by The Green Fairy

Created on: March 18, 2009   Last Updated: March 22, 2009

Here are some tips on how to shoot home video, and do it well. There is an incredible amount of poor home video out there and more being shot every day. Much of it stays on the tape and is never watched, and a lot more is used to bore friends and family to near death. My family have been shooting home videos for over a decade - we're not professionals and only have one basic digital video camera, but our videos are shown over and over. We don't have all the answers, but we've learned a few things.

1. Keep the camera steady. You don't need a tripod, but you do need a reasonably steady hand and the ability to maintain good balance even when walking. When you are filming it makes sense to find a surface to rest the camera on, or your elbows, to help reduce wobble. You don't need to keep it rock steady - modern movie technique includes a little bit of wobble.

2. Change perspective. Just because you only have one camera doesn't mean you have to shoot the subject from only one angle. If you're videoing a wedding you want lots of different angles of the bride and groom. Walk around and take a few seconds of footage from lots of different positions. It might feel like overkill but it will look better when you edit it together.

3. Don't zoom and out a lot. Let me immediately contradict that - you do want lots of shots from different levels of zoom - close-ups and more distant shots. What you don't want is lots of footage while you are zooming in and out. Like all effects, used sparingly it works well, but overused it become irritating and loses its value.

4. Use different heights. Try to get as high as can you over your subjects, even lifting the camera over your head. Get down low and shoot from ground level. It doesn't matter if the footage turns out to be useless and is erased - if you don't shoot it you won't know what it looked like.

5. Have people talk to camera. This is a great trick I learned from a friend. It's frustrating when you are watching a video and someone in the room is giving live commentary about what's happening. Get those on the video to give the commentary. It only needs to be someone saying a few words every now and again - "here we are at San Diego zoo" - that sort of thing.

6. Watch how TV and film is shot. Next time you watch TV look at the use of camera angles, the length of each shot, the use of zoom and other techniques. If you want to improve your shooting technique you can learn from the professionals from the comfort of your own armchair.

For more ideas about making your home video, take a look at: Home video editing: do's and don'ts.

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