How To Shoot Video That Doesnt Suck

A timeless classic with more than 165,000 copies sold, The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video has been chosen by over 700 colleges to teach basic film and video techniques. Written by a working professional, The Bare Bones Camera Course is the most user-friendly book available on the subject of film and video production; it reduces the shooting experience to its essence, making complicated concepts easy to grasp. Using simple clear language and more than 150 illustrations, the book explains: Exposure Lenses Composition Basic sequence Crossing the line Lighting And much more! When you finish this book, you will know and understand how to shoot good pictures that will edit together seamlessly in post-production. With added chapters on sound and editing, this new edition of The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video rounds out the education of any filmmaker. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

Nearly every DLSR camera available today also shoots beautiful high-definition video. YouTube and Facebook are bursting with user-generated content as people share their memories and travels. Whether it's highlights from a great vacation, the kids' soccer game, or family gatherings, everyone wants to create compelling video to document it. While DSLR cameras are quite capable of shooting video, for many, their foray into video shooting can be frustrating. Footage tends to be dark and out of focus and suffers from camera shake and bad audio. In Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots, photographer and video expert Rich Harrington demystifies the process and teaches a solid foundation for capturing great video. Whether readers have been dabbling in video already or have never even used that mode on their camera, they will learn how to go from capturing mediocre video to creating compelling footage--and all the steps in between! Readers will also learn the essentials of video editing and publishing to the web; how to make the most of their existing equipment; affordable options to improve video capture; and much more! To supplement the book, readers will gain sample videos that further demonstrate the techniques presented in the book.

Providing a detailed break-down of the skills required to establish and grow a profitable production company, this book enables content creators and filmmakers to navigate the commercial video production world and the needs of its clients. Drawing on professional experience in the industry as well historical examples, author Tom Vaughan-Mountford illustrates the ways in which producers can avoid common pitfalls and better manage their business, projects, and clients. Making the corporate world accessible for filmmakers, this book covers all aspects of the video production process, equipping creatives with the tools—and the mindset—to offer their skills to paying clients in a reliable, repeatable, and above all profitable manner. This book is ideal for filmmakers and content creators looking to establish a successful video production business, and features an online resource pack with example production paperwork including a call sheet, and example script re-writes.

Discover how to create professional-quality digital videos--faster than you can say "lights, camera, action" Digital video cameras are everywhere--even on our phones! But cameras don't make great movies; filmmakers do. Written by a seasoned pro with 40 years of teaching experience, Digital Filmmaking for Beginners is your fully illustrated introduction to all technical aspects of digital filmmaking. Featuring clear, concise instruction--accompanied by online video demonstrations--this comprehensive guide covers the best methods and techniques to plan and script projects; set up lighting, microphones, and cameras; and shoot, edit, and apply postproduction effects and other finishing touches. Whether you're an amateur film buff or an aspiring professional videographer, this is the source for everything you need to bring your ideas from the page to the screen. Coverage includes: Best practices to ensure smooth operations in all project phases, from planning to post production Recommendations on selecting and purchasing cameras, filming gear, and the best editing and effects software to fit your budget and needs Advice on planning, shooting, editing, and other technical elements Fully illustrated tutorials on composition, framing, and other visual storytelling techniques Exclusive bonus online content, including finished video demonstrations of key filmmaking techniques and informative articles

So you have a camcorder and visions of being the next Spielberg. But how do you progress from shooting so-so footage to showing your own finished movie? Digital Video For Dummies, 4th Edition gives you the know-how and the show-how! Find out how to shoot and edit great movies, using iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or Adobe Premiere Elements to add the finishing touches like special effects and your own soundtrack. With the latest information and lots of illustrations and screen shots, this friendly guide walks you through: Getting your computer ready to work with digital video (complete with information about FireWire) Choosing a camcorder, including features to look for and features that are useless Digitizing old VHS videotapes to preserve memories Purchasing other movie making gear, including audio and lighting equipment Shooting better video, with tips on lighting, panning, using the zoom, and recording better audio Creating your own sound effects such as footsteps, bones breaking, fire, thunder, insects buzzing, and more Capturing digital video using iMovie, Windows Movie Marker, or Premiere Elements Editing, including understanding timecode, organizing and previewing clips, and assembling clips in Storyboard and Timeline Adding transitions, titles, and special effects Importing and integrating video from phones and digital cameras Using audio rubberbands in iMovie, Premiere Elements, and other editing programs Adding narration, importing and working with CD audio, and adding a music soundtrack Keith Underdahl has extensive professional video production experience developing kiosk and marketing videos for Ages Software. Realizing that you’ll want to polish and premiere your movie, he includes information on: More advanced video editing, including animating video clips, improving light and color, compositing video (bluescreen or greenscreen), and more 13 categories of video effects, ranging from blur and sharpen to transform Working with still photos and graphics Sharing your video online using QuickTime (/QT), RealMedia (.RM), or Windows Media Video (.WMV) Making tapes or burning DVDs in 9 steps With a handy cheat sheet of keyboard shortcuts, a chart comparing 10 video editing programs, a glossary, and more, with this guide you’ll soon be saying “Lights, camera, action” and producing your own movie attraction.

"All kinds of people are creating video for the web: bloggers, small business owners, web show hosts, and corporate marketing departments, to name just a few. How do the best videos get made and go viral? What secrets lie behind them? In Video Nation you'll learn everything you need to make great-looking video for YouTube, Facebook or your blog-from one of the top experts around!" -- Cover.

Go beyond what buttons to push on your computer and what trendy effects to use in your videos. Transform your editing with skills that you can apply to any project, no matter what software program you use. Whether you run a video production studio or you're an independent freelancer, a YouTuber or in-house content creator, this short, easy-to-read and easy-to-apply book will give you the tools you need to assemble your videos quickly and powerfully. Apply these skills whether you're editing videos for web, social media, corporate businesses or non-profits. Discover why an edit point works or doesn't, what kinds of edits to use, when to cut your footage to the best advantage, where to use effects and transitions, and how to weave everything together into a compelling story for your audience. Learn how to cut and make videos that keep your audience engaged and watching until the very last frame.Author and professional editor, Rachel Bastarache Bogan, has spent the last ten years working with video producers, directors and editors across the United States and Canada. In this book she shares her decade of editing experience and gives you the tools and theory to create videos that keep audiences watching again and again.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together