I'm pleased to present my fourth installment in my interview series with famous video bloggers about video blogging techniques that nonprofits or others might use. Past subjects have included Nick Booth, Steve Garfield, and Robert Scoble. In this segment I interview Jonny Goldstein about how to shoot video without shooting yourself in the foot in the editing room. The interview took place during during Beyond Broadcast
When I first started to make video blog posts, I had no idea how much my shooting techniques would impact the amount of time I would have to spend editing. I quickly learned that you can create editing hell for yourself if you're not careful. As I've come to discover various techniques while shooting interviews that save me time later in the editing room, I've also learned a lot by observing and interviewing other video bloggers.
Jonny's tips include:
1. In camera editing: You edit in the camera as you go along. You shoot something. If it stinks, you delete and re shoot. So that by the end, you just have good stuff in your camera. Of course, that means you have learn how to use the editing controls of your camera. And, with a tiny camera and I need magnifying glasses to read the controls.
2. Keep a log: As you're shooting, jot down where you captured good stuff. That saves you time from having to go through an entire tape.
3. Use a script: Write out your questions in advance and this keeps you on track. That way you know what you're going to capture.
When Jonny interviewed me, I noticed that he didn't explain off camera what he was going ask me on camera. We discussed the pros/cons. The benefit of not negotiating the interview off camera is that you get a certain energy. The downside is that the person may not say what they're going to say succinctly or you may not gain their trust.
I tend to negotiate off-camera. Part of the reason for that is because of my cheap little cannon camera. I have to stick it in people's faces to get acceptable (to me) audio quality. That can be a little instrusive for your subject. So, I like let them know.
Speaking of good audio, I raised this question on the video bloggers listserv and David Tames (who took the photo stills in the video) offered some great tricks here. Right now, with my camera, I had only used the trick of getting close to my subject or controlling the noise in the room.
This video also incorporates some cell phone movie footage taken by Michael Marcotte, a news director at a public tv station. He told me at the time "in case you wanted another angle." Ah, some more creative possibilities.
If anything, the juxposition of the cell phone footage with my camera footage shows that my camera audio and visual quality looks and sounds great in comparison. In fact, the audio in his clip is unacceptable to me, but I had some problems editing with my free Windows moviemaker editing program. I had really wanted to do a over halfway into the clip, but the program is too limited.
I would like to see how my camera audio and visuals (a cheap cannon) compare with the next level up. Not that I could afford to purchase one anyway, but just curious.
I think I'm ready to turn my attention to obsessing with the editing of the video in the editing program itself. How to make smooth transitions between music and talking. How to use more than one audio track.
Wow, that was fun! I feel very well documented. Too bad I didn't have my camera running too, for the HD footage, just to add to the media stew.
Also, I have to say that it can be useful to interview people in an open ended way too, as that may land some unexpected and very useful footage. But this means more work on the editing end.
David Tames mentioned that he often asks people to rephrase what they just said more succinctly. He'd be a good guy to interview about interview techniques.
Posted by: jonny goldstein | March 01, 2007 at 10:34 AM