Shooting Video Tomorrow!

I'll be shooting some interviews for a customer of mine tomorrow. It should be pretty fun, especially because most people I'll be interviewing are new to being in front of the camera and they get really uneasy about it. I have to figure out a way to calm them down and get them to be themselves. Sometimes it's fun to see people be chatty and once the camera turns on they freeze up and stop speaking.

I think what does it to people is the camera lens. Its like looking into a black hole that will suck your brains out. Here's an example:

I can't allow you to do that Dave....

Just kidding. Its not as bad as that. Its more like this:

I can't allow you to do that Dave...

Still, it's quite a brain sucking sight. I think what causes people to freeze is the thought that what ever gets caught on camera will permanently be displayed to for everyone to see, forever. FOR-EV-ER! FOR-EV-ER! Especially since a lot of people don't understand video editing and how you can turn mediocre interviews into something reasonably watchable. Editing really can save a lot of problems, but not all. 

You always here people joke that "They can fix it in Post!". That might be true in some cases, but not all. Imagine a machine that has a place to put 'Stuff' in and a opening where 'Stuff' comes out. Filmmaking is very similar. You put good 'Stuff' in, like good audio & good video footage, you'll get good 'Stuff' video out. But when you put bad video/audio in the machine, you can only get a reasonably rearranged amount of bad audio/video back. You shouldn't expect miracles in post, just improvements.

I like to try and fill the machine with the good stuff. Don't get me wrong, sometimes there are days where I put poorly shot video and audio in the machine. But I try to keep the quality of my work high, but I know I can improve. 

I think we can all improve our talents in some way. How do you improve your talents? Practice? Training? Classes? Let me know in the comments below!

-The Everyday All Nighter