Top Ten Tips to making better video

It doesn't matter if it's a first birthday party, recording a holiday of a lifetime, filming a prank to put on YouTube, or making an indie film, the same advice applies which is broken only consciously and for effect.

1.  Tell a story.

Yes even a children's birthday party has a beginning, middle and end with people arriving and saying goodbye. If it is a holiday film, don't show every meal you ate, pick out the most interesting thing/things you did and make a mini documentary. Make two or three if necessary.

2.  Keep it short.

Less is more. Pick out the memorable shots, these are what people will remember. And keep shots short as well. (see Edit, edit, edit below)

3.  Keep the camera steady

Let the action happen in the frame. Shooting an action movie? Shaky hand held shots are very effective as they convey fast moving action otherwise it is very annoying!

4.  Think about how it is lit.

There is nothing worse than the thing you want to see the detail of is in darkness of silhouetted against a bright background. A face lit from below front really brings it alive.

5.  Establish the scene, then...

Unless you want to keep your audience in the dark to retain 'the mystery', show a wide shot of the general scene, then a brief medium shot of the subject you are about to focus on then... 

6. Use lots of close ups.

Well lit close ups are the scenes your audience will love and talk about later. Make sure they are in sharp focus. Focus on the eye nearest to the camera.

7. Change the camera angle often

This keeps your audience interested. Get down to the same level as children, if they are laying on the floor, lay with them. Look up at adults, show the child's point of view. You get the idea!

8. Edit, edit and edit again

Never be afraid to keep shots short, More often than not 2 seconds is enough then...cut to the next shot. Note how many times the picture changes on TV or in the cinema. Commercials don't use lots of sub second shots for no reason, it holds attention. Cut on the action, as an arm rises, a head turns or even a blink. Cut away just before the action finishes, your audience will anticipate what happens next. Put it aside for a few days, then edit again taking out another 10%. Your finished film will be all the better for it.

9.  It's the people that count

20 years down the line pictures of distant hills will be meaningless. But those hairstyles! Did you really dress like that?

10.  Use the zoom very sparingly, same goes for panning.

Zooming in and out is very distracting.  Establish the shot you want then press the record button.  If you do zoom while filming, cut the movement out when you edit. Go from the wide shot straight to the close up. If you must, then zoom very very slowly.  Watch how slowly they do it on TV. Unless you are looking out for it you don't notice.

Panning too fast is a complete no no. If you want to show a wide panorama get someone to walk slow across the foreground and track them. You get the best of both worlds then, someone to add interest to the shot giving scale to the landscape you want to show.