plans for a documentary project. While going over my work and also going over work in which she wished for the documentary to emulate, the one question she kept repeating to me over and over during our interview was; “You can do this by yourself?” She made it no secret that she had doubts. She said that the smallest crew she had ever worked with on a project was twenty people. I assured her I could do the job and she hired me. Over the course of a few months the documentary was shot and it was all done with a crew of one.
I tell this story not to be pompous, but rather to share my simple methods of accomplishing what looks to be high production on a small budget. Producing video is a highly competitive industry. Not all of us can be a J.J. Abrams or Steven Spielberg. However, with video projecting to consume nearly 80% of the global Internet traffic by year 2020, there is a need for creative people to make all those videos! It might as well be you, if you have the will and creative means. When I say creative means, I mean, being creative with what you have both in ideas and in tools. In this post I am going to share with you four things I do on every shoot that my clients love.
Here is a video I was hired to shoot, edit, and produce that demonstrates all the practices I discuss in this post. The event was the Bike the Bricks race located in historic downtown McKinney, Texas.
Look for unique perspectives
Look for unique perspectives. Move around. Look at your subject from every possible angle. Get up high. Get down low. Get creative in how you see your subject and change up the perspective often.
For instance, in the Bike the Bricks video, by asking the event coordinators who hired me, I was able to gain access to the rooftop of a three-story building located in the center of the historic square. This vantage gave me 360-degree birds eye views of the bike racecourse, which resulted in unique footage that provided grate production value to my final video.
In addition, at other times I got my camera low to the ground shooting up at the bike racers as they flew by at high speeds giving yet another unique perspective not familiar with spectators; also providing production value.
Use the camera you have
This video was shot with four different cameras. The main camera was a four-year-old Sony Alpha A7s. The second camera was a nine-year-old Canon EOS 7D. The third camera was an eight-year-old GoPro Hero 3. The final camera was my three-year-old iPhone 6s Plus. That’s right! I used an iPhone on a paid professional shoot. Don’t tell my clients.😅
I want to share with you a secret that I have come to discover. Paying clients do not care what camera you shoot with. They only care about results. You can shoot with whatever you want as long as the final video images look beautiful, professionally made, and convey the message being told. None of my cameras are new and shiny. It’s the person behind the camera that makes the magic happen, not the camera. Use the camera you already have and with it, master the other principles mentioned in this post.
When watching the Bike the Bricks video, see if you can distinguish what footage was shot with which camera. Can you pick out which shots were taken with the iPhone 6s Plus?
Timelapse & Highspeed
I’m not going to take the time to explain timelapse and highspeed footage in this post. Searching these two terms on YouTube will result in hundreds of wonderful and useful tutorial videos. The message I want to convey is to use timelapse and highspeed in your project. Using timelapse footage in addition to highspeed footage adds tremendous value to your video and clients love it. Your client often feels as though you gave them a bonus by including timelapse and highspeed footage. The secret for success is to use it sparingly. Timelapse and highspeed shots change up the tempo of your video, creating yet another unique and interesting perspective. You do not need expensive camera equipment to create timelapse and highspeed footage. From the cameras I mentioned earlier, I used the GoPro Hero 3 to capture the timelapse footage and I used the iPhone 6s Plus to capture the highspeed footage in the Bike the Bricks video. Now you know which shots were captured with the iPhone.😉
Movement
Finally, move the camera. This one is a little bit more involved. I love camera movement and so do clients. When you move the camera you create great dynamic shots. Movement invokes emotion. Camera movement is a powerful technique to increase the production value of your project. The secret is to create smooth movement.
Creating smooth camera movement can be done in several ways. The most familiar ways that have been used by Hollywood filmmakers for over a hundred years are with dolly’s, jib’s, and similar big and expensive tools. More recently tools like the Steadicam, slider, and most recently, the 3 axis gimbal have made smooth camera movement far more accessible and affordable. The gimbal is the most affordable option and is what I use to get smooth motion shots. It is an additional investment, but there are 3 axis gimbals available to purchase for a smartphone for under $100. For the Bike the Bricks video, I used a more robust gimbal with my Sony Alpha A7s camera. Even so, the gimbal only cost me $400. With a little practice this small investment can add up to thousands of dollars in paid client work.
Conclusion
I am not a famous Hollywood director or famous commercial DoP (director of photography) nor do I anticipate being such, but I have shot thousands of hours of footage and I have learned from my experiences what really matters most to clients. My work has won various awards and for that I am grateful, but winning awards has never been my motivation. However, these awards do tell me that I am on the right track. What matters most to me, is that my clients are happy. Implement these four practices into your next project and see how much more dynamic and alive your next video becomes.
