Overview

Learn the basics of how to create a compelling video, from the initial planning stage to production, editing, and sharing it with friends and family.

Tell a Story with Video

Everyone has been forced to sit through a boring movie at one time or another. Anyone can push a few buttons on a video camera and capture a segment of time but a truly interesting movie is more than just a series of images or a montage of videos. It shares an experience and captures the spirit. When created with care, a little bit of creativity, and forethought, a good movie tells a story that makes viewers sit up and take notice.

Step 1: Plan Your Story

How do you go about creating a truly compelling story? Before you shoot a single frame, you should understand exactly how you want your story to be told and what you want the audience to take away from it. No matter what kind of story you choose to tell, the best place to start isn't with a camera and microphone -- it's with a pen and paper. If you already have a story idea in mind, sit down and start brainstorming a few key questions, such as:

• What makes this story worth telling?
• Who is your audience? Is this video for a business audience, or is it for family or friends?
• What are the key events that propelled the story in the first place? What is happening with the story now?
• What are the consequences or results of a particular outcome? Of another outcome?
• What point of view will you take? Will you tell the story from your own perspective, from that of one of your subjects, or will a third-person narrator do the talking?

Thinking about the answers to these questions before you begin to shoot helps you identify how your video will connect emotionally with the audience, from what sort of tone you're going to adopt to how long the video is going to be.

With an idea in your head of how your story will unfold, create a storyboard that lays out the flow of action. This can be as simple or as elaborate as you want -- the idea is to help provide a little structure once you begin shooting.

Step 2: Choose Your Gear

Now that you've spent a little time thinking about the kind of story you want to tell, it's time to focus on the gear you'll use to shoot your video.

At a fundamental level, consider whether you want to shoot in HD (High Definition) or SD (Standard Definition). Shooting in SD is fine, but shooting with an HD camcorder gives your video far greater resolution, meaning you see more detail. Additionally, HD video is typically captured in the 16:9 aspect ratio, the same widescreen format used by HDTV. The benefit of the 16:9 aspect ratio is that you can capture a wider angle -- meaning you see more of a scene -- than with the more squarish 4:3 aspect ratio. Even if you don't currently own an HDTV, shooting with an HD camcorder might still be a good option considering that most HD camcorder models can also shoot video in Standard Definition if you choose.

In addition to your choice of camera, consider what other equipment you may need to capture the shots you really want. If you're shooting outdoors the sun may be the only light source you need, but shooting indoors may require artificial lighting. Also, unless your video really calls for it, you should probably avoid handheld camerawork in favor of shooting with a tripod. Finally, don't forget the audio -- sound is just as important as picture. Depending on your shooting location, your camcorder's built-in microphones will be powerful enough to record clear, useable sound. In more noisy locations, though, or when you really want to focus in on a specific sound, you may want to consider using an external microphone.

Step 3: Production

Now that you've given some thought to what kind of story you want to tell and what kind of gear you'll use to shoot it, it's time to dive into filming.

First, be aware that how you frame a shot is crucial. You can't always control the action in front of you, but you can control how you frame it. Making conscious framing decisions can make all the difference between an okay-looking video and a great-looking one. Generally, you'll want to use a mix of shots, such as:

• Wide-angle shots: show a lot of information, often from a distance, and give a sense of place and context for your story.
• Medium shots and close-up shots: lose some or all of the background but give a sense of emotion, reflection, and/or detail. Close-ups are typically used in interview situations.
• Low-angle shots: position the subject above the camera to convey the sense that the subject is powerful. (Take care not to shoot up your subject's nose, though.)
• High-angle shots: position the subject below the camera and convey a sense of the subject's powerlessness or smallness.

Additionally, you can use the rule of thirds to help you position your subject in the frame. Visualize the frame divided into thirds horizontally and always frame the subject so that his or her eyes are in the top third of the frame. Take care to leave some head room at the top of the frame so that your subject is not cut off at the head. But keep the head and eyes in the top third of the frame and you won't end up with awkward-looking space above your character.

Another tool to help provide a sense of space is to put a little space in front of your subject when they are looking, motioning, or walking off frame. This gives a sense of motion and direction, and suggests action happening out of frame. All those things get lost if you frame them right in the center of the frame or up against the edge.

Finally, be conscientious of how much you pan, tilt, and zoom the camera. Panning (movements to the right or left) and tilting (movements up and down) can convey a sense of scale or space, but these moves are best used in moderation and with a tripod or monopod to help ensure stability. Similarly, use zoom sparingly, as too much in-and-out zooming can lend a somewhat chaotic feel to your video.

Step 4: Edit Your Video

Once your video has been shot, video editing software can help you stitch together the elements of your story and add touches that make your video more unique and compelling, including music, background noise, transitions, and effects. Editing is one of the most creative and rewarding parts of the filmmaking process. After all, it's where you get to see the story you've been dying to tell come together, and it's where you really get to let your creative juices flow.

At the start of the editing process, organize your footage into clips and store those clips in bins. Clips are the smallest unit you'll take your footage down to; picture them as are analogous to individual documents on your computer. Bins are where you'll store your clips in categories that make sense to you; picture bins as the folders on your computer. You will be able to name both your clips and your bins.

Once you've organized your footage you can begin combining them into a timeline. First complete an assembly edit, or a rough collection of the shots you want to use in the order you think they should probably go in. From there, you can start trimming your shots and figuring out the transitions into what's known as a rough cut. At this point, you can start adding music to help set the tone, insert transitions, and add any titles and text you want to add to identify locations, people, dates, or any other relevant information that is useful to making the story clear to the audience. Don't forget to thank your supporters with scrolling credits at the end.

After you've worked through your rough cut to get your story really flowing, it's time to do one more editing pass called a fine cut. This is the last step where you'll polish up your video into its final version, and should include last details such as editing in final music, replacing any shots if necessary, and doing any voice-over work or sound mixing.

Step 5: Share Your Video

Once you have a fine cut on your computer, you're ready to send it into the world! You can e-mail it to friends, post it on a Web site, or create a DVD of your video.

If you're sharing your video online, you'll need to make sure it fits the format guidelines of your upload destination. To transfer your video to disc, chances are the editing software you used to finalize your video includes a utility to burn a DVD of your movie. For detailed instructions on outputting your movie to disc, see your editing manual.

Whatever you do with your video, the key is to have fun. Telling a good story through video is made a lot easier when you understand the basic ingredients and have the right tools. When you combine all these ingredients, you can create a movie that makes your friends want to come back for more.