question/need advice

RedCaineForNova · July 15, 2006

Hey im 18, I'm going to shoot a music video tomorrow..just messing around with some friends. I know its pretty sad but im going to be shooting with a sony trv350, I wish I had a muchh better camera but whatever, I can't afford one. Anyone have any advice to make it look as good as I can with that camera? thanks

David Mullen ASC · July 15, 2006

Hey im 18, I'm going to shoot a music video tomorrow..just messing around with some friends. I know its pretty sad but im going to be shooting with a sony trv350, I wish I had a muchh better camera but whatever, I can't afford one. Anyone have any advice to make it look as good as I can with that camera? thanks

I know you're only 18, but you're sort of putting the cart before the horse. You can't really decide how to technically shoot something until you have a creative approach you are trying to accomplish.

For example, I could say "shoot at the long end of the zoom at a wide f-stop (use low-light or use an ND filter) to reduce depth of field to a more pleasant level" -- but what if creatively the best way to shoot this particular video was to get in close, handheld, with wide-angle lenses and a ton of depth of field?

What will make your video look "good" is a strong creative vision for the piece. Especially if your camera isn't naturally good at "beauty shots" compared to 35mm, lets say -- you have to think bold, come up with very strong graphic visuals, have interesting ideas. Then solve the technical problems in achieving these creative ideas. Until you decide that, you can't really pick a color, a filter, a lens, a location, a light, etc.

Brian Dzyak · July 15, 2006

Hey im 18, I'm going to shoot a music video tomorrow..just messing around with some friends. I know its pretty sad but im going to be shooting with a sony trv350, I wish I had a muchh better camera but whatever, I can't afford one. Anyone have any advice to make it look as good as I can with that camera? thanks

Way back when I was still in school, I had to shoot a project using a "consumer" camera. At that time, they weren't even as good as what is available now. I learned that if I poured a decent amount of light onto my subject (when shooting day interiors), even that "cheap" camera could turn out a fairly decent image for what it was. I'm not talking about plugging in a 5K to shoot a closeup. Something akin to 500kw Lowell. I think that most "home" videos look terrible due to A) poor lighting conditions and B) poor operating.

I don't know what kind of shots your project will need, but take a little extra time to concentrate on lighting and definitely use a quality tripod (if applicable) for steady images and professional looking pans and tilts. Avoid the home movie zoom if possible. And as David alluded to, try to use bold images and colors. If you're shooting day exterior, look to use a brilliant blue sky with big puffy white clouds instead of a flat gray sky. Have your talent wear bright bold reds, greens, blues, or greens instead of grays or blacks that blend into a background.

Write back when you're done and let us know how it went. Good luck!

RedCaineForNova · July 22, 2006

thanks for your advice! We haven't shot the video yet because my brother lost the battery charger :angry: . ahh im so mad. But we still are going to shoot it once I get another charger. After we make the video i'll put it up on youtube.com so you all can tell me what you think of it!

Robert Hughes · July 22, 2006

Way back when I was still in school ... I learned that if I poured a decent amount of light onto my subject (when shooting day interiors),... Something akin to 500kw Lowell.

Now that's a decent amount of light out of a Lowell! Did it peel your wallpaper? :rolleyes: