8 WEEK VIDEO CLASS THREE

SLOW MOTION, TIME LAPSE, B-ROLL

TIME LAPSE, SLOW MOTION, B-ROLL EFFECTS.

At this point we should be good with:

  • Learning how the camera works
  • Making short clips in order
  • Putting clips together in an editor
  • Adding text over the top of clips to make the story flow
  • Basic storyboarding

Now we will explore three different things that video storytellers can use to help their viewers feel the emotion or understand the context.

 

FIND THE COOLEST SHORT VIDEOS

And post them to the Facebook page so we can enjoy. Now that we know a little about what we are doing, post a video and tell us what you see the videographer doing.

  • Content
  • Light
  • Effects

Again, post them on the Facebook page and we can see and discuss this week.

TIME LAPSE

If your camera does not have time lapse, it may be something that you can do on your phone. Most modern phone cameras have a time-lapse feature.

Or, you can use this method of using still photographs. An inexpensive timer control is an answer.

Time-lapse can be used as a transition in your story to account for different times of day in the storyline. For instance, you are telling the story of your visit to a city, and want to transition from mid-day to evening. A time-lapse can do that easily in 5 seconds. It can also be used to set up a scene that is going to be more intimate – visual contrast. A time-lapse leads into a quiet B-roll into an intimate interview.

Time-lapse can be overdone for sure and can look gimmicky if not handled within the context of the video. It works well for setting up context, transitions, and a special effect sequence to set the mood.

Here is a lesson in Final Cut Pro (note, I am told most editors handle this the same way)

This is a good look at how Casey Niestat uses time-lapse in his Vlogging.

SLOW MOTION

This is a great transition tool that can be used to heighten the senses, draw the viewer in, and make an intimate moment out of something not so. It is a filmmakers tool that we videographers now can claim as our tool as well.

Here is a very good look at the power of Slow Motion.

A very good set of tips for making slow motion that works.

How to fake slow motion including Premier tools.

B-ROLL TIPS

Nothing will make your video more exciting than B-roll. The base footage, or main camera shots, tell a story in a linear way, but the B-roll can be used to add greater context to the work.

B-roll should be planned – and spontaneous – and it should be on your shot-list if possible. But if you see something on set, you must shoot it to add more textures to your footage.

Important: shoot it different ways. Shoot it from high to low with different POV’s. It’s important to have a rich backlog of video to choose from.

Good tips:

Really strong tutorial on how to shoot B-roll that adds to the experience.

A very good look at cinematic B-Roll (sorry about the music language… shesh)

ASSIGNMENT: VIDEO WITH B-ROLL / TRANSITION SLOMO OR TIME-LAPSE

It would be great to see some time-lapse and slowmo B-roll from each of you on this 1 minute clip.

And remember, we are only working with technique here. LEARNING how to do it with our camera AND our software. Baby steps are leading us up the hill of knowledge on how this all works.


TIPS ON STEADYING THE CAMERA

 

 

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