DIY: How to make better videos

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

In-camera editing

Short and sweet
More than anything else, what makes the average home video boring is that it's just a bunch of long scenes with no point. And face it, you're probably not going to sit in front your computer for hours editing your vacation footage into a masterpiece. Instead, with a bit of discipline, you can edit your video as you shoot it, catching only those parts that viewers will find interesting:

• Don't introduce people on tape by walking around the room with the camcorder running. Instead, set the camcorder up in a specific spot, then invite everyone to come over and introduce themselves on camera for ten seconds or so.
• Shoot only the highlights of an event. For instance, the highlights of a birthday cake scene are bringing in the cake while everyone sings, blowing out the candles, and maybe cutting the first piece. Shoot that and nothing more until everyone has their cake and is settled. By applying this reasoning to all events, you can make your videos more interesting.
• If two people are having a conversation, compose a shot of both of them talking (in film parlance, a two-shot). Don't try zooming in and out or panning around to catch whoever's talking at the moment. You won't be able to keep up, and your camera work will make people seasick.
• If one person is doing most of the talking and the other is listening, you can emphasise the importance of the talker and still include the listener by what's called a favouring shot. This is a camera angle that puts the talker closer to the lens than the person listening but that shows both.

Know when to stop
Shoot continuously only when your subjects are doing something interesting and you can clearly see what's going on. Some occasions, such as people playing a fast-moving card or board game, have built-in excitement. If that's the case, angle your shot so that the viewer can clearly see the action and the participants.

If the activity is repetitive or unexciting, such as washing dishes, try this in-camera editing trick instead: First, shoot a 10- to 15-second shot establishing who and where they are (called an establishing shot). Next, go to a closer angle that shows what they're doing for 20 seconds to 30 seconds (cutaway). Then go back to the establishing shot for 10 seconds to 15 seconds. You can repeat the series a couple times, slightly varying the cutaway and establishing shot angles, until you feel you have enough of that scene. Then leave it be.

Tell a story
While nobody expects you to be Orson Welles, viewers are more likely to keep watching if they feel the video is telling a story; that is, it progresses logically from beginning to end. If you know what the video story is going to be, you can shoot the necessary scenes and skip the rest.

If you're shooting an event video such as a birthday party, it already has a preimposed story: guests show up and congratulate the birthday boy/girl, the birthday cake comes out, gifts are opened, then the guests play games or socialise. It's hard to go wrong if you keep that in mind while taping quick shots.

Vacations are also event videos, since most of the time, they tell the story of a journey to a specific place, such as Disneyland or the Grand Canyon. It's just that this event often takes more than one day.

If you're doing a video about family or friends in a nonevent situation, come up with a series of mini movies that tells viewers something about the participants. For instance, do you have a brother who likes fixing cars? Shoot him while he does that, explaining what he's doing and why. If you have children, show them playing their favourite game, colouring, or learning to walk.

With a little practice, all these tips can become habit. You'll be able to bring your camcorder along and document the important events in your life and have a viewable product in the end.