We all have a fancy phone/camera that we always have with us so we can always be ready to record those important moments. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually make better videos and even put them together so that someone might want to see them? Here are some tips on making better home movies.
Tripods
Steady shots are better than shaky shots. I believe that’s a quote from Gandhi. No one wants to watch a video that has the shots bouncing all over the place. Invest in a cheap tripod or at least a table top version. When you shoot with a tripod you can make nice sweeping shots that show the whole area. A full sized tripod is critical when you are at your child’s elementary school play. You don’t want to be that person that’s holding their phone up in front of all of the others just to get the only 30 seconds that her kid is on the stage. With a tripod you can go to the back of the room and zoom into the stage. That way you can get the whole show, your arms aren’t tired and you have a nice steady shot of your child’s wonderful moment.
Lighting
Always be aware of the where light is coming from when you are shooting your videos. Never shoot your subject in front of a window or a bright background. Your subject will look like a big black blob. Most phone cameras look good even in low light but if you are shooting indoors make sure you shoot in such a way that any bright lights (windows or doors) are behind you not your subject. If you are shooting outdoors try to shoot with the sun behind you. That isn’t always pleasant for your subjects so try to find a shady spot that still has enough light. This helps because when you shoot in bright sunlight there are usually very strong shadows which makes for bad video. The best days to shoot outdoors are on cloudy days. This defuses (flattens) the light so that there are no heavy shadows on your subjects.
Audio
Sound is very important but is very often overlooked when people make home movies. Of course if you have external microphones that would be ideal but most people don’t. For the best sound you need to have your camera close to your subject. Don’t try shooting grandma from the other side of the room. She’s probably a soft talker anyway and you won’t hear those nuggets of wisdom from afar. Get as close as possible but not so close that it’s uncomfortable. This is good advice if you are in a controlled environment but what if you are at your kid’s play. One trick you might try is using one phone/camera in the back on a tripod to get the steady shots and use another phone/camera closer to the stage or even the speakers if they are close to the ground. You will have to edit your video but if you both start recording about the same time and neither one stops recording until it's over, it should work fine.
Different Angles
One way to easily make your home movies better is to shoot from different angles. At your twin’s 6th birthday, try shooting them looking at the birthday cake and then go behind them to shoot over their shoulders to see Grandma and Grandpa singing happy birthday to them. Then move away from the group to get a shot of all of the people at the party. The main thing you want to do is tell a story. While you are shooting the party think of the story you want to tell. Maybe how your son is always the shy one and hides when the camera comes around but how your daughter lights up and plays to the camera like Meryl Streep. Try to record shots that show those moments. Make sure you get wide shots, medium shots and close up shots to have a variety to choose from when your are editing.
Editing
Home movies have become so ubiquitous that most computers come with some sort of editing software installed. These are usually pretty basic but you really don’t need much to make a nice video for your family, friends or TikTok. Think about the films that you see in the theater or on Netflix. Most feature length movies only have cuts in them. A cut is where one scene cuts to another without any sort of effect or transition. So if blockbusters can use cuts so can you. Take the story you had when you were shooting and put it together using the footage that you shot. If you tell a compelling story no one will object to watching your home movie and it might be so good that it will go viral and make you famous.
With these tips you can go forth and make Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg proud.
