Teaching video basics

Hawk Teflon

Hawk Teflon

Veteran
I'm hoping this post goes through. I'm currently in the mountains of NC, and the wireless signal feels like a 14k modem. Here's my problem:

I'm at a conference where all of the missionaries from around the world are attending (I do the video work for the World Missions organization for a church). They've asked me to speak for 45 minutes to an hour, teaching people here about video, the importance of it, and how to do it. My problem, though, is I have no idea where to begin. These people are great, but I know that most don't carry around video cameras other than what's built into their still cameras. But I know that a handful of them DO carry a small camera with them. Though, they know NOTHING about video. I know I won't be covering framerates or shutter speed (I don't even know if that can be changed manually on a handy cam), but what about some techniques and things. It feels so long ago since I first started, and I'm trying to think of what would have been most helpful for me back then. Also, they asked me if I could demo editing something in a timeline. Considering I've never opened iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, that's probably a bust. Blah! I don't want to do this.
 
Give 'em a brief introduction to "The 5 C's"... camera angles, continuity, cutting, close-ups, and composition.
 
i would probably break it down like this

1. very brief introduction about the importance of video
2. basic camera settings (white balance, exposure, iso, framerate, etc.)
3. tips on improving their video (camera angles, lighting, microphone, tripod, etc.)
4. downloading to the computer and editing
 
First, get someone who does wanna do it.
Then, just have hit the basics. The camera, different types and wht they do.
people skills. Hit it hard as it id half of the gig, if not more.
Pre-production, production and post...and what those all do.
Fullfillment.
Industry needs, gigs, values, ect.
 
You won't teach anything in an hour. Those who are really interested in the craft will be better served by a book. All you can tell them is some high level bla-bla about this digital age, memories, human value, spreading the word and stuff like that. Nothing technical.
 
I disagree. Thse interested in video will grab a camera, not a book.
Feed em enough to make em wanna learn on their own. Break out a book and ya lose all would be listeners.
 
Start with the basics. What can video do for you?

Then show how video works. Don't get stuck with the tech jargon. Don't explain codecs, don't go on about F-stops or ISOs. They don't understand that. Explain to them what they need to know and show them what they need to do to get a good image without getting too technical.

PS> I've never read a book on video operation (aside from tech manuals and such) Never an honest to god book.
 
Still working on it. Thank you to everyone for their input! I present it Thursday, so it should be interesting. Fortunately, public speaking is no problem for me. It's organization that gets me.

Oh, and they want a powerpoint presentation. I haven't used PP since 1998. Seriously.
 
That's funny, man.
"so like, we want you to speak at our thingy but could you make it as boring as possible with a ppt presentation so we can sleep?"
Maybe make a video instead? Or lecture on how you would have made that video instead??
 
I thought about making a video, but I've gotten really picky with what I export. I'd spend too much time on it. Plus, they probably don't have a dvd player here. I was honestly shocked to pick up wireless in this building I'm in. I'm thinking about using the awful "fireworks" background template. It looks terrible.
 
TaDa!

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1269972 said:
Rules of Six for Slide Creation

  • Use meaningful titles as introduction and summary of slide contents. Be sure to limit the number of words in title to no more than 6.

  • Have no more than 6 bullets per text slide. Sub-bullets should be included in this count. Also it is preferable to have no more than 6 words per bullet.

  • For tables of data, plan no more than 6 rows of data on a table to make it easier to read. However, for most audiences charts or graphs are better than tables. No more than 6 data points (bars, slices, lines) should be on a graph or chart.

  • In relation to talk time on each slide consider for a 30 minute presentation to use 6 (5 minutes of talking per slide) slides or less that only highlight the key points of presentation. Or no more than 12 slides (averaging 2- 3 minutes talk time per slide) where you want to provide some details that might be hard for audience to capture in notes.
Click to expand...
That's the best advice I could scrounge up.
 
I think you can teach people some very valuable stuff in one hour. To make a one hour course useful, it needs to be PRACTICAL, *not* conceptual. Talk about common video practices from people who don't know what they are doing, and how to correct that and make their videos look much better.

Very basic, practical stuff: the importance of light, how cameras differ from the human eye in a practcal sense (you can't just wave the camera around for however long your EYE needs to look at something and focus... you need to stay steady on something longer), reducing camera shake, using zoom VS physical camera moves properly, the difference in focal lengths (zoomed all the way out VS zoomed half-way VS zoomed all the way) and the different looks. How sound picks up (and how you need to be physically close with the camera if you don't have an external mic).

That sort of thing. Maybe list 5-10 common mistakes:

- Poor lighting, grainy footage (so tell them to turn on the lights or look for light, create light... obviously this isn't about using a lighting kit)
- Bad camera angles & no focal length choice (explain to zoom for people's faces to get rid of the undesirable wide-angle close up look on faces. And staying wider for other types of shots).
- Lots of camera shake, and explaining how being zoomed in far makes it harder to hold steady.
- Misuse of zoom (don't constantly be zooming in and out. Use physical camera moves as well as zooms depending on situation).
- Terrible sound (get camera close if you don't have an external mic or a shotgun)
- Redundant shots (ie when ppl pan a scene once, and then pan back, or leave the camera recording FOREVER).
- Leaving room for editing (recording 2 seconds extra at the start and end so you have room to cut)

I'm guessing most of these people will be using auto settings and so I wouldn't go into shutter speeds and framerates. I'd keep it practical. Very limited on time. Think of it like this: if you saw their footage, which is probably awful, and you had 1 hour to tell them things to make their footage look as much better possible next time, what would you tell them? Teach towards the RESULT in this case, for practical lay-people... this is not a "101 course" that assumes everyone is going to go on and pursue video film. You need to skip right over the building blocks and give practical tips that will see real results right away, even if they have no clue about the "why" - just give them the what.

My 2 cents :)
 
Last edited:
That's a really good point, filmguy ... I HAVE seen some of the footage shot overseas, and it's ... well, not very good. Most of these people will only carry a digital camera with them since, "it has video built in" ... Has anyone else tried mixing 1080p footage with footage from a still camera? I want to throw up!

I'm hoping to spark some interest in them, as they are the eyes out there on the field. They were on location in Costa Rica when the earthquake hit. They're on location in India when the riots happen and city blocks are burned to the ground. If they don't shoot it, no one will see it. And hopefully after tomorrow they'll realize that.
 
Well good luck with it. I think filmguy is probably going in the right direction. Maybe hint a bit to what it's like to use more professional equipment in case some out there have more of an interest than you think (if this is the case make sure they know it's a very basic course for homemade movies, and if they want to continue in this path they need to read up and practise, and maybe take moure courses).

Another thing I would have found useful right off the bat was a touch of aesthetic framing/composition. Such as the 1/3 rule "golden section" guide, when to frame dead on and symetrical (or more likely NOT frame dead on and symetrical), uses of depth in an image to make it more interesting, etc. But obviously very simple stuff.

If you have time the 180 rule is good as well, but not sure if it's too advanced for the crowd. I mean are they making home movies or planning on making... movies?
 
Well, the class went well. Well enough. I made a sweet powerpoint presentation that was a whole 9 slides long! Booyah! I felt like I was just giving information that everyone knew, but they were taking notes and asking good questions. It was actually fun ... kinda. What was enjoyable about this was the fact tat I didn't feel like I had no idea what I was talking about, nor did I have to study up on something extensively. It was very relaxed.
 
For PowerPoint, NEVER read the lines. They are up there for the viewers to read them at their discretion and for you to serve as anchors. Never read them. Never read them line by line.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top