Video Production Handout
Business Communication & Presentation
The 15 Elements of Composition
1. Clearly establish your objectives.
What’s the reason for your shoot?
The purpose of the shot in the scope of the spot.
Too slow can equal boring
Pick up the pace
Not too fast=confusion
If in doubt, leave it out
2. Strive for a feeling of unity.
Your productions are arranged so they are unified
Your production supports your basic idea
3. Compose around a single center of interest.
Compose your scenes around your theme
Does the shot fit the theme?
Is it symbolic of your scene?
Stay away from multiple centers of interest!
Shift the center of interest,
Through movement
4. Observe proper subject placement.
Take the time to position your actors.
Take the time to move the camera to position the
objects within the frame
Lead the subject
Rule of thirds
Horizontal and vertical lines
5. Maintain tonal balance.
Brightness and darkness
Dark objects suggest weight
Feel the weight of objects
Balance those objects in the scene
6. Balance mass.
Make sure your scenes are balanced
Move your camera to help balance
Zoom in our out before you record
7. Create a pattern of meaning.
Use scenic elements to create meaning
Open with your introduction shot full of clues
Present your scene creatively
8. Utilizing lines.
Straight lines= dignity strength
Curved lines=grace, beauty
Horizontal lines=stability, openness
Vertical lines=power, height, restriction
S-lines= gracefulness, leads eye to center
9. Frame central subject matter.
What is central to you shot?
Use objects to frame your shot
10. Use visual perspective.
Camera position, far or up close
Tight shot or wide shot?
11. Convey Meaning through color/tone.
Concentrate on your lighting
Light=mood; Bright colors=red, yellow, orange
Seen first
Cool colors=blue, green, purple
Seen second
12. Avoid Mergers.........adjust your shot!
Tonal mergers
Too much of same color
Dimensional mergers
Light post out of subjects head
Border mergers
Subject cut off by frame,
Car shot, but can't see wheels
13. Control the number of prime objects.
Stick with odd numbers
Odd is visually pleasing
14. Balance, complexity, order.
Complexity without order
Equals confusion
Order without complexity produces boredom
Balance order and confusion!
15. Utilize meaning suggested by movement.
Where the actions come from
Where the action goes to
Upward motion=getting out of a chair=progression
Downward motion=opposite=settling
left to right is more pleasing
Action towards camera diagonally from corner left to
right
Video Camera Basics
Storyboarding Basics
Use a tripod! The tripod is your
best friend. A shaky shot is a
wasted shot. A steady image is
essential for better compression
and for a more professional look.
Storyboarding IS the diary of film and video
It’s a diary of future events
With story boarding……. The production is done before
it starts!!
Close-ups rule! Keep your shots
tight. Establish your shot, then
keep it tight.
Storyboarding Serve two purposes…
1. Allows you to pre-visualize your ideas refine them the
same way you write a rough draft in writing.
2. Storyboards serve as a clear language to communicate
ideas to your team.
Limit your zooms. If you zoom, zoom slowly.
Limit your pans. If you pan, pan slowly.
*** Utilize the Rule of Thirds. ***
Double check the sound level.
Try not to use an internal microphone because camera
vibrations generate a lot of noise. Get the microphone
as close as possible to the subject. Shoot in a quiet
environment, and monitor the sound during filming if
possible.
Keep the background simple to focus attention on the
subject.
Make sure that your lighting is adequate.
More light will help you keep the subject in focus and
make colors look better too.
Avoid large differences in brightness between
background and subject to prevent washing out detail
in the subject.
If the background is brighter than the subject and the
camera angle can't be changed, a backlight setting may
help.
Keep it short and keep up the pace.
Long videos with little content take up space and time
without adding much to the overall quality of the
presentation.
Remember to check the focus.
Do not use auto-focus if it can be avoided. This can
cause sudden unintentional changes in focus.
If necessary, set white balance, check for
indoor/outdoor settings, turn off any time and date
stamp.
Storyboarding Conveys two kinds of information…
1. Description of the physical environment
location/set/props etc.
2. And a description of the spatial quality of a sequence
(staging/camera angle/movement of elements.
Storyboards don’t need to be complex…
They are a rough draft of your ideas.
What you need in your storyboards:
Type of action in the scene
General info about the scene
Camera shot information zooms,/pans/cam angles etc.
Notes on composition principles (click to see elements
page)
Type of transitions
In this case, cuts/dissolve/wipes/effects etc.
Storyboarding Basic Principles:
Frame of storyboard is basically your camera frame
Notes for actor/ object action include arrows etc.
Notes for sound/sound effects/dialogue also are listed.
The Most Common Video Terms
CU – Close up shot (takes in head and shoulders)
DOLLY – Moving tripod and/or camcorder in and out
DUB – Copy of original tape or film
ECU – Extreme close up (takes in full face, or even
closer)
EDIT – Select the footage wanted for the final production
where graphics, text, or other special effects can be added
to the footage
ELS – Extreme long shot (far away view of person or
place in a shot)
FADE – To get from black to light (fade-in) or light to
black (fade out)
TRUCK – To move camera and tripod left or right
FOCUS – To make picture clearer (auto/manual)
WIDE ANGLE PAN – To
move camera while taping
from one end of scene to
the other
GRAPHICS – Pictures from a computer, editor, or
other source
HEADROOM – To frame person in picture with space
above head (not cut off)
ZOOM – Moving focus from
telephoto to wide angle or wide
angle to telephoto
LS – Long shot (to get most of a person or place in a
scene)
MCU – Medium close up (to take in 3/4 of scene or
person)
NOSEROOM – When shooting a profile of person,
leave more space in front of them in the direction
they're facing
OVERLAY – Adding a graphic and/or text to an image
on the tape. Graphics and text are usually put on top of
the video image
PAN – To follow action with the camera moving from
left to right or right to left
PEDESTAL – To follow action with the camera on a
tripod moving up and down
SCENE – A sequence of events with a pre-designed
beginning and end
SCENERY – The background people, sounds and
objects that are included in scene
Rules of Video

You shall not mess up your fellow student’s videos
(automatic zero and office referral)

You shall always use a tripod

You shall always check your audio levels

You shall always allow the camera to “roll” for a few
seconds before speaking

You shall always use the Rule of Thirds

You shall rehearse your edits and your shots

You shall have thy proper subject on screen at the
proper time, the speaker when he speaks, the reaction
when reacted, the glance and then the object

You shall not over-use wipes during editing for the
sake of vanity, but you shall cut edit with reason and
purpose, and only then, keeping the transitions
modest.

You shall not disturb any other teachers’ class while
filming
SEGMENT – A designated section of a tape (usually a
scene or group of scenes)
SHOT – A part of a scene with the camera generally in
one position
SHOOT TAPE – To record a scene or scenes on tape
STORYBOARD – A graphic and text depicting each
scene
EDL – An Edit Decision List depicting the segments
chosen for the final tape
TEXT – Words from computer or editor
TILT – To move camera up or down