Today I’m going to talk about the ten videography mistakes that I made as a beginner and how you can avoid them when starting out as a videographer. Mistakes are unavoidable and unfortunately it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out how to get the best results. That’s because you don’t know what you don’t know.
You know, in my time creating videos, I have noticed certain mistakes that come up time and time again. That’s why in this video I’ll be sharing with you the top ten mistakes and blunders that I’ve made in the past with some tips on how to prevent them from happening to you. Number one, not planning in advance. Taking the time to properly plan out each video shoot will help ensure that everything runs smoothly on the day of shooting.
As the saying goes, failure to plan is planning to fail. So some things to consider are creating a short list of what shots are needed beforehand, which will prevent confusion and unnecessary footage. This will also help you decide which gear you need to bring. For example, if you’re shooting a scene outdoors, remember to bring lens filters. Another important thing to consider is the location.
How long will it take you to get there? A good rule of thumb is to arrive at least 30 minutes before the scheduled shoot. Time to avoid any last minute scrambling, setting up gear, planning ahead and doing your research can save you a lot of time and energy, resulting in a stress free video shoot. Number two. Forgetting to charge batteries you thought everything through, brought the right gear and arrived early to set up only to realize you forgot to charge the batteries.
Major fail. Cameras, lights, drones, wireless mikes. All require batteries. Even if you can charge them on site, it still takes time to get a full charge time that could be better spent filming. It’s also very nerve wracking to be filming and wondering if you’ll have enough juice to finish the shot. It’s like driving your car until the gas light comes on and wondering if you have enough fuel to get to the gas station.
You want to live on the edge. Just bring your gas down to nothing and then just get in your car and start driving and you will feel alive. So make it a habit to charge your batteries as soon as possible, preferably right after you come back from a shoot. Now, I have a little system where I’ll store my charge batteries in one location and my uncharged batteries in another location.
That way I always know which ones are charged and which ones are. Do you have any palms or the forehead moments that you’ve made in the past? If so, I’d love to hear from you. So please leave a comment below and share some of your past horror stories and what you did to resolve them. Number three. Forgetting to empty my SD cards.
Forgetting to empty out your SD cards before shooting can lead to situations where you don’t have enough space to capture footage. To avoid this, it’s important to always empty your SD cards before the day of the shoot. You should also remember to transfer your footage to a safe storage location after every single shoot. Also, remember to format your SD cards before shooting as this will minimize any errors or potential lost data.
Number four. Using new gear that you haven’t tested yet. I get it. I get it. You got a fancy new camera that you can’t wait to try out. Well, I’m here to tell you a video shoot is not the place to use it for the first time, as any new piece of equipment takes a little time to get familiar with.
Failure to take that time to set it up properly by testing it out, working out the bugs will only result in lackluster results. So make sure to get familiar with your new gear before trying to make a video. Number five Poor lighting. Knowing how to use natural and artificial light such as three point lighting can be the difference between a good shot and a great one.
When shooting outdoors, take into consideration the time of day and the angle of the sun to help create your desired effect. If you’re shooting indoors planning, consider what type of lighting you’ll need for the scene such as natural light from windows or studio lights. Now, keep in mind, it does take some extra time to dial in your lighting for each shot, but it will make all the difference in your final video.
Number six Poor audio quality. Poorly recorded audio can be distracting and ruin an otherwise great video. Using an external microphone such as a livelier or shotgun mic can help reduce background noise and increase the clarity of your recordings way better than the built in mike in your camera. Also, remember to test your audio setup before you start recording to make sure you have a strong, clear signal.
Number seven Incorrect white balance setting the correct white balance will help make sure that all the colors appear as they should and will stay consistent throughout the entire production process. If you don’t adjust the white balance correctly, the colors may look too cool or too warm, which can have a negative effect on the visual appearance of a video.
This is most noticeable with skin tones where if the white balance is too warm, your subject will look like they just left the tanning salon. If it’s too cool, it’ll look like they have hypothermia. First off, I would avoid using the auto setting unless you’re just using it as a reference point before manually setting it up. The white balance has the tendency to change while filming, and it’s a pain to correct and post to set it manually.
You have three options. The first way is to use one of the built in presets, which are usually listed as tungsten, shade or sun. You also have the option to manually adjust your white balance by adjusting the Kelvin settings until they match your lighting temperature. Now, if your camera allows it, the fastest and most accurate method is to use a custom setting that is calibrated with an 18% gray card or even just a white sheet of paper will do.
Setting the white balance correctly every time you start a new scene will ensure that all your shots have the same color temperature no matter where they were filmed. Number eight Shooting in auto mode. Auto mode is handy when you’re just starting out as it can be. A great reference point to dial in your camera settings. The problem is that it doesn’t always get the best results as your camera is just taking a best guess at what the optimal aperture shutter speed and ISO should be for the location you’re filming in.
It will also adjust these settings while you’re shooting, which can produce some pretty poor results that are difficult to fix and post. Part of being a videographer is knowing how to manually set up your camera correctly. This means knowing how the exposure triangle works. If you want to learn more about manually setting up your camera. Click on the link below in the description to a video I recently did that will explain what all these settings mean.
Number nine Poorly exposed shots. This is a common mistake that I would make in the beginning, meaning that I would either overexpose or underexposed the shot, especially when I started shooting. And long overexposure occurs when the exposure settings of your camera are set too high and the shot includes too much light can then lead to washed out images.
Underexposed as shots occur when the exposure settings of your camera are set too low and the shot includes too little light, which can then lead to your footage looking darker and appear too grainy when trying to lighten them up and post to avoid over or underexposed your shots. You should always keep an eye on your histogram and exposure meter so it does not go past one or more stops in either direction.
Number ten using the same shot type. A common mistake that I made in the beginning was using the same shot type, usually a wide shot for the entire scene. Doing it this way is going to make your video just look boring and amateurish. It’s best to capture your scene from multiple perspectives with different camera angles like low shots, close ups, or use movements like Boom shots and pans.
This will give you more options when it comes to editing and post, and it’s going to help create a more dynamic and visually engaging video. The best way to avoid these mistakes is to have systems such as checklists for before, during and after the shoot.