Taos Multimedia

OK. You've written your script, got everything approved, organized everything and everyone, and now you're ready to shoot your video. Here are the major considerations for the video production stage.

Safety

Above all else, practice extreme safety measures such as making sure that wires are taped down, that lights have sandbags on them to prevent them from tipping over and other potential accidents are avoided.

Set-up and breakdown

If you're in an unsecured, public area, do what you have to do to secure your equipment when you bring it to the set and when you're done shooting. If it requires two or more trips to your auto so load or unload the equipment, get someone to help you or at least watch over the equipment until you are around to secure all of it.

A video is divided into three phases - pre-production, production and post production. Pre-production is the first of the three parts you need to consider when producing any type of professional video.

During this stage, you're organizing everything so that the production phase goes smoothly. Pre-production starts out with identifying the goals and objectives of your video. Your target audience needs to be identified and scrutinized. This is of key importance, as everything from here on out should be done with your specific audience in mind. Are they conservative business people, wild and crazy creative types, or soccer moms? The tone, the pace, the actors, style, language, music, length, and other aspects of the production must be geared to the temperament, attitudes and interests of your intended audience.

It's a no-brainer that multimedia on your website will at least initially attract viewer's attention. However the question is how much razzle dazzle is appropriate? Well, that depends on the industry you're in.

If you're a lawyer, you probably don't need much more than a short, well-crafted video describing your value to those who use your services. Then again, if you're a hair salon, you probably want to put some sizzle into your use of multimedia to let viewers know that you're a fun and cool place to go to and that you'll get a contemporary cut or style.

Let's go deeper. First, let's define multimedia. Its very name tells you that it consists of multiple types of media combined into one presentation. It can incorporate music and sound, photos, graphics, text, video, and other audio and visual elements.

The "Talking head" is one of the most widely used shots in video production. Anytime you interview someone or have someone speaking directly into the camera, that is considered a talking head.

Here are some tips to make it easier for you.

First, consider the location where you are going to tape. It is best to pick a spot that's quiet and uncluttered. You also need a decent amount of room. Ideally, the on-camera person should NOT be squished up against the wall. It's best to have several feet behind them. Otherwise, it tends to look like a mug shot. (Remember the song, "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother?")

Ideally, the camera should be on a tripod about 7-10 feet in front of the person and they should wear a microphone that plugs into the camera.

The biggest difference between amateur and professional video is often the lighting. Today's digital cameras do a great job in low light, and that gives you lots of room to play. But for truly professional results, you need to light your scene but it does not have to be hard.

Using natural light from incoming windows is a great strategy for home movies, quick-down-and-dirty shoots and large locations that are impossible to light without a crew of twelve. Using natural light can save you time, money, and hassle.

But often, your video will look best if you use supplemental lights.

Technically, a picture is nothing BUT light. This is true for video pictures too. The quality of light is the single biggest determinant of the quality of your video. Ideally, you should not only have adequate light, you should also have mood-appropriate lighting. Amazing affects can be achieved if you know how.

Triangle lighting creates spectacular lighting for video interviews. Triangle lighting is just what the name implies, light from three sources pointed at one subject.

Triangle lighting takes a bit more work but the results are worth it. Next time you are watching any show that features lots of interviews, examine the lighting critically. Can you see the halo effect, evidence of a back light? How much difference is there between the bright side of the subject's face and the darker side? How deep is the nose shadow ? Are the eyes lit clearly? Are glasses causing an annoying glare? Is there a splash of dappled light on the background? Triangle lighting is a common professional technique.

In triangle lighting, you have three light sources.
* Key light
* Fill light
* Back light

For many novice video producers, lighting causes lots of worry and seems very complicated. Lighting for video production CAN be complicated, but it certainly doesn't HAVE to be.

I specialize in making video as easy as possible while still maintaining a professional look. I can sum up everything you need to know about lighting in just three bullet points:

1. Direct Light = Harsh
2. Diffused Light = Soft
3. What DIRECTION is the light coming from?

Lighting for Video-Lesson One

Artistic lighting can be the perfect mood creator and emotion enhancer. Notice how even game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? feature dramatic lighting? That's not an accident. In fact, lighting that incredible takes a lot of work and costs a lot of money.

Aren't you on the edge of your seat every time Millionaire introduces a new contestant with the intense backlighting and reverberating BONG!? All that fanfare makes the audience think God Almighty is about to come strolling out. Nope, just another housewife from New Jersey who loves the show.