Tips for Capturing Great Video

1) Be prepared

• Create a storyboard and shotlist.

I strongly encourage future film makers out there to always always prepare your storyboard. That is MOST important. Compared to shotlist, it can always changed because sometimes we will get new idea or scrap our usual idea when we were in the location of the shooting. But by having storyboard, you will know what you should do. What kind of flow you want for your video. Storybold hold your stories together and go to one direction. 

2) Opening Establishing Shot

• Begin with what is called an establishing shot. Its a shot of location where the action is going to take place. For example if we want to shoot a birthday party, we should have the panning shoot for the place or house where the party being held.

3) Change angles and positions

1. Viewers will be easily bored if we stuck at the same position for entire video production. 
2. Change position and angle whenever necessary to convey impactful message to viewers.

4) Shoot close

• Shoot close to our subjects. More background in the back makes it less appealing. Better if we can blur out the background to make our subject looks more stand out.

5) Don't forget the background

• Keep it simple
• Make sure there is no distraction background behind our subject too.

Check that objects don’t look like they’re growing out of your subject 

6) Get clear,steady footage

• Avoid zoom in and out. Let the actors provide the motion.
• Use our camera movement for a purpose. Plan what kind of panning and tilting that will be suitable to convey the message to viewers.
• Use tripod or stabilizer too.

Here are two video tips for stabilizer if we don't have any stabilizer .

7) Capture Candid Shot 

• Make your subjects feel comfortable and relaxed by talking and interacting with them 
• Try to be discreet 
• Take still images with a digital camera so you can incorporate the still images into your movie 

8) Composition

• Make sure all parts of your shot work together -- the subject, background, color, and lighting 
• Position your subject off center for a more interesting shot 
• Make sure there is no unnecessary space around the subject 

9) Capture the complete story

• Press “Record” about 5 seconds prior to the action starting and let the camera run about 5 seconds after the action stops 
• Keep each and every short steady for at least 10 seconds. 
• 15 second rule: When shooting for b-roll*, try to shoot at least 15 seconds of video. This makes editing it into smaller segments easier. 
• Capture an establishing shot at the beginning of each scene 

10) Shooting for B-roll

• B-Roll is a supplementary footage shown during a production. 
• It can make telling your story much easier and compelling with added footage. It is often used to enrich a story.
• B-roll can include the following: 

• Video footage  

• Graphical elements (Charts, diagrams etc.) 

• Photographs 

• Animation

How long should a shot be? 

• 5 seconds minimum 
• 10 – 20 seconds is preferred 
• Get at least two shots (close-up and medium for example) of same spot before moving on. 
• Shoot from different angles at the same spot to prevent boredom.

This tips are only for guidance. As we learnt and explore and experimenting, we can shot a very great video too. Most important is to not be afraid to try something new and exploring/experimenting new technique. Another thing is we can always browse through alot of video examples from all over the world in internet. Be inspired and make our own version then!