So You Want to Film a Video.

(Now before I start, I know there will be people comparing me to a certain rider who is known to be extremely critical of videos.  While this person certainly has some skewed views on riding, he does know what's up on a lot of things, including filming a legit edit.  Let it be understood that from here on out I'm talking about making a video, NOT trying to change how people ride.)

Everyone and their mom has a camera these days, whether it be a piece of junk Flip HD or an (action sports) industry standard Sony VX.  But most kids in our sport today only have JVC Everios or whatever random camera with a random fisheye.  And they will go out and film an edit, a sponsor video, a day video, whatever, and not think about the filming of the video at all.  I get tons of videos from kids asking to put them up on IS, but I rarely do.  Why?  Because the way it was filmed and edited was just horrible. Even if the riding is good, the filming/editing can be enough to stop me from posting a video.  If there was a video that was filmed amazingly, I probably wouldn't hesitate to put it on IS. 

So you want to make a video, and you want to make it good.  Well, the first thing you’ll want to do is learn how to film properly.  Some of the basics include, but are NOT limited to:

• Getting low with the camera (especially while filming fisheye)
• Turning off the image stablization when filming fisheye
• Taking the fisheye OFF
• Holding the camera steady
• Getting close

Remember these simple things, and teach them to whoever is filming you.  One of the biggest things you can do to set your video apart is to simply take off your fisheye and use a tripod (I’m talking to you, Aussies).  It kills me to see fisheye shots from way far away.  And if you have tons of vignetting (big black corners on fish shots), you should zoom in a little bit to get rid of it.  Anyways before I get going on all of this, you find everything you need to know on the website SkatePerception.  SP is probably the best resource when it comes to making videos.  If you want to make a legit edit, I highly suggest you lurk around the forums there, read the stickies, watch the videos the users post.  You won’t regret it.

Once you start learning how to film properly, then you can invest in a new cam.  I won’t go into details here cause there’s a lot to consider but just lurk around SP, see what everyone else has.  Most of the big skate DVD’s are filmed with Sony VX1000’s and 2100’s, because they have some of the best colors, quality, and audio out of any prosumer camera.  I’m not saying everyone should go out and buy one immediately but if you want to eventually get into making legit videos (not for YouTube), that’s what you’re gonna wanna buy.  There are tons of other awesome cameras out there, like the 3CCD Panasonic GS series, the Sony TRV900/950,  Canon HV20/30/40, and the newer HDSLR’s.  All of which you can find more about on SP.

Editing can also make or break a video.  Most of the best edits are also the most simple.  Simple fades and cuts will usually be enough to make an edit flow.  There are some things you can do with filming to make transitions between shots but I won’t go into those.  Watching skate videos really helps to figure out what works and what doesn’t with editing.  A lot of it depends on the song and the riding as well, it just takes some practice to know how to fit it all together.

So overall the biggest thing you can do to improve the overall impression of your video (besides riding better) is to just put in effort when filming.  Think about the shot and what it’s gonna look like from that angle.  Lurking SkatePerception will teach you so many helpful things for making videos, from filming itself to editing to compressing for the web.  Putting in the effort will make your video more noticed, whether its by Steven or I for IS, a potential sponsor, or the general public.