Video tips and tricks - Steve Stockman

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

Story as a Magical Organizing Force

I have a brain that likes things logical, nicely ordered and in line. You follow the rules, you get the result. I can’t get my head around the order of shots, stories and putting it all together.

Once a week we go to the grandparents house for dinner. We have a niece and nephew, 4 and 1 respectively, who come over as well. It is a good time had by all and I want to capture the moments as they learn and grow. I just can’t figure out what the story is. I get that I should take short shots

… Read the rest

Steve Stockman In Tips and Tricks, Teaching and Training, Your Questions Answered

Can a Teaching Video tell a Story?

How can I better use storytelling techniques for teaching science? Does numerical data contribute to the story, or is having a data table in a video a sure recipe for having viewers click away?

By the way: your book is awesome. In the video I’m working on now, I keep counting to make sure I’m not violating the 10 second shot rule!

–Glenn Wolkenfeld

Nice job, Glenn. This is a fast-moving, clear, well-produced teaching video covering a bunch of cool stuff about surface area. For those of you to whom it did not occur that there was a bunch … Read the rest

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

Who Needs a Hero, Anyway?

I’m a pure novice at making movies, so your book was exactly what I was looking for! I made one diving video from a point & shoot underwater camera and tried to use your tips, but I struggled with “the hero” – the fish maybe? the turtle? Help!

–Kaidra M.

The “hero” thing can be tricky, but it still works underwater.

The idea of choosing a hero is to make your video about someone. To keep you from randomly pointing and shooting. The key concept: it doesn’t matter WHO the hero is.

Without a hero, your video is about … Read the rest

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

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

Shoot Better Labor Day Video

As you cruise to the beach or barbecue this weekend, take your video camera. And think about these tips to shoot better Labor Day video:

1) Memories are about faces. Faces are where emotion lives. The eyes are the window to the soul and all that. And faces are how we chart time– when you want to remember who you were 5 years ago, a long shot of a crowd drinking beer won’t do the job. When you watch video of small children or elderly grandparents later, you’ll never wish you were farther away.

Thinking of shooting distant closeups … Read the rest

Steve Stockman In Tips and Tricks, If you’re new to video, Video Marketing, Feature Film, Television, For Pros, Your Questions Answered

Shooting like the Pros

I am a professional videographer, and your advice to “shoot short shots” is totally misguided. Pros shoot more than they need so they can make their video perfect in the editing room. Turning the camera on and off is an amateur move. How have you made a living in this business?

–Chris F., New York

Watch any film or TV show and you’ll see a series of very short shots (read why here). I argue that most people should get out of the habit of running the camera non-stop when shooting. And every so often I get a letter … Read the rest

Steve Stockman In Tips and Tricks, Video Marketing, Teaching and Training, For Pros

Free Download: The Power Of Story

Have you had this experience?

You grudgingly agree to watch a friend’s video. You click on the link. The first few shots are good. Cute kids. But about 10 seconds in you start to get a sinking feeling. This video isn’t about anything. It’s a bunch of shots that aren’t leading anywhere. And you’re stuck having to watch enough of it to lie to your friend about how much you loved it.

You are watching a video without a story. Your friend took out a camera or phone, pointed without thinking, and shot for a while, also without thinking. The … Read the rest

Steve Stockman In Tips and Tricks, Feature Film, Television, For Pros, Your Questions Answered

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 … Read the rest