Page 64 - SKU-000506274_TEXT.indd

Chapter 3 Creating Informative Videos 43

talks for 30 seconds or so into the main camera and then turns to her left and starts
talking into camera two. Then back to a direct shot into camera one and then
maybe turning to the right for camera three. You get the idea.

Now, you probably don’t have three cameras, and you wouldn’t necessarily know
how to sync together their video footage, anyway. That’s okay, you can accomplish
the same thing with a single camera. Have the newsreader read the entire script
while looking straight at the camera and then reposition the camera 45 degrees or
so to the left and have the newsreader turn and read the script again. (You can
repeat this by positioning the camera to the right for a “camera three” effect, as
well.) All you have to do is edit together a selection of shots from each camera, and
you get a nice visual variety for your video newscast.

For this “multiple camera” trick to work, however, your newsreader has to read the
exact same words for every take, and read them in the exact same fashion. This is
another reason to write a script; it provides the exact same content when you’re
editing together multiple takes. It’s how the big boys do it.

Back to the script, and the writing thereof. It’s important that your script be easy to
read, which means excising the longer and more difficult-to-pronounce words. You
should also make sure that your script is no more than two to three minutes long; if
you have more than that to say, consider breaking things up into multiple videos.

Of course, you also need to pay attention to the composition of the shot; it’s really
all you have for the viewer to look at, after all. Probably one of the biggest newbie
mistakes is to have the newscaster too small in the frame. Don’t be afraid to zoom
in; you want to see the subject at about chest height in the frame. And, while it’s
okay to position a single subject dead center in the frame, it’s more visually interest-
ing to position him or her slightly off-center.

Consider, also, what’s behind the newscaster. You need some sort of simple, unob-
trusive background; you don’t want the background to compete with the subject. A
plain wall or sheet of seamless background paper or cloth is always good; try to get
a good contrast between the background and the subject, to better make the subject
“pop” in the frame.

You can also add visual interest by adding some graphics to the shot, as Food for
Life TV (www.youtube.com/user/FoodForLifeTV/) did in the video shown in
Figure 3.3. You insert these graphics in post-production, of course, using your
video-editing software. You can create a graphic using your company’s logo, a prod-
uct photo, or just about anything that ties into what you’re talking about in the
script. Here again it makes sense to position your subject to the side of the frame, to
allow more room for these added graphics.