My 2nd video. Quad Racing.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woolOJGOo4k[/youtube]
Here’s the second piece I shot since picking up a video camera and much like the first video it was another learning experience. I went to a local track where I found Christopher and his family. Here’s what worked and didn’t:
Picking a story that lends itself to video is a no-brainer.
The level of noise these quads create made it a must to consistently monitor my audio levels. It meant a lot of adjusting on the fly as the quads raced closer I’d have to compensate and likewise when they’d race out of my frame. My headphones were useless with the machines around.
My final shot in the piece I don’t have any B-roll audio from because I ran over from shooting the end of Critter’s race and had my audio levels dialed way down so it wasn’t blown out from the sound of the quads and forget to dial it up in my haste to capture the moment. Luckily the A-roll I got from Critter’s dad worked along with it. With time hopefully forgetting something like that won’t happen again.
Interviewing out at the track was impossible. The sound of the quads and bikes drowned out any hope of getting a clean track. Ever try setting up a tripod in a truck? I don’t recommend it.
Interviewing kids can be hard. Christopher didn’t have much to say on tape. I tried to interview him on three different occasions even letting his dad have a crack at it, but nothing really worked. So in the end I had his dad drive the story. For some kids and even adults it might be better to do informal interviews as they’re doing their thing.
The video camera is slowly starting to feel like my still camera meaning I’m thinking for it versus it thinking for me.
All the dust led to a head error, but luckily it disappeared.
Finding one character to drive your story is a great idea.
Anticipation is key and even more so than it is with stills especially in searching for what Mr. Leeson calls the extended moment. You always need to be thinking ahead for your next shot. (On a side note, David, even through video iChat can still give a hell of a presentation.)
I was tripod free for this whole piece except the A-Roll. I’m learning to make use of whatever might be around for stability and that mobility helped me capture things I would of missed had I been using a tripod. With the speed of the machines I would of been eating dust as I was still trying to get the first tripod leg down. By working tripod free I was able to run around the track and shoot the racers at various points on the track. For each lap I was able to shoot from atleast 4 different positions. (My technique improved since the first piece where I was all about the sticks.)
And finally my dodge ball game needs work. The little fella handed out a whooping.
Have a look for yourself and let me know what you think.
Further Reading:
Tags: Uncategorized, video