Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Creating Digital Stories - Essential Shots to Record

There are times when it is very compelling to stand in one spot and record what you see. There are other times when you have to change it up a bit. What can I say, people like variety.

In the spirit of the holiday known as All Hollows' Eve aka Halloween, and the necessity to re-new, re-use and recycle,  I bring you a visual reminder of some of the types of shots you can make with a mobile device or any camera.


A long shot to lead the person into the video; to give a hint or sense of what is to come. 


An establishing shot to help your viewers know where they are in the video. You can be off to the side or a bit above or below; fee free to change up on the angles.








A  medium shot to get in just a bit closer to your intended. Adds a bit of focus to what is going on and that hand coming out of the lower left tells a story of its own.





A close up is intimate, forces a connection. Use cautiously with the un-dead because there may be things you don't want to see.  Again, shifting angles might help but in this ghoul's case; not so much.

The pumpkin? Ew, sinister.





The extreme close up puts your viewers nose right in it; make sure you have a very good reason for doing so.






The cutaway is a handy dandy way to use as a transition point. You can edit a cutaway into your video when you need to narrate a passagea and you need to get from one shot to another.

You want to get as many of those as you can that is appropriate for your video.







And if you mix and match well you will also have the making of the 5-Shot Method for getting the story:
  • A close-up shot of the hands
  • A close-up shot of the face
  • A wide shot 
  • An over the shoulder shot
  • A unusual or alternative view of the subject.
You get three out of five of these rascals and you are doing better than 80% of most videos. Be a 100% trouper and you will have story.

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