Inspired by Jefferson Graham in USA today, here is the TV in a Card Express Video Brochures guide to shooting your own video well and neatly – using a Selfie-Stick!
As Graham points out, the days of needing big cameras and expensive gear to report news events are long one – with a smart phone and a few key accessories for as little as £10, anyone can now be a reporter and produce broadcast quality results.
The original article was inspired by the recent news events in Baltimore and elsewhere showing how mobile journalism by the people can shape news events.
But with plenty of people recording their own footage and placing it onto their Express Video Brochures, TV in a Card Technology combined with a mobile phone and a Selfie -Stick shows that the latest smartphones and tablets have made a giant leap in sound, lighting and image stabilization.
Whilst a big fancy DLSR will get you sharper results, the best camera is the one you have in your pocket when you need it. A mobile can shoot in all sorts of light and the smartphone can perform surprisingly well and get the job done. Sometimes just the basics are fine – whether that be for doing an interview or a stand up news report.
To make it work you should consider a key accessory – The Selfie-Stick comes in. Those widely despised contraptions are potentially a useful tool for one man and video, and they are cheap, and easy to fit into your pocket. With a front facing camera in place you just slip the phone onto the stick and extend it to frame the shot accordingly. Or place the camera stick combo on something stable like a ledge and you’ve just found a free, effective tripod that steadies the image perfectly.
If it’s an interview find a spot with out much clutter in the background so you can put the focus firstly on your subject or yourself. In an office setting look for the window light, if outside, shoot in the shade. During an interview, ask the subject to look at you not the camera otherwise it will look like a conversation with two people.
And lastly, make sure to shoot the camera horizontally like a TV screen. Then you simply load it onto your Express Video Brochures and mail it directly to the subject!
