How to Become a Videographer
Everything You Need to Know to Get Started Shooting Video
Videography for Beginners
Have you been thinking about getting into shooting video but don’t know where to start? In this blog (my first blog ever), we’ll go through the beginner guide to getting started.
Ever been really scared to start something new and don’t know where to start? Perfect, you’re in the right spot! I spent many years as a Producer/Director working for shows out of LA & NY like E! Entertainment, Rachael Ray, Cup Cake Wars, and many more. I’ve always loved storytelling, shooting photos, and occasionally borrowing my DP’s (Director of Photography) camera to take a few shots of my own. I had all these ideas of what I wanted to shoot and how I wanted to shoot each shot but was too scared of the technical part of shooting video.
Eventually, I reached a point where my ideas were so bright in my mind but lost in translation with the DP’s & editors that I knew I had to make a change and learn the technical side of shooting. I had to teach myself how to shoot and edit. I could do all of this on my own. The money I spent hiring others could start to come to me instead. What was I scared of? If they could do it, I could do it.
This is where the adventure began. I was hell-bent on teaching myself all the things, and, yup, that takes a lot of time, patience, and asking all the questions. YouTube University, I like to say. I already had my BA degree, but I wanted to Produce, Direct, Shoot, and Edit all of my own stuff.
Knowledge is power, and damn it, it’s true. I spent several months (and currently always learning something new) teaching myself how to edit and color-grade all of my own footage. I asked friends a-LOT of questions, and most importantly I went out and shot footage! If we sit around thinking about shooting and never go out and shoot, we are doing ourselves a great disservice.
NEW TO SHOOTING VIDEO?
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How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck
Practice Practice Practice, and Practice some more!
It’s the only way to learn, and the only way to get better! I don’t care what kind of camera you have if ya don’t know how to use it!
I currently do all the things Direct, Produce, Shoot, and Edit. If it’s a really big project, I hire a second DP and always a drone operator. We travel all over the United States, shooting everything from Lifestyle (my fav) to corporate and everything in between. Now that you know a little about me, let’s talk about you and where to start as a videographer.
Getting Started as a New Videographer
Start at the beginning…
Why do you want to do this?
What inspires you about telling stories?
What would you like to gain from becoming a videographer?
Gear:
Camera: What kind of camera should I buy?
This is a question that will forever change. I spent way too long looking for the perfect camera (a year) waiting for this or waiting for that. There is NO perfect camera. Never will be. Cameras are changing so fast and updates usually come in the firmware updates, so you can download updates as they arrive. Just buy a camera and get to it.
Videography Equipment:
Canon is my all-time fav. Why? I love the color science in Canon & their cameras are so easy to navigate via the menu.
My favorite Lens right now - Canon RF 50mm F 1.2L USM Lens, Black
Things I was looking for:
- Mirrorless Video Camera: Why? They’re lighter, easier to handhold for extended periods of time. I shoot a lot of handheld video!
- Shoot 4k at 60fps (high-quality shots in slow motion)
- Shoot at least (1080 at 120fps: super slow-mo awesome for LifeStyle)
- Dual card slots. I wanted to be able to record to two cards at the same time to have a backup on-site.
- IBIS: In-Body Image Stabilization. This was a must! I do a lot of free-flow handheld video footage, and without IBIS the footage looks shaky.
- Run and Gun: I love the idea of building out a camera, but when I’m on-site it’s rare that I have a lot of time to build out a rig (camera with attachments). It was important to me to have very little build time, and I wanted to be able to grab my camera and start shooting quickly. I travel with very light cameras, and gear can get very heavy. Small and portable is what I love.
- Shoot 10bit 422 (better quality footage over 8bit)
- Shoot clog (log is Canon’s high dynamic range shooting profile)
I like to color-grade all my footage in post. I use Adobe Premiere Pro and the entire Adobe Creatie Cloud for all my video and photo editing. I also purchased Luminar Ai and it’s been a game-changer for photo editing
- Manual settings (A camera that allows for manual setups for shooting). This is a must! Starting with auto is ok to get started, but I always encourage new photographers & videographers to learn The Exposure Triangle & manual settings to have the most control over every shooting situation.
Tips for New Videographers
As a newbie videographer, one of the best ways to get out there and start shooting is to get hired as an assistant (to learn from a pro). Yes, you can get paid as an assistant.
Try working on all types of shoots to gain as much experience across the board. This will also help you decide what kind of content you like to shoot.
Examples of video projects: Lifestyle, Corporate, Weddings, RealEstate and so much more.
Also, start shooting with a videographer who is in need of a 2nd shooter.
There are tons of projects (especially weddings) where I always hire a 2nd shooter because there is so much to cover in a short period of time.
Post Production Essentials
So now you have all your beautiful footage what’s next?
1) SD Cards I use are Sandisk Extreme Pro 300mb/s 64GB
2) Back up, Back up, Back up! If you have a $10,000 project on several tiny SD cards, you’re gonna want to back everything up 3 or more times imminently.
I use external hard drives to store all of my footage. After you have edited your final version of the video, and it’s been sent to the client, then 1 or 2 copies is ok.
I use SSD (solid-state drives) external hard drives. They don’t have a disk inside them that spins, which can potentially get damaged. My favorite external SSD is Samsung T7 Portable SSD 500GB It even comes in a cute gold color.
3) You have your footage, and you’ve backed it up. It’s time to start editing.
Video files are large, and they need a computer that can handle large files.
The computer I use 2021 Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, Apple M1 Pro chip with 10core CPU and 16core GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
4) External Monitor I use LG 27MD5KL-B 27 Inch UltraFine 5K
5) Editing software to edit your videos. I use the Adobe Creative Cloud which gives creatives access to an entire suite of software tools, including AdobePhotoshop, Lightroom, and PremierPro, which is what I use for editing all of my video. I have also now started using Luminar Ai and it’s a game-changer for editing photos.