OVERVIEW:
I took only one video production class from producer, director and camera operator Keven Strehle, but it was one of the most enjoyable classes I ever took. During the class, Keven taught what he called his "mantra"; a short list of video production tips that covered what I would call the "essential quality factors" of storytelling, camera stabilization, audio and more. Unfortunately, due to my "focus" on shooting footage during the class (and not taking notes) I wasn't able to remember Keven's mantra. I've thought about this several times over the years, and when I learned of Keven's unexpected and tragic death in 2013 (of a motorcycle accident) I started to regret not memorizing it even more. This concept of focusing on key things that affect video production quality, inspired me to create this list of "factors". These are what I consider the most important factors for creating authentic, reality-based films.
ABOVE: I was inspired by Northwest Backroads producer, director, and camera operator Keven Strehle to create a short list of the factors that affect video production quality. Keven was one of my favorite teachers at Highline College. Unfortunately, I didn't take enough notes during his class, so I've struggled remembering his "mantra".
What Makes a Quality Video Production?
FACTOR 1 REAL, GOOD CONTENT (STORYTELLING)
Keven had a passion for telling true stories, especially those set in the outdoors, and these are the stories for which he became famous (won several awards) for. Every good filmmaker talks about story. It's important, because without it viewers are left with nothing (and can feel like they've wasted their time). So "content is king" (and is listed first for this reason) but I don't agree with the "equipment doesn't matter" idea, and I'd prefer to say "equipment is MUCH LESS important than story".
FACTOR 2 REAL, GOOD IMAGES (ORGANIC, NOT "DIGITAL")
Again, if you're your goal is a less-than-realistic final image you may not think this is important, but in my opinion, even if you're going for changing the overall mood of a scene to a more dramatic color grade, you still should learn to make all the shots match. Patrick, a really good color grading artist from mixinglight.com emphasized the importance of making your cameras match, and said: "Shot matching is a key skill for anyone doing color correction. Well matched shots add tremendous production value to a project and enhance the effectiveness of the narrative by not forcing the audience to expend effort to maintain their suspension of disbelief." It is also important that the two (or more) cameras have the same contrast (and other image-related properties) but that's a topic for another post.
MORE INFO:
FACTOR 3 REAL, GOOD AUDIO (SYNCHRONOUS?)
Pretty much everyone agrees that if the audio is bad, nobody will like the video (no matter how good the video itself is.) This is actually one of the things I DO remember from Keven Strehle's mantra: "...compelling audio". When you're first learning video production, this can be quite a challenge, but it's one I believe you start to enjoy when you begin capturing good enough audio to feel the overall impact it has on your films. Audio recording may be one of the most underrated (and underappreciated) arts in the world because it's kind of "invisible" in that when the audio is GOOD, no one seems to notice, but when it's bad, you'll get lots of feedback (pun not intended, but it fits here).
ABOVE: Getting good audio was one thing Keven emphasized in his mantra ("compelling audio"). Here, he helps a student figure out how to dial in his audio settings.
FACTOR 4 REAL, GOOD ACTING (OR NOT ACTING?)
I always say that good actors don't appear like they're acting. Sometimes they're so good you may find yourself saying that you do or don't like a certain actor based on a certain movie they are in (but then you see them in a different movie and you "can't stand em"). Bad acting stands out, but good acting, like some of the technical factors that we'll be considering, become "invisible" and seem to be part of the story. They are so good you find yourself believing it's real (or, have to expend less effort to do so). My personal approach to acting is to try to stay as close to my true personality as possible in a role, and this makes it easier to improvise and yet be consistent and true to your character (two skills that are sought after in actors).
FACTOR 5 REAL, GOOD COMPOSITION (NO FISHEYES)
This factor is very important and the most powerful evidence for this is how much many filmmakers rely on storyboards to set up their shots. There are many different "takes" on this subject, some recommending the strict use of storyboards (and some saying they can cramp your creativity) but my point is not to demand or require STORYBOARDS, but simply to emphasize the importance of composition. I "always shoot with 2 cameras" and I think this approach is the easiest way to speed up compositional decisions (i.e. don't try to decide if it should be a wide or tight shot, JUST GO AHEAD AND SHOOT BOTH).
ABOVE: I loved Keven's style of teaching; he encouraged us to start by using the gear we had, and he was always there to make sure we got it right.
FACTOR 6 REAL, GOOD DEPTH OF FIELD (DOF)
You may have heard about the meme that grew out of a Camera Conspiracies video on YouTube that jokingly refers to bokeh (the properties of an out of focus background) as "toneh". If you haven't (and can stand some humor) check out the back story here. If you have, you know that having too little of the background in focus can be a bit distracting. To quote the video "Why did you bring us to a lake and hide it?...I want to see the lake..!" My take on achieving realistic depth of field is to ask "what does the human eye normally see?" The general rules I follow are: #1 Our eyes create less depth of field the closer an object is (maybe this helps us focus on the detail?) and #2 The darker it is outside or inside, the less depth of field there will be (and it's pretty neat this works the same with low-light lenses)!
FACTOR 7 ACCURATE FOCUS (EASIER W/MORE DOF)
Accurate focus is important (mostly) because it affects image sharpness. It is closely tied to depth of field, but depth of field can either make focusing more difficult (and make bad focus stand out due to the contrast of the blurry background) or it can make it easier (by making most of the picture in focus). The point is, either way, if your focus is off, it can be distracting, and unless that is what you want, it can detract from the story (again, the most important thing). The technical way to achieve good focus is changing due to autofocus technology improving, but I find the most accurate way right now is to use manual focus, and there's a bit of a learning curve involved here (practice, practice).
FACTOR 8 REAL, GOOD STABILIZATION (NOT SHAKY)
This may be the biggest thing that kept me, a former photographer, from quickly becoming a videographer. I had a lot of experience in still photography, but I had relied on either using a high shutter speed or flash to keep my images sharp, and so I HARDLY EVER USED A TRIPOD! This made the transition to video production and filmmaking a challenge. I had to learn to use a tripod, but I did learn and I carry one almost everywhere, yet the need for a tripod lessened when good quality IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) was introduced on lower-cost cameras (such as the Panasonic GX85 #ad ). (BTW, I think that's the camera that gives you the most for the money, currently).
FACTOR 9 REAL, GOOD EDITING (NO SPECIAL FX)
Well again, if your intention is not to mirror reality, then this tip may not be up your alley, but if it is, let's define the term "realistic edit". I consider a realistic edit to be an edit with few special effects that utilizes and 2 or more cameras (because our eyes and brain rarely stay focused on just one "view" of a scene, so I think you need to "cut" to different camera angles somewhat often). So, what about "timing"? Well, my opinion is that timing can be either realistic, unrealistic or downright bad (bad timing would be when the edits are not done with rhythm, etc.) To me, realistic timing causes the edit to switch cameras or angles at or near the same rate that a person's attention would shift from one thing to another in a scene. If it's too fast, the viewer feels like "Wait, I wasn't done looking at that!" but if it's too slow, the person may feel like they want to look around the scene, but the camera isn't letting them (i.e. they are getting bored). Unrealistic timing then, is when the director or the editor (whoever is making the decisions) is either trying to speed up/rush the scene (to shorten the movie, for example) or just doesn't have a sense of timing (maybe no musical talent?) So, the effect timing has on telling the story is probably the most important consideration.
FACTOR 10 REAL, GOOD DISTRIBUTION (NOT VERTICAL)
I'm adding this "factor" kind of as a joke, but in some ways, I take this very seriously. When real, historical events are captured using vertical composition, I think it's a waste because it automatically removes the possibility of having the footage featured in a documentary, and when it's displayed with black bars on each side (or even worse, over top a blurred image of the same video) it makes my heart sad. However, not only does shooting vertical video lock you in to just certain cell phone markets on platforms that are the furthest thing from "REAL" (i.e. TikTok, YouTube Shorts) but it also gives it the feel of a Mr. Bean production (from the movie "Mr. Bean's Holiday" #ad ). There's too much panning (moving the camera left and right to follow things around) and unreal wide-angle distortion, etc.
CONCLUSION:
Well, this turned out to be a lot less technical and more philosophical, so If you would like a more nitty-gritty list of technical tips, check out my Top 10 Tips For Easy Video Production.
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