Production Tips

When beginning to shoot your video, remember to use 3-point lighting as a minimum. Key light, fill light and back light. The camera can't see the subtle differences in light and shadow that the human eye can.
One thing that we didn't talk about in class is composition. If you can think of the video frame being superimposed with at tic-tac-toe grid, at each point where the lines cross are points where the center of interest should be placed. Always leave room for the actors to have a place to go in the frame. It's kind of like leading the actor. Don't let your subjects "push the edge of the frame."Avoid putting the center of interest of the image in the center of the frame. Watch good movies and television and see how the images are framed and use them as a guide for your own images.
The number one principle of film production is to use a good camera support such as a tripod. Avoid hand-held shots, they are annoying to your audience!
While we're not grading sound quality for this first attempt, do remember that sound is an important part of production. If you can, use a microphone that is closer to the talent so you pickup the dialog rather than all the room ambiance. As demonstrated in class, you can use a fishpole with a shotgun mic, a lapel mic that is hidden under the talent's clothing, or plant a microphone close to the talent and hidden in the set decoration.
I wish you success in your production efforts. Be sure to ask questions here if Brandon or I can help.