Audiovisual Communication

Tips & Best Practices

What makes a good audiovisual story?

Knowing what theme, meaning, experience you want to communicateUsing form and style to capture and organize audiovisual elements that serve your storyA short film by definition is not a complete treatise on the topic or subject matter … choose your interpretation and stick to that focusThe best visual stories are compact, visceral and evocative

SHOW DON’T TELLThink about how you would communicate your story without words … don’t worry about what’s possible yet – get creative!Think about is the “action” or the “verb” you would use to describe the story and use that as a guiding principle (form and style)Imagine the scenes/moments that you need to capture to most effectively capture and communicate your storyUse the images and sound to make emotional connections – empathize or evoke … and words then give context Create an EXPERIENCE … help the viewer feel what its like to be there

TECHNICAL TIPSFOCUSLIGHT & COLOR

ExposureWhite Balance

TECHNICAL TIPSStay away from auto focus

TECHNICAL TIPSEXPOSURE

Expose for the most important element in the frame about under/over exposureDon’t shoot subjects in front of bright lightsUse your Zebras

TECHNICAL TIPSWHITE BALANCE

White Balance every time your lighting conditions change

COMPOSITION Adhere to the Rule of Thirds

COMPOSITION Pay attention to the SPACE in your

frame: Head Room for Intv,

COMPOSITION Pay attention to the SPACE in your

frame: Look space & eyeline for static

COMPOSITION Pay attention to the SPACE in your

frame: Lead space for moving

COMPOSITION USE NEGATIVE SPACE

accentuate/direct viewer/provide detail/context

(Positive Space: The subject of the image. This is generally the item on which the camera is focused. Negative Space: The rest of the image. It is located between the positive space and the frame.

COMPOSITION AVOID DISTRACTIONS

(poles, plants, paintings) coming out of head

COMPOSITION PROVIDE BALANCE don’t cut off limbs

Try to keep your shot as STEADY as possible Use tripod or stabilization device as much as possible Hand-held aesthetic should be intentional aesthetic Don’t attempt camera moves (zooms, pans, tilts) without the tripod

Allow the action to complete when filming movement Walk out of frame

Door closeFinish task

Shot Movement

Make sure every shot has it’s own logic beginning, middle and end

Hold shot for at least 15 secondsGive yourself paddingat the beginning and end of each shot

Shot Duration

Make sure every shot has it’s own logic beginning, middle and end

Hold shot for at least 15 secondsGive yourself paddingat the beginning and end of each shot

Shot Duration

Establishing shot: establish location & atmosphereMaster shot/Wide Shot: size that includes all subjects to establish main players, main action and a sense of relationships & setting

In documentary good idea to get this shot first & then once main action tcomplete or repeated then get other coverage shots/anglesThink “if I had to communicate whole scene in one shot what would it be”

Medium shots get closer to subject and action – show clothing, gesture, body language

Close-ups used to capture dialogue, facial expression, details

Over the shoulder shots – also show positioning and eyeline. Good for showing interaction or POV

Reverse shot – shows the opposite angle of viewpoint

Cutaways – individualized shots of anything relevant to interview

SCENES & SEQUENCES“cover your scene … “

FIVE-SHOT PATTERN

Make sure audio levels are good (-12 to -20 db range)Always wear your headphonesDon’t talk while shooting visuals – you will need the ambient sound Record room tone for 30 seconds once shoot is over

AUDIO for VIDEO

Always Keep the Camera RollingMake sure to keep rolling once interview officially overConsider rolling before you enter – nice set-up if comfortable

Listen as much as LookPay close attention to the sounds/ambience of the space

 Take stockLog/transcribe your footage first chance you get Direct your next shoot/interviewLearn from your mistakes

TIPS