DIY: How to make better videos

		Contents Introduction Camera movement Zoom lenses Autofocus Using light In-camera editing

Camera movement

Slow down
Because your head and eyes move quickly while looking over a large area, it's tempting to move the camcorder just as quickly. Unfortunately, this type of movement, called a whip pan, is disorienting to viewers. That's why horror movies and thrillers use it so often. When you pan (move the camera left or right) or tilt (move the camera up or down), do so slowly and steadily.

A good general rule for panning or tilting during a shot is to move the camcorder deliberately and at a snail's pace. It may feel too slow while shooting but won't look that way when you play it back.

Steady your shot
A shot looks far better when it doesn't shake -- anyone who's experienced motion sickness watching The Blair Witch Project will testify to that. The best way to eliminate shakes while still having some freedom of camera movement is to use a tripod.

Tripods come with a pan head, which lets you pan or tilt the camcorder. Just about every tripod has telescoping or collapsible legs and an elevator section, which extends the pan head above the legs. With this feature, you can set up the shot exactly as you would like.

Tripods start at around AU$30, which will get you a cheap desktop model that raises the camera only a foot or two off the ground. The more expensive the tripod, the more stability it has and the smoother the pan head will be.

Unfortunately, tripods are yet another bulky piece of equipment to carry, and they take a few minutes to set up and break down. If you don't carry a tripod, find a flat, stable surface such as a table or a wide ledge to set your camcorder on. This won't give you a tripod's freedom of movement, but at least your shots will be steady.

Use both hands
If you decide to skip the tripod and opt to shoot handheld, hold the camcorder steady. Image stabilisation is built into most current consumer camcorders. It's designed to compensate for the slight shakiness you get when shooting one-handed with a small camcorder. However, image stabilisation can't fix excessive camera shake, so try these tips for steadier handheld shooting:

• Don't hold your camcorder by the handgrip alone; rest your other hand on the side opposite the grip or on the flip-out monitor to keep the camcorder steady.
• Tighten the handgrip's strap so that your shooting hand is flush against the camcorder.
• Walk and move slowly and carefully, as if you were trying to balance a book on your head.