in this video we're gonna share a couple
of filmmaking tips that can be used on
any video genre so whether you're making
a vlog
or a travel video maybe a gaming channel
or even just a regular short film
hopefully you can find these tips useful
to improve the quality of your
productions let's go and get started
with tip number one
so the first thing is to get familiar
with your camera settings now this is
going to depend on what kind of camera
you're using whether it's a panasonic
like the one we have here or a canon
camera or a nikon
doesn't really matter what kind the
brand is but it does really help to
understand
the settings for the specific camera
you're using now to be perfectly honest
there are a lot of settings especially
when it comes to dslrs
a lot of menus a lot of sub menus and it
can be a bit intimidating
especially if it's your first camera you
may not even end up using a lot of the
settings but it's helpful to know that
they exist and that they're there in
case you need them
take the time to either go through the
manual or look at videos based on your
camera for things like
histogram and scopes to make sure that
you're getting the right exposure how to
change basic settings like aperture
shutter speed and iso and any other
special settings that might help make
things easier
for example right now i'm filming with
the panasonic lumix gh5s
and there's nobody else here right now
it's literally just me but there's an
app for the gh5 that allows me to pull
up the view
on my phone so even though there's
nobody here to check the focus i can do
it
on my phone right here and i don't have
to get up and continuously go back and
forth
because that's a pain so take a look at
a couple overview videos on youtube for
your specific camera because you might
find a couple settings
that will really come in handy in future
shoots next up is to plan before you
film and for me
i do find it really helpful to have a
specific
sort of storyboard or shot list before
we go film
storyboarding for me helps me plan out
what the shots are going to look like
helps me establish the sort of rhythm of
the shoot and gives me something to
refer back to
on set because one of the worst feelings
is being on set and not having any idea
what you're doing or what's coming next
knowing that and being able to
communicate that to your teammates
is very helpful i would encourage you to
try out different types of
pre-production because you might find
one more fun
or even more helpful than the other
aside from figuring out the shots it's
also important to location scout so go
to the place before you actually start
filming there
to make sure that it has everything that
you need it also helps to take a look at
time management how long things are
going to take you how long you're going
to have your actors for
and to budget that time in a way that is
most appropriate next tip is to remember
that audio is 50 or even more depending
on who you ask
of your final product so don't neglect
the music the sound effects and the
atmosphere that you can create
using audio sound effects for the shorts
that we've done like renegade star
court or the harry potter sketch with
Oli i found that audiojungle.com and
the filmstore app gave me what i needed
for something like rise of the dark side
where we needed a specific trailer
sounding
star wars-y feel
we went with a freelancer who was able
to develop the music to fit the mood
exactly as we needed if you're looking
for sound effects i would recommend
freesound.org that's where i go for a
lot of the foley stuff that i could
capture myself
but it would be easier to just download
it for free and use it in my project
for a tutorial on editing audio and
sound effects inside of HitFilm check
out the basics master class we go over
adjusting volume adding sound effects
and transitions and mixing the audio
levels to get the best result
the next tip is to practice replicating
the things that you like so this is how
you get better you see something in a
movie or tv show that you
really enjoy the look of whether it's a
color grade a visual effect a specific
shot or a type of camera movement
and then do it yourself actually think
about how they achieved it what kind of
equipment they might have used
if you can find a bts of the shop
because usually you can see them on set
literally doing the shot and it's
quite informative take a look at the
shot you like and break it down into
separate elements what's the color look
like what kind of costumes are they
wearing
what is the lighting how many are there
do you think and this involves some
guessing on your part because obviously
you can't really ask or be on set while
they were filming that but thinking
about it and coming up with a solution
on your own
is an exercise in itself for me my
interests are visual effects and
cinematography so i often try to emulate
specific visual effects shots from
movies and tv shows as well as specific
lighting setups
for color grading this next tip is a
pretty quick one and it might seem kind
of
there's tom what's tom doing are you
telling me
yeah but i can wait
this next tip is a pretty quick one and
it seems obvious but
a lot of people don't do it it's to
actually watch your project
once it's exported not just in the
timeline but when you export it
give it a listen make sure you're
wearing headphones or have a good
speaker system and this is to catch
mistakes so you'll see things like
black frames in between cuts or edges on
visual effects elements if you're
compositing
spelling mistakes is another one watch
very carefully what you're typing in
your video
before the winners here's a monopoly
mention
any sort of audio clipping error so make
sure to add a fade at the beginning and
end of them if they're cutting in
sharply just watch your video after it's
done and if you see something to make a
change after
watch it again and it can be a bit of a
pain to watch it over and over again
but it is part of that quality assurance
check to make sure that your video is
the best it possibly can be
and the final tip for today is to
consider everything when you're going
through
for pre to post production this involves
everything from the final aspect ratio
that you're delivering in
to the resolution that you're shooting
in on your camera to the costumes or
outfits that your characters are wearing
on set
basically everything in your shot should
be considered it shouldn't really be an
arbitrary choice
so for example let's take this shot here
and break it down a little bit i've got
five lights going
at the moment and they've all been
specifically chosen and positioned so
that they give
the best look it can let's start by
turning off the key light here
and instantly you can see that it's gone
from a bright sort of happier stand up
into
i look like i'm in a snyder film and now
i'm in a
horror movie about cyber criminals
so the point is that you have to
consider not just the cinematography and
lighting but basically everything
about your shot remember that the frame
your audience is looking at
is the final product and everything in
it has to be considered
and that's it for today let us know if
you have any questions or feel free to
share your own filmmaking tips down in
the comments below
don't forget to subscribe and we'll see
you all in the next video
