Steve Stockman's Blog, page 9
May 4, 2015
Adding Information to Your Video
What’s the best way to shoot a stunning place, like a summit with great views in all directions?
I have tried slow panning for 360 degrees a couple of times, but I am not satisfied. If we pan slowly for better view, the whole 360 takes substantial time– if we pan fast…not good either. If we just record short clips 5 secs each in several directions, people might not get the idea of how stunning the place really is.
What do we do?
Milosh
Instead of shooting stories like most people, you shoot a genre we in the business call Nature Videography (because you’re, you know, shooting video of nature. We people in the business are geniuses.) In Nature Videography, beauty is paramount.
Yet even in nature videography, beautiful shots can still be boring. And I suggest that they are boring for the same reason they’re boring in any other video: they stop adding information. “Too long” = “I’ve already understood the shot, you’re not telling me anything new, but I’m still looking at the same thing. Yawn.” Shots that don’t tell us anything new don’t work in any kind of video.
A pan is essentially moving the camera direction from right to left, or vice versa. There is nothing magic about them, but they can be a great tool to add information. For example:
CUT to a man’s shocked face. The Camera PANS RIGHT to reveal a hand holding a gun. It FIRES.
We didn’t know the gun was there until we moved the camera- the pan revealed this information. After the gun fires, the shot has no more information to give us. No new information = boring. So we CUT TO something else.
Here are some ways to think about using pans to add information to nature videos, but the principals apply to any video:
Pans don’t just show, they reveal. Carefully choose the starting and ending point for your pan to convey information. Start on FACE, pan to GUN. The same rules apply to nature video. What makes the shots special? In a nature video it might be the light, the composition or a surprising vista. Make sure you end your pan on a shot that really pays off for the audience.
Judge the length of the pan by how much information it conveys. If you’re bored, speed it up or cut out the boring parts and make the pan into multiple shorter pans.
The In-Between must add information too. What’s going on between start and end points in your pan? It needs to be worthy of the time allotted. If there’s nothing brilliant in-between, don’t pan.
Pans aren’t the only way to do “stunning”. You can get a sense of grandeur by starting with the mind-blowing ultra-wide shot of the mountaintop, then cut into a series of tighter and even more stunning still shots. The geography we remember from the wide will make the tighter shots more interesting. Or do short pans that overlap to give us a sense of scope. There are no rules here– panning the camera isn’t the only way to move it. Experiment on your next video, and find alternatives that work for you.
Milosh’s video, below, looks great. I’ve cued up to one of his panning shots. If you like nature video, it’s worth watching from the beginning. Nice job, Milosh!
Do you have a question? Ask it here.
March 12, 2015
News: Brew Dogs, a Free Story Guide- And More!
The only thing worse than a blog post cobbled together out of all sorts of short things you don’t really feel like fashioning into a full blog post is a post explaining why you’ve been too busy to post lately. So here is the second-worst blog post I will ever write. Although, to be fair, there is a lot of free stuff in this one:
1) Craft Beer Fans can rejoice at the return of Brew Dogs! Season three starts Wednesday, April 1 at 10pm on the Esquire Network. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s sort of like Top Gear for beer. More of a humor/travel/stunt show than something you need to be a hophead to enjoy. Although if you are, you will. Here’s the great new season kickoff promo Esquire put together for us–
2) My friends at Discmakers just posted a free Story Guide I wrote for them, mostly with my favorite story advice right out of How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck. It’s 10 pages of exercises and story-telling fun, and totally, entirely, free!
Check it out here!
3) Speaking of How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck– it’s holding fast at number one (!) on the Amazon Cinematography list. Sure, I’m bragging. And no, I don’t check my Amazon sales rank every day. Mostly. (As with another famous solo sport, any author who tells you they don’t is lying.)
I mention this not because I wanted to go off the innuendo deep end, but rather to say that there is now an audio version of the book that is also picking up steam. Better still, you can get it free on Audible.com as part of their trial deal.
That’s three FREE things in one post (assuming you already have cable). Not bad for something cobbled together out of parts.
Do you have a question about video? Ask it here, now!
January 30, 2015
Intent vs. Results
Hi Steve,
Ordered your book from Amazon and devoured it in 2 days; awesome stuff.
I have a question on chapter 2 re: intent. Coming from an internet marketing background I am unfortunately ingrained with ‘results’ driven approaches (increase conversion, ROI, etc). I was wondering if I could give you some examples of intent just to clarify if I am on the right track.
The video I will be shooting is in fitness. One intent I brainstormed was ‘Inspire viewers to workout’. Is that a result because viewers work out later at some point after the video is done?
Ryan
In its simplest form, intent helps you make your video. A result is something you measure later to see how successful you’ve been.
To use your fitness example, your intent is to inspire. You can do “to inspire” in your video. You can examine each line of dialogue to see if it’s inspiring. You can use inspiring music. You can shoot inspiring bodies as models.
Your results might be measurable, in which case you can determine your Return On Investment. “I spent $500 on that video, and made $2,000 in sales. That’s good ROI!” you might say– later, after the video runs. But because you can’t measure ROI until after the fact, you can’t edit your video for ROI. You can’t choose models based on ROI. You can’t choose music that’s better for ROI.*
ROI doesn’t help you make the video. And that’s the distinction. Your intent guides your creativity. A result happens later, and can’t.
“I want to be discovered by an agent” is a result– and perhaps a legitimate reason to make a video. But it won’t help you make decisions on what to cut, or where to shoot, or what actors to select. You need something actionable for that.
“I want to make people laugh” can guide your choices. “I want to help people understand global warming” can guide your choices. You may not always succeed– but knowing your intent will give you a way to choose.
*Geek Note: Okay, you can make some choices based on measures. For example, if you test your video with two different songs and measure how many people watch each version all the way through, you can choose the stronger song. But how you choose both those songs and choose each edit and what color to make the graphics– that’s all about intent. You can’t measure your way to great video– there would be an infinite number of choices to test.
Did you know you can ask questions here? And that the good ones will be answered on this site? And you could become famous as a great question-asker like Ryan? Wouldn’t that be cool? Why are you still reading and not clicking the link?
December 27, 2014
Best Way To Learn Video: Play With Your Toys
A device from back when we had to read directions. Now we don’t.
When I was seven, my new Kodak camera came with a thick instruction manual. My dad solemnly sat me down and told me how important it was to read the manual before I played with the camera. After all, I could break something.
I love my dad, but what was good advice then isn’t as good today. The major working parts of your new smartphone, DSLR, pocket camera or editing software are microchips. Short of running over your new toy with the car, they’re hard to break. Instead of expensive film you’re recording data. Store the original movie in a separate folder on your hard drive and you can’t break that either.
Forget what Dad told you. If you got something technical in your stocking and you’re still looking at the outside of its box, it’s time to dive in. The best way to learn video production is to practice.
Go shoot something. Start on the simplest “auto” setting and fire away. As you play more and get more comfortable with your new toy, then it’s time to try the bells and whistles (but never the digital zoom!)
Got editing software? Duplicate your footage, load up a copy and screw around. You can always hit “undo.”
Much of what you start with will look awful. Which is fine. You expect to eat a little snow your first time on a snowboard. You don’t get to level 3 on Call of Duty on your first day. Why should you be a video pro from minute one?
Learn video the best way possible– Dive in!
PS: You can, of course, also get instruction from a book. Say, this one.
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Holiday Video Thoughts 2014
Last Minute Holiday video thoughts:
1) This is the time of year for me to humbly remind you that How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck makes an excellent stocking stuffer. It’s not too late to pick up a dozen copies. There’s an audio version too!
2) Take a moment to read my post about The True Meaning Of Holiday Video. Or this post on 10 Great Tips on Shooting Better Holiday Video, or this one with more tips.
3) And finally, a repost of a Christmas video I directed a while back. So long a while back that one of the kids in the video is a director himself now, and the other a standup comic. But if you’re a fan of either Black Sabbath or dumb humor, you’ll love it:
Have a great Holiday!
November 4, 2014
New Show: DOGS OF WAR debuts Veterans Day on A&E
Another new show that I’m very proud of, and another show with “dogs” in the title. But “Dogs of War” actually has dogs in it.
Congrats to showrunner/EP Peter LoGreco and his team for a really great job. This is a smart, emotional journey through the world of veterans with PTSD, and the service dogs who save their lives.
Here’s the Hollywood Reporter review of the premiere.
And here’s the ENTIRE FIRST EPISODE from A&E.
Hope you enjoy it!
DOGS OF WAR debuts Veterans Day on A&E
Another new show that I’m very proud of, and another show with “dogs” in the title. But “Dogs of War” actually has dogs in it.
Congrats to showrunner/EP Peter LoGreco and his team for a really great job. This is a smart, emotional journey through the world of veterans with PTSD, and the service dogs who save their lives. Here’s the promo from A&E– it debuts Tuesday 11/11 at 10pm/9 central.
Hope you enjoy it!
October 13, 2014
Making Interview Videos That Hold Their Attention
I made a recent job shift from corporate training to being the “video guy”. I am responsible for capturing “Success Stories” of customers who have installed and use our products.
The biggest thing that I’m struggling with now is telling a story that intrigues people and keeps them watching. I just finished your book, and as I think back through some recent edits I completed, I now know the intrigue wasn’t there.
How do I find the the most intriguing way to present customer stories in interview videos?
–Ken
I am going to give you the secrets of intrigue, Ken, and your videos are going to be impossible to stop watching. But first, let’s talk about what “intrigue” really means:
In the first minute of Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane dies after uttering his last word, “rosebud.” A reporter’s quest to find out what “rosebud” means drives the entire movie. The reporter never finds out what it means, but we do, in the very last shot of the film. And when we do we’re satisfied. “Rosebud” drives Citizen Kane forward with the force of curiosity. Intrigue. Which is one of the reasons it’s universally considered one of the greatest films of all time. Because we don’t know, we wonder with the reporter: What was “rosebud” anyway? In fact, I bet you’re wondering now. Stay tuned.
Intrigue is the art of the tease. It’s about leaving the audience salivating to find out what happens next. It’s about not giving away information until you have to. Because once the audience has the answers, they’re done. Curiosity satisfied. Case closed. Film over. The big question is, can you use intrigue to hold viewers in interview videos?
Unquestionably yes. Smart people like to know the answers, and they like others to know they know the answers. But smart filmmakers keep the answers to themselves until the very last second. To do that, try these tips:
Add questions, not answers. Nothing intrigues like a question. Look at Stephen King’s books. The chapters end on questions almost every time. And you will turn the page, anxious to know the answers. Same with video. End your scenes by raising questions. What was Kane’s “Rosebud” anyway? Are you wondering why I haven’t told you yet?
Start your video in the middle: If the first shot in your video is a close-up of a woman saying, “The basement wall crashed in on my husband– I had to wade through gallons of rushing water to pull him to safety.” I’m going to keep watching to find out what happened. I don’t need her name, age, how many kids she has, or any of the other boring stuff interviews usually start with. If eventually this dynamic video gets around to how your company’s sump pumps saved this couple’s house, I’ll be there to hear it.
Cut the boring stuff. Ruthlessly. If you cut the boring stuff, by definition what’s left is good. And good will keep them watching. How do you interview to get good, intriguing material? These tips will help:
Nothing is off-limits in an interview. Your customer hates your company? No worries, let her say it. That would be an incredibly intriguing way to start a company video. If you decide not to use it, that’s fine too. But edit later- not during the interview.
Follow your true curiosity. I was doing a video about type 2 diabetes, and the woman I was interviewing mentioned that drinking exacerbated her condition. I was curious, so I asked how much she drank. “About 6 or 10 beers a day,” came the reply. Suddenly I had a whole lot more to ask her, and it was all interesting.
Follow your true boredom. If you’re bored, the audience will be bored. Take a moment, change directions. Don’t be afraid to gently interrupt and re-direct. There’s something interesting about everyone. Your job is to find it.
Ask for stories and you’ll get stories. “Then what happened?” is one of the great story questions of all time. “How did that go?” “What happened after Jennifer closed the sale?” “How did your coworkers react to the product?” “Tell me about a day with our printer.” Good stories are always intriguing.
What’s most interesting about aiming for intrigue is that the structure you’ll build to make your your interview videos more intriguing makes them work even if the audience knows the answer. The Sixth Sense is still a great movie the 5th time, even if you know the surprise ending. And knowing Kane’s boyhood sled was named “Rosebud” won’t keep you from following the journey.
September 30, 2014
Getting from Idea to Film: Collaboration
I’m a post production artist in Chicago. I mostly stick to editing, motion graphics and VFX’s, But recently I’ve done something different. I’ve written a short film! Most of the paper work is done– Storyboards, Shot list, Prop List, even a Budget.
Now I’m stuck and I’m not sure what the next step is. Any advice?
–Charles J. Williams
You have all the successful elements for a great short film, Charles. Now all you need are the people.
Video is an art that demands collaboration. Unless you’re shooting scenery or possibly your cat, you’re going to need other humans to help you shoot.
In the simplest film collaborations, the other people are your subjects. But if you’re doing anything more ambitious than shooting a couple of people talking, you’ll also need collaborators to find locations, help with the lighting, record sound, find the props, cast the background actors, handle the money, shoot an extra camera and more. It takes a village to shoot a movie.
Obviously these people will help do a lot of work when the time comes to shoot. Less obviously, just the act of getting them signed on to the job will help unstick you. You’ll have to explain what you’re planning, step by step, to everyone you talk to. The ensuing discussion will force you to re-think and clarify your video. They, in turn, will poke holes in your plan, question your creative and, if they’re the right people, provide ideas and answers you would never have come up with on your own.
I used to resent having to go to a client, or a financier or a network to get my projects made. But now I understand it as a key part of the process. It gives me an opportunity to consider my work from other points of view, make it better through the input of others, and meet great collaborators I enjoy working with time and again.
And more than once the mere act of asking for help has gotten me unstuck.
Hey, are you following me on Twitter? You probably should. In addition to video, I tweet about beer a lot. And beer is good.
September 18, 2014
Three Never-Fail Secrets to a Career In Entertainment
I wanted to be in Entertainment, but somehow, in the last several years, I wound up working in Financial Services.
Determined to get back on the right path while at my last horrible job–working for a banking corporation–I decided to update my skills by buying new equipment and software. I also have been taking opportunities in my chosen industry. I’ve been an actor in a feature film and currently am a Production Assistant.
Do you have any suggestions about what more I can do to make this career change from the utterly uncreative world of financial services to the place I’ve always wanted to be?
–John Thiel
It took me a while to get to this question, John. Hopefully you are not yet head of a studio. But if not, have no fear! Because I have exactly the answers you’re looking for. Here– at long last– are the three ultimate secrets to a Career in Entertainment.
The secrets are basic, simple, and if followed, will always lead to success. But like “diet and exercise” to lose weight, they take a lot of focus and hard work. As you know, people will do anything to get out of focus and hard work– which is why there are so many books written about how to eat bacon to get thin and meditate on “The Secret” to get careers in entertainment.
Ready to save hundreds of dollars on books? Here you go:
1) Commit
2) Do the work
3) Build a network
Easy, right? Or at least, straightforward. Now to the difficult details:
1) Commit: Consider this: The entertainment industry will be worth over $2 TRILLION dollars by 2016. It’s a real industry, with hundreds of thousands of jobs worldwide. Somebody has to do it– why not you? But it can be tough sledding sometimes. If you want a career in entertainment, you have to believe, deep down, that you can do it no matter what. Because if you think you need an accounting degree as a fallback to becoming a director, you will end up an accountant.
2) Do the work: Entertainment is a portfolio business. This means you will be judged by what you have made. So make things. Shoot films and post them on Vimeo. Join others who are shooting film to learn on set and accrue credits– for free if you must. Write that short or long film burning in your brain and hustle it into existence. Take a job as a production assistant and learn the craft.
3) Build a network: As you do the work, notice the people who enjoy working with you, and with whom you enjoy working. The people who get you. The people with whom you do your best work. Get to know them. Try to work with them more. Stay in touch with them. This is how you build your personal network. As you get better, they get better. As you inspire them, they inspire you. You grow together.
Note that this is not the same as “networking,” which people seem to believe involves industry cocktail parties wherein you spot and suck up to successful people and through some magic cause them to do business with you. It is not the same in that my kind of “building a network” actually works.
From your description, John, you’ve made great progress on starting to do the work. Make sure you’re committed and building a network. You have to do all three to win a career in entertainment.
If you have a question you’re willing to share with the world, please ask it here.
