By: Amy Mac, wampro.tv
It is always so exciting to be creating videos on the road. However, whether it’s a conference hall, a dark restaurant or a just in the middle of nowhere, it can be tough to find a great shot. Maybe there are too many people in the background, too much or not enough light or maybe just nothing behind the person and each of these can just look terrible on camera. So what do you do? Tie yourself to your safe studio space that is lit just right and makes the talent and you look good? Or do you have to learn how to make the best of a bad shot? Well, in this post, we are going to tell you what you can do to improve your shot.
1) Zoom!
Not every scene or every subject needs to be zoomed in super tight. However, many times, this can eliminate some of the distracting chaos that is behind the talent. Zooming allows the audience to focus on the talent, which should be the point of the video. Using wide, crowd shots to establish the location and show the chaos are great for B roll. Also, once you zoom in, you might find that you can use a wall or other background to work in the smaller frame.
2) Light it up!
The talent needs to be lit more than the background or they will just be a silhouette and lost in the frame. Position yourselves under a couple of lights or near a window or even a light on your camera can help to highlight the talent.
3) Trickery
Ok, so it isn’t exactly trickery but there are ways that you can make the background ‘disappear’ so that it isn’t distracting. One of the way is a 50mm (or similar lens) and utilize a shallow depth of field that blurs the background and focuses on the talent. Finally, you can do some stylizing of the video in post-production that can create a spotlight feel on the talent and minimize some of the background focus. (search: “how to make a vignette” in google. It’ super simple once you learn how.)
4) Turn it up!
If you have tried all of these things and you still have a bad shot, then lean in to that shot! Embrace it because it is all you’ve got! If you are at a conference and the background is crazy energetic, then make that part of your video. Think of it this way - when the weatherman is standing in the middle of a hurricane, the focus isn’t on him, it’s on the flying debris and the trees in the background bent in half. So if you have a hurricane behind you, then you better be showing it off!
These are just a few ways that you can take a bad shot and make them great! Remember, you are there to tell a story so live in the moment and give the audience what they came for!
