How much work goes into shooting a pizza commercial? A lot.

Watch this entertaining and educational, behind-the-scenes video!

I think a lot of people don’t realize the investment of time, gear, and people, that it takes to create a great video.

A couple nights ago I shot a short film (I was the cinematographer, my favorite role), and we only had a crew of seven. It wasn’t enough people. It seems like we never have enough people.

The problem with having too few people is that you end up having one person play two different roles. Sometimes when you play more than one role, it’s hard to do great at both of them. This is why it’s a good idea to separate the camera person from the audio person, for example.

When I watched this behind-the-scenes video above, I asked myself a couple questions:

• Why so many people?
• How many viewers realize what goes into making a video?

I highly recommend you read what Michael Forrester wrote about this video (which is how I discovered it). And then subscribe to his blog.

What thoughts do you have when you watch this video? I’d love to hear in the comments…

Sometimes new video shooters make the mistake of lighting talent with hard light sources, when the talent would likely look better under a soft source. And sometimes the shooter doesn’t even realize they’re making this mistake.

This video will show you several methods you can use to turn a hard light source into a soft light source. Many people look best under a soft light, so it’s useful to know how to do this.

If you love lighting for video, or if you love learning about gear and different ways you can use it, you’ll love this tutorial.

This video is available to members only.

You can click here to watch the trailer.

If you like this tutorial and want access to more than 160 other video tutorials like it, you should learn about an Izzy Video Membership.

Video shooters, did you know you can change the world, make a big impact, help people achieve their dreams?

I’m dead serious about this. If you can shoot video, you can change the world for the better. Here’s how…

When you have a video camera and a microphone, it’s like having access to the printing press back in the day. You have the ability to produce something valuable. All you need are ideas and time.

My challenge to you is to forget about day rates, hourly rates, and project rates. Not completely — but occasionally forget about them, and think in a new way. Be willing to work for free up front. You already have the gear. You’re already making a living from your other paid gigs and projects. Why not try something new?

Team up with someone who dreams of making something video-related, and don’t charge them anything. Offer your video skills in exchange for a percentage of the profits. That way, if they don’t make anything, they don’t owe you anything. But if you help them make something awesome, then you’ll both potentially benefit.

People tell me their ideas all the time. For example, there’s a lady that wants to make an instructional video series on how to belly dance. Great idea. There are people in the world who would buy it. She doesn’t have the money up front to pay my day rate, so why not offer to split potential profits with her?

Another person has amazing welding skills and wants to show the world how it’s done. Another great idea. People would buy it.

Everywhere you go, there are people with great ideas for video products, but they don’t have the money to pay you to shoot it.

My challenge to you: Be willing to help them make their dreams come true. Shoot the video for them for a percentage of the profits.

If you’re a video shooter who already makes a living, it’s a viable (additional) model. It’s reasonable that one of the projects you shoot could do well.

Where do you go from here?

1. Listen to people’s ideas. Choose which ones you have time for, and then help them produce their video products.
2. Get additional skills. Want to do an even split with them? You can justify it if you offer more. These days, it makes sense for a video shooter to learn how to produce great video on the web. Among other things, this means learn how to encode for the web. Learn how to host it and post it. Learn how to distribute it via the web, through RSS and other means.

If your video gear is just lying there, it’s like the printing press has stopped printing. That doesn’t make sense, does it?

If you have the gear and the skills, you can help people’s dreams come true. Why not give it a try?

All the best,

Izzy

Last week I asked what topic you wanted to see next, and because the answers were so varied, I decided to start tackling each of them.

This tutorial shows you how to create effects in your videos using basic color correction tools. In fact, I intentionally demonstrate this using the Final Cut Express color correction tool, which is super basic. Naturally, if you have more advanced tools, you can do a lot more.

This video is available to members only.

You can click here to watch the trailer.

If you like this tutorial and want access to more than 150 other video tutorials like it, you should learn about an Izzy Video Membership.

Hi again!

Once again, I’m trying to decide which video tutorial to make next. I have a few different ideas, so I thought I’d ask you. Which would you like to see next?

• Lighting – Different methods to soften a light
• Organization – Organizing and cataloging project files across multiple drives
• Style – How to stylize video with effects and filters
• Text – Tips for adding text to video

The first one would be live video, and the last three options would likely be screencasts with voice-overs.

I think any of these subjects would be helpful, but which would you prefer to see next? Please let me know in the comments…

All the best,

Izzy

P.S.> This video will be a members-only tutorial. If you’re not a member, you can learn about a membership here. (Look for the coupon code I posted there!)

P.P.S.> I’ve been getting a lot of video-related questions via email — more than I have time to answer. The best place to ask questions is in the members-only forums. Other members and I like to pop in there to help get your questions answered. Here’s a link to the forums:

https://members.izzyvideo.com/iv-forums/

How can you keep track of all the video clips when they’re archived on multiple drives?

In this tutorial video, I’ll show you how I organize and catalog my video clips. You’ll see:

• The software I use
• The order (workflow)
• Several tips that have made things easier for me

This video is available to members only.

You can click here to watch the trailer.

If you like this tutorial and want access to more than 150 other video tutorials like it, you should learn about an Izzy Video Membership.

How can you make family videos more interesting? Emulate what you see in documentaries.

In this video, I’ll show you the four ingredients of documentaries, and then I’ll show you how you can turn regular family videos into micro-documentaries. (And people will love what you make with them!)

This video is available to members only.

You can click here to watch the trailer.

If you like this tutorial and want access to more than 150 other video tutorials like it, you should learn about an Izzy Video Membership.

Is your video too flat?

I see it all the time in online videos — a camera directed squarely toward a face that’s directed squarely toward the camera. Want to know how to make a more interesting image? Turn something. Turn the person, or turn the camera. Or if you want, do both.

This creates diagonal lines in your image. Diagonal lines help because they add energy and a sense of movement. The human eye enjoys diagonal lines more than flat ones.

How can you apply this when you’re shooting video?

If your subject is a building, move the camera to the side so you’re not shooting directly toward the flat side. You want to see at least two sides.

If you’re shooting video inside a room, move the camera so you’re NOT shooting directly toward a flat wall. A good tip is to shoot into corners. When you focus on this, it’s easy to capture the diagonal lines of the walls.

If you’re shooting video of a person’s face (say for a classic talking head shot), turn the person or the camera so you can see the side of their face a little. This will add more dimension and movement.

One thing to avoid — don’t turn a person’s face too far. Usually a profile isn’t the ideal thing to see. It’s too flat. Instead of being flat from the front, it’s flat from the side. Also, you can only see one eye. This seems a little strange to us. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you can always see both of your subject’s eyes, even if the second one is only barely visible. Unless, of course, you’re intentionally trying to create a flat image.

Remember that one of our goals as shooters is to try to add dimension. We do it through lighting, sure, but we also do it by picking good camera angles.

The next time you’re shooting video, try turning something and see if that helps make a better image.

Patience is hard for video shooters. I guess it’s because we’re human, and humans generally struggle with it.

Still, if you have a little patience when you’re shooting video, you’ll be happier with your results. For example, there’s the 15 second rule. It’s simple, but it will make your life a lot easier.

Here’s how it works:

When you’re getting a specific static shot — make sure you record for at least 15 seconds.

That’s it? Yes, it’s as easy as that.

Why this amount?

Fifteen seconds of a single static shot is more than you’ll likely need. This will give you choices later when you’re editing. Because editors want to hold the attention of their audience, most shots in the final edit will last 4 seconds or less. If they were to use the entire 15 seconds that you captured, it would feel like an eternity to the audience.

By the way, when I refer to a static shot, I mean a shot that has little or no movement. This might be an establishing shot, a video portrait, or a number of other scenarios. When there’s almost no movement, it’s (usually) hard to watch a long clip (such as 15 seconds).

If you’re capturing 15 seconds when you shoot, you have a lot of 4 second options inside of the 15 second clip. For example, you could use seconds 1 to 5, seconds 2 to 6, seconds 3 to 7, and so on. You get the idea.

If you’re like some shooters and you only record for 4 seconds because that’s how much you’ll need in post, then you’ve limited your options. Whether you’re doing your own editing or having someone else do it, remember that editors love options. It gives them room to move. And the 15 second rule helps get that done.

During the 15 seconds, resist the urge to zoom the camera.

Resist the urge to adjust.

But most of all, resist the urge to stop rolling.

Capture at least 15 seconds, and then you can set up for your next shot.

* If you were thinking that the 15 second rule referred to how long food can be on the ground before it’s no longer safe to eat…well, that’s a different rule. This one is for shooters. :-)