You don't have to be a professional to capture some great quality video. Whether you are shooting a birthday party, a vacation, a simple "how-to" video, a wedding or an interview with your grandparents, here are some tips that will immediately make your video look better!
Make sure you have plenty of light. Sometimes just the lighting will mean a world of difference between a good looking video and a not so good looking one. Besides your main source of lighting (overhead lights, sunlight, window lighting, etc) you may, depending on how much control you have, want to fill in the sides with light to eliminate shadows, or even try some backlighting.
Don't stay too far away. You want your video to be interesting, so don't be afraid to get close to your subject. Facial expressions are especially interesting.
Try different vantage points. If you're at a Little League game don't just shoot from the bleachers. Get a shot from first base or the outfield. If you're at a dance recital get some wide shots and some closer ones.
Get on your subject's level. For instance, the children's birthday party will be more interesting if you remember to get on one knee once in a while to shoot your video, in order to avoid seeing only the top of heads.
Fill up your frame. Don't leave a lot of dead space on the top, bottom or sides of the screen that is irrelevant to the subject.
Invest in a tripod. This is another tip that will instantly change the quality of your video. A good steady shot will always look better than a bouncy one.
Use the "zoom" sparingly. Don't feel like you need to be "doing something" other than capturing good video of your subject. Constant zooming in and out can be distracting and take away from the subject of the video.
Skip the built-in special effects on your camera. You can always add them in editing if you want to, but you can't undo them once they are shot.
Audio is important. Sometimes audio gets forgotten, but pay attention to your audio quality. Make sure your built-in microphone is pointed at the subject. Be aware of background noise. Better yet, invest in an external microphone (like a shotgun mike or lavaliere)
Don't forget the 'B' roll. If you are planning on simple editing take some 'B' roll footage. These are the shots used to establish where the shoot is taking place (the outside of a church, for instance) and the little things that are part of the shoot. (Flowers, candles, stained glass windows, the empty aisle, the pews, arriving guests, the limo, etc.)
Like a writing composition a good video tells the story of a subject, simply and cleanly, by putting them in the best light. These tips will help you do that on your next video.
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