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great video Archives - Steve Stockman

Steve Stockman
In Tips and Tricks, If you’re new to video, Better Home Video

Checklist: 20 Questions to Make Your Video Great

Since everyone alive today has been watching film and video from birth, we all have some idea of what bad film and video look like.  It’s that stuff you click out of instantly on your browser or your remote, often within 15 seconds of starting it.

“I know bad video when I see it” works great when you’re the consumer, but not so well when you’re the creator. Creators not only need to know bad video when they see it, they need to know bad video before they see it.  Ideally even before they start shooting it.

How do you … Read the rest

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Steve Stockman
In Examples from the Book

What in the Hell is Unity? (p. 114)

From How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck, Page 114:

Aristotle was the first to note that great drama has three unities—of time, of place, or of action. Unity is another way to suggest a pure focus on one thing. A play might take place over one day (unity of time), or in single house (unity of place), or around a single event (unity of action). Unities keep the audience (and the writer/director) clear on what story they’re telling, making those stories more focused and powerful.

You may think we’re getting a little highbrow in our analysis here, … Read the rest

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Steve Stockman
In Examples from the Book

Genre Mashups: Musical Admissions Video (p. 61)

From How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck, Page 61:

Videos have genres, although you may not be used to thinking of them that way. Instructional videos, “punked” videos, music videos, webcam rants, sketch comedy, stop-motion animation—the definitions are still evolving, but they’re there. Video genres both communicate what your video is about and lock you into expectations. Fail to deliver on the genre expectations, and the audience is disappointed.

A sketch comedy video had better be funny. A music video needs to show the band and the entire song. A wedding video needs the “I do” moment. A … Read the rest

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Steve Stockman
In Examples from the Book

Set the Shot and Hold It: Beyonce (p. 111)

From How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck, Page 111:

If you watch professionally shot film, you’ll be surprised how often the camera stays still. Practice keeping the camera locked.  That way the action in the frame becomes the most important thing.

A static camera doesn’t mean a boring video.  Most of this recent Beyonce video consists of static camera shots of Beyoncé and two other women dancing. What camera moves there are are infrequent and deliberate– and lead to another static framing.  Most simply keep the women in frame as they dance. Yet the video, like the … Read the rest

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Steve Stockman
In For Pros

Obsession = Great Video

I often wonder if an idea I have for a film or video will be interesting to people.  The answer always seems to be the same:  If I find an idea that I’m willing to really commit to, to go all out to get it done in a way that really interests ME, then invariably others will also find it interesting.

Case in point:  Pogo, an Australian artists who remixes popular films into techno song and video—both of which are spectacular.  You may not like techno, (or like me, you may not be able to even imagine the kind of … Read the rest

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