Home Movies For Everyone!
2005 seems to be the year of online video. With the advent of Google Video, Vimeo, YouTube, the PSP and the video iPod, we now have convenient ways to share our movies online with family and friends. I use iMovie and Quicktime Pro on a Powerbook to edit and prepare movies (Windows users will have to settle with Windows Movie Maker, which gets the job done but isn't as intuitive or customizable as iMovie). The creative possibilities are endless. Share home movies from your last Disneyworld vacation, create your own video blog, start a TV show (or a whole station), make music videos, choreograph a kung-fu film or teach a cooking tutorial. Whatever you end up doing, here are five samurai-approved tips for making cooler, more engaging online movies.
1) Good Content. Film in well-lit areas (the bar on Saturday night is not going to work, trust me). Be wary of ambient noise. Always take more footage than you think you'll need, so you have a choice later on. Learn to not be embarrassed holding the camera in front of you at arm's length and talking to it. If you can somehow add weight to the bottom of your camera (like this guy), it will help balance the image and reduce shaking. Take your camera with you everywhere.
2) Great Movies Have Great Editing. In the New York movies, there were about three hours' worth of footage over the course of three months. Editing them down to a trio of four minute movies was pretty difficult, so I had to cut a lot of scenes short. Movie directors sometimes say "you have to learn to cut out your favorite scene." A typical edit might shave several seconds off the beginning and end of a clip so only the best part remains. I must watch the OKSMM movies a hundred times, always making minor edits and tweaks. A few seconds here and there really start to add up. Think about how you want your story to unfold...what's the first thing people will see and the last thing they'll remember?
3) Keep it Under 5 Minutes. People have ridiculously short attention spans online. As a general rule, I try to keep everything between 3-5 minutes. If you're doing something longer like a video podcast, break things up every five minutes with a fake commercial, music clip or at least a change in scenery to keep things fresh.
4) Make Customized Bumpers. This can be as simple as the URL of your website or a fancypants After Effects title sequence. Since you never know where someone might see your video nowadays, it makes sense to have a short clip before and after your movie to give yourself credit. Come up with a fake production company name - those always sound cool. And for the love of all things sacred, please don't do the lame credits thing where you say "directed by: me, written by: me, filmed by: me."
5) Keep Things Moving. Static images typically make a video lose its forward momentum. iMovie lets you slowly zoom into photographs with the "Ken Burns Effect". Using background music in your movies is a great way to keep the pace going. Switch camera angles or scenery often. Use transitions and fades tastefully.
This is all fairly general advice, and it won't transform those family reunion movies into an oscar-worthy epic adventure...but hopefully it helps them become a little more engaging and entertaining for your family and friends.
Sunday, November 13 at 9:17 PM
Okay Samurai Multimedia is Dave Werner's personal site. I'm currently working at Minor Studios in San Francisco. Thanks for visiting! (more...)
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