Videography for Beginners
December 31, 2020
Image credit: Carlos Mitsuo Tanaka Junior
Videography offers endless creative possibilities. And as a medium, video has never been more popular. But beyond hitting the ‘record’ button, where do you begin?
Fortunately, you can create great quality videos with surprisingly simple gear – and some essential videography how-tos.
Whether you want to start a vlog or live stream, produce videos for your business, become a professional filmmaker or simply record your life in motion, our Videography for Beginners guide will help you to get up and running.
Start learning how to make videos look professional with our beginner videography tips and tricks.
Pre-Production: Shot List, Script & Storyboard
Before you pick up your camera, know your intent. What is it that you’re filming – a vlog, interview, tutorial, promotion, performance, documentary, narrative…? How do you want it to affect your audience?
Every video needs some kind of introduction and conclusion, which is where a script and storyboard come in handy. These will help you to plan your required shots, how you’ll capture them and how they’ll fit together, giving you an idea of equipment and editing requirements.
Finally, where will the video be displayed? Your output platform, be it YouTube or social media, will often determine things like resolution and frame rate.
Pre-Production: Gear
The basic goal when filming video is to capture well lit and composed shots with clean, clear audio. Much of that depends on the equipment you use and how you set it up.
Camera
Nearly all digital cameras capture video. Large-sensor compact cameras are a great step up from smartphones, and action cameras are perfect for getting point-of-view footage.
However, interchangeable-lens DSLR and mirrorless cameras offer the best combination of quality, versatility and control. Cameras like the Sony ZV-E10 interchangeable lens camera offers versatility because it lets you change lens depending on your vlog setup.
What to Look for in a Video Camera
- Comfortable handling
- Ease of use
- Colour output that you like the look of
- A larger sensor (for better indoor and low-light performance)
- Minimum Full HD or, better still, 4K resolution
- A choice of different frame rates
- Flip screen (if you want to shoot vlogs)
and if you want to shoot while on the move (such as for events or travel vlogs):
- a compact, durable design
- in-body image stabilisation (IBIS)
Popular Video & Vlogging Cameras
Lenses
Choose a lens or lenses that covers a suitable focal range:
- 24-35mm equivalent for location and other wide-angle shots or vlogs
- 35-85mm equivalent for portraits, interviews, products and other medium shots
- 85-200mm equivalent for close-ups
A bright prime lens, all-round zoom lens and telephoto zoom lens together cater for most videographers’ needs. But you can always start with one or two lenses and acquire more as your skills develop.
Popular Video Lenses
Image credit: Frame Harirak
Tripod or Gimbal
To keep your video footage steady, a sturdy tripod is a must. Tripods are great for interviews, pieces to camera, indoor vlogs and other static shots, as well as for panning and tilting. A ball head will suffice for static frames, but a video head is recommended for pans or tilts.
If you’re shooting handheld consider using a gimbal, which can eliminate the tiniest of movements to make your shots look professionally smooth.
Tip
To save your camera’s battery, turn on in-camera image stabilisation (IS) only if required (i.e. when shooting handheld).
Location or Backdrop
Simple, uncluttered backdrops generally work best. Ideally, choose something that contrasts with your subject.
Using a real environment (like an office interior or outdoor space) as your backdrop generally involves less setup than using an artificial one. Real backgrounds are also a good way to add depth, context, and atmosphere to your video.
On the other hand, artificial backgrounds—such as a collapsible screen or a roll of paper—allow you to create a clean, consistent look throughout multiple recordings. With a green screen, you can also replace the background in post-production (a technique known as chroma keying).
Tip
Keep a decent distance between your subject and background. This prevents shadows from falling onto the background. It also makes it easier to blur the background, which in turn keeps the attention on your subject.
Image credit: Sharon McCutcheon
Lighting
Lighting is often what separates amateur from professional-looking video. It also serves as a powerful storyteller and mood-setter, so it’s important to get right.
What’s ‘right’ will vary depending on your creative goals. But a good starting point is soft lighting that creates dimension and flatters subjects’ features.
Natural Light
Natural light can be one of the easiest and most effective lighting sources for video.
If recording indoors, shoot somewhere with plenty of natural light – e.g. near a large window.
If recording outdoors, try shooting on a cloudy day or using a large diffuser to soften harsh direct sunlight. Alternatively, aim to shoot at ‘Golden Hour’: the hour around sunrise or sunset.
Artificial Light (Continuous LED)
LED lighting is the ideal solution for a studio or low-light setting, like interiors or evening scenes.
If you’re filming in one place it’s good to have at least one large, powerful light, such as a fresnel, which is easy to modify to create your desired effect.
For out-and-about shooting (e.g. events, travel vlogs), on-camera lights are your best bet. On-camera LED panels are lightweight, simple to use and usually include a diffuser.
1-Point Lighting
2-Point Lighting
3-Point Lighting
1, 2 & 3-Point Lighting
3-point lighting is the industry standard in videography, though you can get good results using either one or two.
Start with one light (the main or ‘key’ light); this way you can easily see how the light falls relative to your subject and redirect, reposition or modify it accordingly.
Then add another light or a reflector to fill or brighten shadows, if desired.
Finally (and optionally), add a back light behind your subject and slightly to one side. This will help your subject stand out from the background.
First image: 1-point lighting using natural light
Second image: 2-point lighting using natural light plus a reflector opposite to fill in shadows
Audio
Quality audio is essential to video – even more so than a quality picture.
Your camera’s on-board microphone will do an adequate job. However, an external microphone (mic) will produce far superior results.
Two of the most versatile options are shotgun microphones (ideal for recording close subjects and minimising ambient noise) and lavalier (lav) or lapel microphones (ideal for interviewees and speakers who are moving, such as at weddings or on film sets).
If you don’t have an external mic, it’s possible to improve audio quality by controlling the environment. Choose a quiet location with consistent sound, and try to eliminate any humming noises (like from electrical appliances).
For more advice on choosing cameras, lenses, lighting, microphones and other essential video gear, check out our Video Buying Guide.
Production: Camera Settings
Once your equipment’s ready to go, it’s time to dial in your settings.
One of the key lessons of Videography 101 is to maintain your settings once they’re selected. This will prevent any inconsistencies (e.g. in exposure, colour balance or image quality) that will either spoil the end result or complicate the editing process.
Resolution
Video resolution refers to the number of pixels in each frame. More pixels equals higher resolution, which means superior image sharpness, clarity and detail (as well as bigger file sizes).
Generally, your client or intended delivery platform (e.g. YouTube, social media) will determine which resolution to use. 1080p (Full HD) is the most commonly used, though 4K (Ultra HD) videography is growing in popularity and demand.
Do I need to shoot in 4K?
If you’re not sure whether to shoot in 4K or Full HD, here’s a few things to consider:
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Advantages of 4K |
Possible Disadvantages of 4K |
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|
Aspect Ratio
Aspect ratio is the ratio between the recording frame’s length and width. While the film industry uses a variety of aspect ratios (including 1.33:1 or 4:3, 1.78:1 or 16:9, 1.85:1 or 37:20, and 2.35:1 or 21:9 anamorphic), videographers typically use 16:9 (widescreen HDTV).
Orientation
Where will your video be displayed – on a computer, TV/projector screen, or mobile phone?
In most cases landscape (horizontal) orientation is preferable, but portrait (vertical) orientation works best for some social media.
Frame Rate
Frame rate (measured in fps or simply p) is the number of frames recorded or played per second. It affects the appearance of motion and how ‘real’ the footage looks. The filmmaking industry’s standard display frame rate of 24p is considered the slowest at which motion can be perceived as natural.
Generally, the faster the action that you’re filming, the faster your recorded frame rate should be.
If you want to create slow motion, shoot frames at a rate faster than you plan to display them. The more the recording speed exceeds the play speed, the slower the slow motion.
Frame rate standards vary based on industry and region (America uses the NTSC system while Australia, Europe and parts of Asia use PAL), though they’re less defined when it comes to online videos.
Here’s a quick guide to popular frame rates and their uses:
|
NTSC |
PAL |
Common/Suitable Uses |
|
24p |
25p |
|
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30p |
25p |
|
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60p |
50p |
|
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120p |
|
|
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240p |
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Shutter Speed & The 180° Shutter Rule
Your chosen frame rate helps decide your required shutter speed.
To keep any motion looking realistic, your camera needs to keep a 180° shutter angle. In other words, your shutter speed should equal:
1
___________
frame rate x 2
e.g. If you’re using a frame rate of 25 fps your shutter speed should be 1/50 sec. Any slower and the footage will look blurry; any faster, it will look like a stop-motion animation.
There are, of course, exceptions this rule – a key one being when you want to record and play back footage at the same fast frame rate.
Exposure
Once your shutter speed is set, you can adjust your other exposure settings to control how much of the shot is in focus and how bright your footage will be.
Aperture
To brighten your shot and blur your background (which helps to concentrate focus on your subject), use a wider aperture (small f-number).
Try an aperture setting around f3.5, which should capture enough of your subject sharply while blurring the background.
ISO
Set your ISO to auto or raise/lower your ISO manually until you’re happy with the exposure.
Using Your Histogram
Camera screens can make shots look brighter or darker than they really are. So to work out whether your shot is too dark (underexposed) or too bright (overexposed), it’s best to check your camera’s histogram. (For instructions on how to do this, check your camera’s manual.)
As shown in the first example below, a histogram that’s skewed towards the right-hand side indicates overexposure. On the other hand, a histogram skewed towards the left (as in the second example) indicates underexposure. A fairly evenly distributed histogram indicates that your exposure is well balanced.
Use your camera’s histogram to accurately gauge whether your shot is over, under or evenly exposed
Focusing
Autofocus (AF) mode is ideal for videos of moving subjects (such as out-and-about vlogs, travel videos etc). If you’re filming people, Face or Eye Tracking (available in some camera models) helps to keep the features of the main person on screen sharp.
For static compositions like interviews or pieces to camera, manual focus (MF) can be a more reliable option. Unlike AF, which makes constant readjustments that can make a stationary subject drop in and out of focus, MF keeps focus exactly where you set it.
White Balance
As mentioned above, it’s really important to maintain consistent white balance throughout your videos, or you’ll end up with constant colour changes.
This is hard to do when (a) you’re recording in changing light, such as under passing clouds and (b) your white balance is set to Auto (AWB) mode.
One solution is to keep your lighting as constant as possible (e.g. shoot in the shade). However, this may not be possible or desirable for your project.
The other is to set a specific or custom WB setting that matches your light source or desired aesthetic – e.g. daylight WB for natural tones or tungsten WB for a cool look. Keeping your WB setting consistent makes it much easier to make corrections when editing.
Tip
Ideally the colour temperature of all your lights and cameras should match. This ensures consistent colour in each frame and recording, making editing much easier.
Sound Recording
While you can use the auto sound recording settings on your camera, you’ll get better results using manual ones.
Set your microphone’s (or microphone receiver’s) audio level to the lowest that your camera can pick up. This will help maximise the quality of your sound and ensure a comfortable listening experience for your audience.
It’s fine for the audio levels to peak at 0 occasionally. However, audio levels that stay around the 0 mark indicate high levels of distortion and should be turned down.
Image credit: Clay Banks
Production: Composition
Composition, or how you choose to frame what you’re filming, is one of the most fundamental videography tips and tricks. Composition isn’t just about making your shots look balanced and pleasing; it’s also about directing the viewer’s eye and articulating your message.
Camera to Subject Distance
Avoid placing your camera too close to your subject, as this can cause unwanted distortion. It’s always better to shoot a short distance away then, if possible, optically zoom in with your lens.
The Rule of Thirds
One tried-and-true way to make your composition aesthetically pleasing is to follow the Rule of Thirds. To do this, turn on your camera’s gridlines or imagine the frame being split into a 3x3 grid. Then place the most important element/s on one of the gridlines or intersections.
Interviews and documentaries are often filmed with the speaker off to one side (e.g. on the left or right third, as above).
However, if recording one person speaking directly to the camera, like in a vlog or tutorial, it’s good to frame them centrally but with their eyes on the top third (as in the last image below). This is most comfortable for the viewer, and resembles speaking to someone at eye level. Too high (below, first) and the frame appears cramped; too low (below, second) and the top of the frame appears empty.
Production: Recording
Once you’re happy with your lighting, audio and composition, it’s time to start recording.
Follow your storyboard or shot list as you shoot so you don’t forget anything, and always shoot more than you need. Not all of your footage will be usable so it’s essential that you have backup.
B-Roll
On top of that, be sure to shoot some B-roll – i.e. cutaway footage of scenes or elements related to your primary (A-roll) footage. B-roll helps add context and interest to your final edit and is really useful for concealing any cuts.
Post-Production (Editing)
Editing your videos (post-production) is optional for most beginners. But it’s a must if you want to combine shots (like A-roll and B-roll) and get polished results that match your creative intentions.
There’s a wide range of video editing software programs available, including Adobe Premiere, Da Vinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, and iMovie, that are easy to use and in some cases free.
Image credit: Francisco Moreno
Wrap-up
We hope our Videography for Beginners guide gives you the knowledge and confidence to take your videos to the next level.
As with anything, the best way to hone your videography skills is to practise. Shoot at every opportunity, experiment with different settings and subject matter, and start sharing your work with the world.
Want more videography tips and tricks?
Got questions about gear?
Feel free to get in touch or message us in the comments below.