TRICK OF THE TRADE

A couple of weeks ago I worked with a very good RAAF photographer on a defence job. She posed the seemingly easy question, "what makes good hand held video work?"  Creative filming gets to be an intuitve thing after a few years. You don't give it that much thought. So what does set a professional apart from a newbie youtuber and their wobblecam?

For a start just that. Professional cameras don't wobble. Even moving angled arty shots are calculated for effect and are held steady - well as steady as you and your stabiliser allows!. My thing is that the camera does not zoom or pan unless there is specific action to follow or a bloody good reason to do so.  I learnt the art of photography first and took that to video cameras. Framing is the key and then allow the action to happen inside that frame. Film is after all just moving pictures. So I frame like a photographer and the pictures move as a bonus!

IMHO the best images are pretty much locked off shots. Look at the really cool photography on "Top Gear". The really arty stuff is all static and the cars zoom past, over, around, and are part of the lanscape. Lots of really good framing and focus pulls. Almost no panning or zooming in sight. Zooming especially is for framing alone! The best colour nature pics are locked off lanscapes with no movement.

A while ago I was idly wondering what made 1960s films look so different - mainly badly. It occured to me then that it was all about panning and zooming. 60's and 70's films and tv series seriously overused zooming to really awful effect. Now it's what makes them stand out. Think James Bond and the Professionals.

So the answer to the first question is movement. Just say no. Hold the camera as steady as you can and be a human tripod, no matter the angle.