What You'll Learn This Hour

• Getting the story right: story creation tips from NBC-TV correspondent Bob Dotson
• Writing in the active voice: Mackie Morris' writing tips—"The Good Writer's Dazzlin' Dozen"
• Storytelling with video: scriptwriting tips from Hollywood screenwriters Stephen Black and Henry Stern
• Stepping up to film: expert advice from cinematographer Charly Steinberger
• The business of video production: Sam Prigg's tips on starting a video production company
• Doing the video production thing: Joe Walsh's event shooting tips

Premiere Pro is a powerful video production tool. By choosing Premiere Pro, you've made a commitment to take your video production quality up several notches. To do that requires more than learning new editing techniques. You also need to hone your story-creation skills, writing style, and even business acumen. By moving to Premiere Pro, you're showing the kind of interest in video production that frequently leads to a profession within that industry.

This hour addresses those issues. I've turned to some colleagues and friends in the TV news, film, and video production industry and asked them to offer expert tips within their specialty.

Getting the Story Right

I worked in the TV news business as a reporter and anchorman as well as shooter and editor. In my 11 years working on-camera and off, I constantly critiqued my work and asked others to do the same. Some offered their advice in writing and I hung on to those words of wisdom:

• An NBC producer who ran the affiliate feed—a daily collection of stories made available to local network stations for their use—once wrote about a prison counseling piece that I submitted to him. He said that my "story talked about" the subject "but showed nothing" about it. My tape "cried out for some natural sound of a session in progress."
• A Seattle TV news director wrote that my stories had a sameness—a voice track, a sound bite, more voiceover, another sound bite, and a standup close. "Mix 'em up," he suggested.
• And a consultant took me aside to tell me to "break up my on-camera pacing with pauses."

I took all those tips to the bank. The NBC producer ended up buying about a story a week from me. The news director helped me get a job in a much larger market. And the consultant's advice helped me land an anchor job at that station.

I'm a believer in heeding expert advice.

In putting together this book, I've had the enjoyable opportunity to contact many of the people who have given me advice or from whom I have gained a lot of practical knowledge. Each agreed to provide expert tips focusing on their specialty. You've already met photographer Karl Petersen in Hour 2, "Camcorder and Shooting Tips." In Hour 7, "Applying Professional Edits and Adding Transitions," you'll hear from editor John Crossman. And in Hour 12, "Acquiring Audio," Chris Lyons, an audio engineer from the world's leading microphone manufacturer, Shure, Inc., offers up his expert advice.

For this hour, I compiled six expert columns. I think they all speak to enhancing your skills beyond the fundamentals of camerawork, editing, and simply learning how to use Premiere Pro's toolset. Further, you might want to take what you do with Premiere Pro and move into a career in video production. These experts speak to that.

Up first, Bob Dotson.

Story-Creation Tips from Bob Dotson

NBC-TV Today Show correspondent Bob Dotson is, I think, the best human-interest feature-story TV reporter. Dotson has received more than 50 awards. The National Press Photographers Association award committee wrote, "Bob Dotson's reports help us understand ourselves a bit better. They show that all our lives are important and really matter. After all, this country was built not by great heroes or great politicians, but by ordinary people—by thousands whose -names we don't know, may never know, but without whose influence America wouldn't exist."

Although you probably aren't a TV newsperson, you'll probably create human-interest stories—Dotson's forte. If there's a storyteller out there you should emulate, I think he's the one. During my TV reporting days I tried to watch all his stories, and when a station I worked for offered me the chance to attend one of his seminars, I jumped at it.
I've reproduced my notes, with his approval, here. I took many things away from his class. Three points stand out:

• Give viewers a reason to remember the story.
• When interviewing people, try not to ask questions. Merely make observations. That loosens people up, letting them reveal their emotional, human side to you.
• Make sure that you get a closing shot. Most video producers look for dramatic opening shots or sequences (and that's still a good thing), but your viewers are more likely to remember the closing shot.

Bob Dotson's Storyteller's Checklist
Dotson's Storyteller's Checklist inspired his book Make It Memorable (Bonus Books) and a companion videotape of all the stories in the book. He prepared his list (and book) with TV news reporters in mind, but his tips apply to professional, corporate, and home video producers as well:

• Always remember that the reporter is not the story.
• Make sure the commitment is present. Commitment is your description of the story, stated in one sentence. That is, what you want the audience to take away from the report. You should be able to state the commitment as a complete sentence with subject, verb, and object. "Outside money is altering the city's architecture," "This cow has never taken an order in her life," "You can't murder a pumpkin," and so on. You formulate this commitment to yourself to help guide the story creation. Then you use your images to prove the commitment visually. Very seldom will you state the commitment verbally in any story.
• Write your pictures first. Give them a strong lead, preferably visual, that instantly telegraphs the story to come.
• The main body of the story should usually be no more than three to five main points, which you prove visually after you've identified them.
• Create a strong close that you can't top, something you build toward throughout the story. Ideally, the ending is also visual.
• Write loose. Be hard on yourself as a writer. Say nothing in the script that your viewers would already know or that the visuals say more eloquently.
• Throughout the story, build your report around sequences—two or three shots of a guy buying basketball tickets, two or three shots of a husband and wife drinking coffee at a kitchen table, and so on. Sequences demand matched action.
• Allow for moments of silence. Stop writing occasionally and let two or three seconds or more of compelling action occur without voiceover. For a writer, nothing is more difficult to write than silence. For viewers, sometimes nothing is more eloquent.
• Use strong natural sound to heighten realism, authenticity, believability, and to heighten the viewer's sense of vicarious participation in the events you're showing. Some reports merely enable you to watch what happened. The best reports make it possible for you to experience what happened.
• Tell your story through people. People sell your story. Try to find strong central characters engaged in compelling action that is visual or picturesque.
• Build in surprises to sustain viewer involvement. Surprises help viewers feel something about the story; surprises lure uninterested viewers to the screen. Surprises can be visual, wild sounds, short bites, or poetic script. Always, surprises are little moments of drama.
• Short sound bites prove the story you are showing. Don't use sound bites as substitutes for more effective storytelling.
• Address the larger issue. "A trailer home burned down." Such a story fails to meet the "so what?" test. "The trailer home burned down because the walls are full of flammable insulation" describes the larger issue and meets the "so what?" test.
• Finally, make your story memorable. Can your viewers feel something about the story and its subjects? If feeling is present, the story will be memorable. It will stick in the viewers' minds.

Keep It Simple...and Short
As a coda to Dotson's advice, I'll add that you need to remember, this is only TV. You need some mighty compelling or entertaining material to keep viewers glued to the tube for more than a few minutes. Think about whatever message you're trying to get across in your video project and consider what images, sound, and graphics will convey that message in the briefest, most effective manner. Then shoot with brevity in mind.

That's not to say that you don't grab unplanned video that looks great. Or that you cut interviews short even if you haven't heard some compelling sound bites. Videotape is expendable. Feel free to shoot plenty. Although it's true that you might have to wade through a lot to find the best shots, the advantage of DV is that after these shots have been located, you can simply capture them to your hard drive and they become immediately accessible.

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Storytelling with Video

That's what you do. You're a storyteller. In most cases, you might go out on a shoot with only a basic idea of what you're going to tape and how you're going to piece it together. That kind of approach will get you only so far.

As you up the ante in your work, there will be times when you'll want to work from a script. It may be as straightforward as a corporate safety production with employees doing the acting, or you may have aspirations to create a dramatic feature.

In either case, some fundamental scriptwriting skills will help you raise the bar of your production. I've tapped two of Hollywood's top writers to do the honors.

Stephen Black and Henry Stern's Scriptwriting Tips
I count myself fortunate to have Stephen Black and Henry Stern as neighbors and friends. Their TV scriptwriting and producing credits would fill this page. They forged new directions in episodic dramas with their work on Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Flamingo Road, Matlock, and Knot's Landing. Their work as head writers on As the World Turns and consultants for One Life to Live stirred things up and added sizzle to both of these long-running daytime staples. They've had a hand in a half-dozen TV movies, including the only TV film starring Audrey Hepburn, Love Among Thieves.

They got their start as a writing team doing comedies in the mid-1970s. Stern had been one of Broadway's youngest producers, and Black had written a couple plays. Despite failing to sell their first comedy script to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, they were given free access to the set where they watched rehearsals and show tapings, all the while taking copious notes. That led to a brief stint writing for a new show called The Love Boat ("It paid the bills and got us in the Writers Guild") and finally landed them a job with Norman Lear Productions, the company behind All in the Family.

These days they're working on their second novel and a movie script. Here's their advice to aspiring scriptwriters:

• The most important thing is that we like to tell stories.
• And the most important thing in stories is the characters. The best kind of character is one with the ability to surprise you. The audience is not dumb. You've got to come up with something unpredictable. You don't want a white hat or black hat. You want people wearing gray hats. People you can't read. You want to be interested in what happens to them.
• It's not a good idea to start your script writing with a plot. It's better to start with a theme. Know what you want to say, how you want to say it, and where you want to be at the end. The theme of our current film script is, How does the death of someone affect his three closest friends?
• With the theme in hand, we next create the characters. What is their arc and how will that change throughout the story? We invent detailed character bios. Where did they go to school? What were their parents like? What was their childhood like? We don't have to use all that in the script, but it's good for us to know to help craft the story.
• Next we sit down with a yellow legal pad and make 30 to 40 story points, such as guy robs bank, hides in mother's house, falls in love with neighbor, and so on.
• Then we write an extensive narrative outline—30 pages or more. We include texture—the tone and detail. We take time to describe settings and characters. Instead of merely using physical descriptions of characters, such as Bob is 6'2'' with the torso of a long distance runner, we're more likely to write, "As John was driving up Canyon Avenue, he looked out his rain spattered window and caught sight of Bob, one more time, running in the rain." That says a lot. We love doing that. It makes it easier to do the script.
• It's really crucial that you learn how to structure a piece so that your story makes sense. Know where your story is going and how plot elements and character elements will build on each other so they peak at certain points. An excellent film example of structure is Two for the Road, with Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. Even though they use multiple flashbacks, you know that from beginning to end this is a story of a marriage on the skids.
• Tell as much of the story as you can without dialogue. Tell it cinematically. Don't give camera directions such as wide, tight medium. That's the director's job and disrupts the story flow. But it's okay to script camera angles. We wrote a scene where a woman was about to tell her husband their son was killed in combat. The husband ran a steak house and happened to be in the walk-in freezer when his wife arrived. We directed the camera to look through the window and, without any dialogue, watch the woman tell the husband and see the reaction.
• You can't write if you're not an observer. We're constantly eavesdropping in restaurants. We're acutely aware of dialogue going on around us. Our characters have to speak in the vernacular of the time.
• Dialogue is more than just writing down what two people say to each other. Good dialogue is succinct, crisp, entertaining, and rich. It's a level above conversation.
• Bury the "pipe." The pipe is the exposition, the conduit of information, the stuff that the audience needs to know to make sense of the story. Say the character's been divorced three times, has six kids with six different women, and runs a grocery. You don't come out and say that. You impart it to the audience in an interesting way.
• Scriptwriting is collaborative. Everyone has a hand in it. A screenplay will go through 10 to 15 drafts before shooting begins.
• Writing is hard work. To sit there in front of a blank, empty computer screen knowing that you have to come up with compelling characters and stimulating plots, week after week after week can be daunting. Back in 1970, we were working with Leon Uris on a musical production of his novel Exodus. After several tiring meetings with potential backers, Stephen asked him if he had any advice for aspiring playwrights. He said, "Put your ass in a chair in front of a typewriter." This was the most succinct, valuable information we were ever given.

Unblocking Creativity
Writer's block strikes us all. As Black and Stern noted, it's darned hard to sit down in front of a blank computer screen and start putting words in the computer.
Here are some ways to get the creative juices flowing:

• Bounce ideas off others. Simply talking about your project typically will give you a whole new perspective. Listening to questions posed to you about your work will help you focus your writing.
• Change your work environment. I have the luxury of going outside and sitting on a rocking chair overlooking a lovely valley. That moment in the fresh air helps bust loose a few cobwebs.
• Scribble down some ideas. Turn away from your computer and grab a yellow legal pad and a felt-tip pen. Connect the thoughts on paper.
• Take a break. Listen to a great tune. Take a jog. Then get back to work—you're on deadline!

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Stepping Up to Film

I count myself fortunate to have one of Germany's top cinematographers, Charly Steinberger, as a friend. He's served as director of photography on scores of movies and TV shows. His films have won numerous prestigious awards, including German Film Award – Best Cinematographer, Venice Film Festival – Best Film, and the New York Critics Award – Best Film.

Steinberger has worked with some of Europe's most famous actors: David Niven, Roger Moore, Kim Novak, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren and, topping his personal list, Marlene Dietrich. Few readers of this book will have the opportunity to work at this top end of the film production scale, but I think everyone can take Steinberger's advice to the bank.

Charly Steinberger's Tips for Prospective Filmmakers
Steinberger's guidance comes from the perspective of a filmmaker who has seen absolutely everything. He has a pragmatic view. Here are his filmmaking tips:

• The most important component of a film is a good script. Unfortunately that happens only rarely.
• Next in importance is a solid budget.
• A good production team can make or break a film. Topping the list is the director and the cinematographer, followed by the set designer, costume designer, makeup artist, lighting specialist, grip, and editor. Overseeing it all should be a producer with a reputation for spending money wisely. Too many producers try to cut corners and save money by hiring less experienced (that is, cheaper) crew members.
• The photographer's primary responsibility is to use the camera to tell the story well. Too many cinematographers get lost attempting to create brilliant and grand images.
• A point that often gets neglected is the critical search for and selection of locations—be they cafes, apartments, or offices—to help give characters their correct motivation. The right settings bring life and depth to your characters.
• In the post-production world, there is no longer any difference between film and video. Both now use nonlinear digital editors.
• I still work with film instead of video because film has higher resolution, truer colors, more accurate reproduction, more brilliance, and solid contrasts. That said, it won't be long before video will equal film in quality.

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The Business of Video Production

I've been here. In the early 1990s, photographer Karl Petersen and I started Glint Video in Portland, Oregon. We had two good-sized clients and occasionally picked up smaller gigs along the way.

We sought advice from our mutual friend, news photographer Sam Prigg, who had turned some weekend freelance assignments into a growing video production business—with an office and his own gear and even employees! When we saw all that he had done to get where he was, it gave both Karl and me the jitters.

We stuck to what amounted to a freelance, on-call arrangement. Soon there were dry spells and too many wannabe competitors with NewTek Video Toasters and low-ball bids. Karl got an offer to be chief photographer at the local NBC-TV affiliate, and one of our clients asked me to write a book. So, we parted ways.

It's tough to get into any business, especially into a high-tech, creative field such as video production, where client expectations shift as quickly as the technology.

Despite that, Sam Prigg is still at it. While other production firms in Utah have folded their tents, Prigg has adjusted to the shifting landscape and grabbed greater market share. Here's his advice.

Sam Prigg's Tips on Starting a Video Production Company
Sam Prigg, the "Head Wabbit" at White Rabbit Productions in Salt Lake City (http://www.whiterabbitproductions.com) has never taken himself too seriously. That hasn't stopped him from creating one of Utah's most successful video production houses. His client list and "statues," as he puts it, make that clear. He's worked for all the major networks, plus Disney, Apple, Intel, and many other big-name clients. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, he had eight crews working full-time for folks such as Jay Leno, David Letterman, and MTV. His "statues" include Emmys, ADDYs, Tellys, DuPonts, and "Most Improved" in bowling.

Sam Prigg is one of the good guys. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him in the mid-1980s during my 4-year stint at KSL-TV in Salt Lake City. He has a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in cinematography. For the first half of his 27-year TV and film career, he thought he was going to live and die working for a TV station. But then the business changed and so did he.

Local news operations cut staff while adding news shows (news is relatively inexpensive programming), and TV networks found it was cheaper to make layoffs and hire local freelance crews instead. Sam began shooting on the side and soon started making more money working on weekends and vacations than he was in his day job.

Since he also was becoming disenchanted with that TV news job, he knew it was time to leave. How hard could it be, he thought, to do freelance full time and make a killing? He soon found out, and along the way, acquired a few tips that others might use to not make the same mistakes. Here's what he has to say:

• Learning about business is essential to survival. I have a degree in communications and lots of worldly experiences, but the business world is a whole different animal. You'll need to learn about insurance, taxes, bonding, business plans, advertising, equipment purchases or leases, office space, phones, faxes, furniture, marketing, pricing, invoicing, bad debts, good demo reels, production schedules, contracts, the IRS, accounting, hiring freelance workers, firing freelance workers, security, and credit. It's no surprise that most small startups fail after a few years.
• Working with a partner...or not. I started our company with a partner, thinking our skills complemented each other. Turns out we had conflicting ideas about how to run a business, and I ended up buying him out. Dissolving a partnership can be like getting a divorce. Partner up if you must, but be aware of the ramifications. Put your expectations in writing. Spell out the roles each partner will take, where the money will go, and be prepared to review the contract frequently.
• Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When I started my business, I had one client that accounted for most of my work. It was great. I traveled around the United States, shot all kinds of neat stuff, edited to my heart's content, and enjoyed life in the freelance world. Two years later, the client's company got sold and everything stopped. I forgot to broaden my base and to do that marketing thing. I had to scramble to find some new clients. It took a couple of years until I felt comfortable again, but I learned a few things. One is that eggs-in-one-basket rule, and the other is that the time to do your marketing is when you're busy with the project that you're currently working on.
• Figure out what kind of video production company you are. When I started out, I was going to offer to do anything at the highest possible level. I planned to shoot, write, and edit commercials, news, documentaries, corporate videos, sports, accident re-creations, school plays, weddings...well, no weddings, but just about anything else. My market was the world. And I could do it on film or video—I thought. It took a long time to discover who I was, but now I can say our mission statement in one sentence: We shoot high-end video for television networks, news magazine shows, and corporations, and we specialize in making people look good. After we figured that out, it was easier to focus our marketing and purchase the right equipment.
• Create a demo reel. Your demo reel represents who and what you are. It is your most valuable marketing tool. There are plenty of views about what makes a good reel. My take is that you may have only 30 seconds to make a favorable impression. Why? I know of TV news directors who view aspiring reporters' demo reels—chock full of stories, on-camera stand-ups, and clever on-set repartee—for all of 30 seconds. That's all the time they need to make such important decisions. Make sure that you gear your reel for your target audience and have it quickly demonstrate your core values. Our reel has a fast-paced introduction with several shots of well-lit people, well- composed shots of a variety of subjects, and lively music. It includes a few graphics-laden segments and ends with contact information. It runs about seven and a half minutes. I like to watch it. And it has helped us get lots of jobs.
• Educate your clients. When I meet a new client for the first time, I usually have to educate them about the steps involved with producing an effective video. It starts with identifying the audience members—their ages, educations, and preconceived attitudes about the subject. I then outline the dozen or so steps involved with most productions—concept, writing, storyboarding, casting, location scouting, crew, equipment, production shoot, narration, editing, graphics, and music.
• Don't burn a client. If you make a mistake with some clients—bad lighting, poor composition, arriving late, faulty equipment, dead batteries—they might forgive you once. TV networks are less forgiving. One mistake and they won't come back.
• Adapt to change because things will change. I try to stay up on the newest trends in equipment and technology, such as new recording formats and delivery systems. It's important to understand why they have been developed and how they change the way we do business. Many clients now ask about having their video streamed or converted to DVDs or CD-ROMs. High-definition formats are now being offered at the high-end and low-end. New recording formats include hard drives, memory sticks, and re- recordable DVDs. As a means to stay current, subscribe to technology magazines and join an industry organization such as the International Television Association for its conferences and seminars. View the work of others to see what kind of competition you might be facing and what kind of markets you might be missing.
• Deciding what to charge. For the high end of the video production market, it's easier to determine what to charge because TV networks, union contracts, and a universal fee schedule set the parameters for what the market will pay. In the television news, news magazine, and corporate worlds, using broadcast Betacam SP cameras, professional audio equipment, extensive lighting, and grip equipment and being backed by 15 to 20 years of experience, a two-person crew, consisting of a camera person and audio tech, can get between $1,200 to $1,500 for a 10-hour day. You can charge additional fees for the use of a wide-angle lens, matte box with filters, HMI or daylight-balanced lighting, and other production tools. Beginning photographers can usually charge $200 to $350 a day plus $150 to $200 for a mini-DV camera, a small lighting package, and a selection of microphones.
• Consider working for someone else. It's easier and much less expensive to work for the kind of company you would like to become. Get your experience with another production company that has its own equipment and clients. Perfect your techniques and broaden your knowledge by working for someone else. Then, as you understand the market and maybe find your niche, you can branch off on your own with a better understanding of the business and where your market might be. Our company is always looking for a photographer with a good eye as well as audio techs, gaffers, grips, teleprompter operators, writers, producers, and just about anyone else who can help make us look good.

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Doing the Video Production Thing

White Rabbit's specialty is making interviewees look great. Painting them with the right lights, placing them in visually appealing settings, and creating a film-like look using videotape—normally a harsh and all-too-realistic-looking medium.
Other production houses have other specialties. One focus for Cinemagic Studios in Portland is on-location, multicamera videotaping. Corporate roundtable discussions, live musical performances, and sporting events all fall into this realm. It takes a team of pros who have worked together for years to pull off something this fraught with complexities and possible snafus.

Joe Walsh's Event Shooting Tips
Joe Walsh and his team at Cinemagic Studios were my go-to guys when I worked as an independent video producer in Portland. I knew I could count on Cinemagic Studios to tackle whatever I threw at them. Walsh founded Cinemagic in 1980. His truly dedicated team, several of whom have worked for him for many years, has gained the confidence of a broad range of clients by meeting their unique needs and solving their communication problems.

Cinemagic offers a full range of film, video, animation, and multimedia services for commercials, documentation, promotion, training, instruction, seminars, business meetings, and corporate backgrounders. Their work has garnered 30 Telly Awards (http://www.cinemagicstudios.com).

One of Cinemagic's fortes is shooting events using multiple cameras and switching them live. Here's Walsh's checklist:

• Make sure you have a clear understanding of your client's expectations and budget. Crew prices vary depending on the market. In Cinemagic's case, we charge $1,500 per day for a standard DVCAM or Beta SP camera package with a cameraman and an audio person.
  
• Do a site check and rehearsal to determine the best camera locations. For two-camera remotes, it's best to have a back and front position. Place the cameras on risers so that you can shoot over people's heads. Position the cameras so that you don't "cross the plane" and shoot toward each other. Use the rehearsal to iron out details with the people in charge of the location.
• Use multiple cameras and switch the event live to minimize editing afterward. Later, if the budget allows it, you can improve the product by tossing in some post-production editing and graphics. Cinemagic's remote multicamera setup includes a digital switcher, intercom system, audio mixer, studio recorder, and monitors for each camera crew, plus preview and program feed monitors. Budding producers take note: To buy the equivalent gear that we use for your own two-camera remote setup would cost about $75,000.
• Always have the cameras record separate tapes. Even though we switch events live, if the technical director makes a bad switch or a cameraman makes an awkward move, we can fix it in post.
• "Jam sync" all recorders before starting to record. Setting the timecode to match all recorders makes it much easier to find footage that you need if you have to fix something in editing (see Hour 21, "Real-World Applications and Third-Party Products," for a review of Multicam, a product that enables you to "live edit" multiple-camera shoots).
• Have a pre-production meeting with your crew to discuss the project and assign their responsibilities. Onsite setup usually takes one hour for a single camera and two hours for multiple cameras. Make sure that all the cables are tucked away or taped down. After the setup, do a test record and playback check. During the event, we always monitor the audio and video signals.
• Ensure that your location is well lit. For a lot of our events, the house handles the lighting, which makes our job a lot easier. If not, we typically turn to our basic light kit: a Lowel light system with two broad throw Tota lights and one wide-focus-range Omni to use as a key- or backlight (see Figure 3.1).
  
  FIGURE 3.1 Lowel Tota light (left) and Lowel Omni light. (Images courtesy Lowel-Light Manufacturing, Inc.)
  
  
  
• Audio is crucial. When events handle their own audio, we take a line feed from their soundboard and use shotgun mics for backup and ambient audio. Otherwise, we rely on our standard mic kit: camera mic, shotgun, lavaliere, handheld, and PZM (pressure zone microphone, useful for a conference table with several speakers).
• When using wireless mics, select UHF instead of VHF to avoid frequency conflicts. All sorts of fun stuff can go wrong with wireless mics. Your receiver can pick up other sources on your channel, such as radio stations (I always get country music), pizza delivery guys, or other wireless mics from local commercial TV stations. The UHF wireless mics have multiple channels at the higher MHz frequency range, so there is less chance of interference. Always keep fresh batteries on hand. As the batteries grow weak, reception problems occur.

Our favorite wireless mic story happened when we were taking an audio line feed from the house. The house audio man placed a wireless mic on the presenter. Just moments before he was to go on, the presenter went to the bathroom. Not only did we pick up the very graphic audio, so did the 500 people in the auditorium.

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Color Balance Caution

If you raise the ambient illumination in an area by bouncing the beam from one or more lighting instruments off the ceiling, beware: If the ceiling is painted any color other than white, it will change the color of the reflected light.

To preserve the color of the bounced light, staple a piece of white poster board to the ceiling and bounce the light off of it. And don't worry - when you remove the poster board, the tiny staple holes will likely be invisible.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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If you work in one building, you'll notice that many of the windows are the same size. Instead of gelling them each time you have a shoot, measure the windows and build or buy frames to fit within the borders.

Paint the frames to match the window trim and cover them with 85N6 or 85N9 window gel, such as Rosco Sun, to reduce the intensity of the daylight and change its blue color to match the light of your 3,200 degree Kelvin instruments.

The frames can be placed in the windows on a moment's notice and then removed just as quickly once you've finished your shoot.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Virtual-reality glasses are among the latest items from the computer world to cross over to the video market. Small liquid crystal displays "project an image, which appears to float in front of the view.

Gordon Emberley of Emberley Productions in Larkspur, California, uses the glasses as an auxiliary viewfinder by patching them into the output of the video camera. He has removed the solid background against which the VR image normally appear, letting him see through the image to walk or operate other equipment. He says that the glasses are invaluable when working with a Steadicam or in any situation where it's difficult to see the viewfinder. Gordon's sound technician uses a second pair of VR glasses to see where his boom or shotgun microphone is in relation to the edge of the frame.

VR glasses are still a little on the expensive side, but, as with most computer equipment, the price will probably drop as time goes by.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
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Those of us who make videos of classroom speakers often find that the brightness of the overhead projector used in the classroom creates an exposure problem. As the screen comes into view, the electronics in the camera or monitor may automatically dim the picture, even if the auto iris is turned of

One of the many ways of dealing with this problem is to cover the projector stage with a piece of optically clear, neutral-density window gel. This gel is available several degrees of opaqueness, so it's easy to get exactly the amount of dimming you want.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Camcorders have a particular problem when it comes to condensation, especially in cold weather or while using underwater video gear. To dry out a camcorder that has ceased to operate due to condensation, place it on a towel inside an airtight container (such as a larger Tupperware bowl or box) atop a bed of silica gel. You can purchase silica gel in craft stores, where people use it for drying lowers and other similar purposes. Leaving the camcorder in the airtight container for about an hour should suck out all of the unwanted moisture.

Gerard Dumuk
Vacaville, California
From:
Videomaker
March 1997|
http://www.videomaker.com/

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Many videographers (beginners especially) suffer from the bad habit of forgetting to turn off the power on the camcorder, thereby depleting the battery prematurely. By placing a small neon-colored sticker on the Record, Pause or Standby button, you can save on battery power by providing a simple reminder for the camcorder operator. Every time you notice the neon sticker, it reminds you to shut off the power when the camera is not in use.

Barry R. Barrera
Malate, Philippines
From:
Videomaker
March 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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The next time you're out shooting video - no matter what your subject is - take a few moments to experiment with different focal lengths. First, move the camcorder up close and shoot with a wide setting. Then move the tripod back about 20 yards (if space allows) and re-compose your shot at the telephoto setting. The difference in the look and feel of your two shots may surprise you.

Chester Orlando
New York, New York
From:
Videomaker
March 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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DO learn to control your camcorder's manual controls. The auto focus on your camera can get fooled and search in and out. By using the manual focus you will get clearer pictures.

DO use a light indoors. Even a low lux camcorder will give you much more brilliant colors when you use a light. Plus you will get less generation loss while you edit if you use adequate light.

DON'T Overuse the zoom. A video that is constantly zooming in and out is difficult to watch.

DON'T Pan back and forth. Pan in only one direction for each scene and avoid over-panning.

DON'T Center your subject. Think of your TV screen as a tic-tac-toe board and place important objects in the lines of the board, not in the middle. Your video will look much better.

Shoot to Edit

The easiest way to make your videos easier to edit is shooting to edit. This means thinking about your final production before and during the shoot. By shooting to edit, you will be able to edit much faster and the results will be fantastic.

Before You Shoot

Put a header at the beginning and end of each tape. To do this shoot about 10 seconds of video with the lens cap on. This will eliminate any noise or problems in the beginning of the tape and leave you with a place for

your opening credits when you edit. You should also record about 5 seconds of black between each new days shooting. This is especially important if you like to view your videos while you are on the road. The 5 seconds of black gives you a margin of error for starting the tape the next day and will help you locate scenes when you edit.

During The Shoot

These next tips are not only to help you edit better, but to help you shoot better footage. The better your original footage, the better the finished product will be.

Keep The Tape Rolling

You are going to edit out the bad footage. It's better to cut out lots of bad footage than to miss any good footage. Don't be so quick to cut the camera, especially when your subject is children, pets or wildlife. You

never know when something special will happen. It's much easier to find a good 15 second scene in 2 minutes of video, than it is to capture 15 great seconds of video in one shot.

Establishing Shots

Start each new location with an establishing shot that identifies where you are or when you are taping. This shot can be a wide panorama of the area or a close-up of a sign or landmark. My favorite establishing shot is to zoom in on the landmark or sign, and then zoom out to the wide shot of the whole area. This looks great, but don't over do it!

Use Different Shots

The video should tell the viewer what is going on. Use different angles and points of view. Don't hesitate to use close-ups, half shots and wide shots of the same scene. This makes your video more interesting and easier to watch. By mixing different shots of the same thing, you can keep the viewer's attention.

The Electronic Mailbox
800 323-2325
http://www.videoguys.com

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In most cases, changing a lens will not require adjusting the back focus. But when a lens does not hold focus at both ends of the zoom range, you may need to adjust the back focus. By adjusting the back focus, you are changing the distance of between the pick-up device and the rear element of the lens. Technically, it's the distance from the vertex of the rearmost element of the lens to the focal plane, but we'll keep it simple. Note that not all lenses have a back focus adjustment.

The Steps

Before starting, put the camera on a tripod and adjust your camera's viewfinder so it is in sharp focus. Ideally, you'd want a test pattern chart (looks like a dart board) to be at least 75 feet from the camera. Otherwise, as far as possible. If you don't have a test chart, Use a page from a magazine.

1. Set the iris to manual.
2. Set the zoom to manual.
3. Open the iris to 1.4 or its widest aperture. If the illumination on the test chart is too bright for the open iris, reduce the light or move the chart to a darker area.
4. Turn the zoom barrel to extreme telephoto.
5. Focus on the chart.
6. Set the zoom to wide angle.
7. Loosen the back focus ring retaining knob.
8. Adjust the back focus ring for the sharpest focus.
9. Repeat steps 4 through 8 until focus is consistently sharp.

When it is focused, tighten the back focus ring retaining knob to secure the ring.

Note: Most lenses are at their sharpest focus at about a middle iris position like F5.6.

Oak Tree Press
256 WP Guinea Hill Road
Slate Hill, NY 10973
Voice: (914) 355-1400
FAX: (914) 355-4807
email video@mhv.net

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by Dan Niccolai

When shooting in a foreign country there are many variables and challenges that need to be considered. The following is a list of some considerations that will help you determine the guidelines for your videotape production in a foreign location:

• Determine if an International Carnet is recognized by the country for entering and leaving the country with the videotape equipment.

• Arrange for a suitable contact for shipping equipment into and out of the country. (The company's Traffic Department can help with this.) If schedules permit, it would be better to pre-ship equipment before crew arrives.

• If Visas are necessary, secure Visas for crew as consultants for the company, not as press or media personnel.

• Identify an In-country local (national) production company contact to aid in logistics and resources.

• Determine type of permits or considerations needed to shoot in the country. Specifically, what considerations need to be made for shooting at the companies facilities, including aerials, public areas around those facilities, and landmarks of the country to give a geographic perspective and cultural flavor of where you are.

• Be sure to build in some flexibility with the schedule of photographic requirements. There are many variables that can slow you down, such as, weather, customs difficulties, local holidays, and religious customs, etc...

• Although you may feel you are traveling light for a production crew, it's all relative. Your clients (contacts) may not think so, and they may not be prepared for everything you're bringing. Be very clear on your needs for ground transportation. Many countries do not have our equivalent of mini vans or other types of vehicles.

From:

Daniel F. Niccolai, Vice President, Executive Producer of MindSight Business Communications, Inc. is an accomplished, award winning producer/director of audiovisual productions for business communications. Dan has extensive international production experience, and has shot on location on five continents in over a dozen foreign countries.

Niccolai is also a frequent contributor to the Chicago Chapter of the ITVA. He held positions on the board of directors from 1991 to 1994 as seminar director and public relations director.

http://www.mindsight.com/tips.html

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• Always bring more equipment to each job so that the clients will believe you to be on the cutting edge of technology. This equipment can be out-dated junk from another era that never worked even when it was new.

• When working on a low budget job, and within hearing distance of your clients, reminisce with the crew about the "good old days" when you received per diem, private rooms, and hot catered lunches.

• Always maintain a silent and stealth communication with your boom person and cable person so that they can anticipate your needs for coffee, donuts, and compliments on your creative abilities.

• Never admit that all of your equipment is not working properly unless it is obvious that even Forrest Gump would not believe you.

• Always turn the audio level down on the video assist monitor when the talent goes to the restroom wearing a wireless microphone.

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We live in the "boonies" in northern Ontario and, consequently, have frequent wildlife marauders (raccoons, foxes, black bears, etc.) wandering around the place at night.

We wondered just how we could get some pictures of these fellows without having to get up in the middle of the night on sentry duty. So, we extended the base (using a commercially available adapter) of one of the sensor floodlights on our deck ad plugged our video camera's AC adapter into it.

We located the camera inside the house to have a clear view of the deck and put a piece of tape over the record button so it would start recording as soon as it powered up. Now, whenever the sensor turns on the lights it also turns on the video camera which captures the activities of our visitors. We've got pictures of some red foxes, one very large black bear beating the bejabbers out of our garbage can, and one raccoon climbing the edge of the garage door to gain access to our bird feeders which are hung from the garage soffits.

Bill Harnell
Ontario, Canada
Videomaker March 1998

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I take the lift-off numbers found with the label sheet of a newly purchased VHS cassette and use them to number my camcorder batteries. Since all my camcorder batteries look alike, I also use the numbers to write the date of purchase on the batteries. Using this method, I can easily rotate their use in the camcorder ad identify those that are getting weak due to age.

Richard R. Plum
Kingsport, Tennessee
Videomaker March 1998

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The infrared remote control unit included with many camcorders is a very handy feature. Many videographers will have likely already figured out that the infrared signal can be bounced off a light-colored wall, mirror or other reflective surface for those times when it isn't practical for the operator to be positioned in front of the camera.

In some applications, such as tripod-mounted macro videography, there is no clear line to such reflective surfaces. In these cases, simply tape a small white card to the camera at an appropriate angle to bounce the infrared beam toward the receptor to on the camera. This will make it easier to shoot without disturbing the delicate framing of tiny subjects.

Gary Venables
Victoria, British Columbia
Videomaker March 1998

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One of the first things I like to do when checking out an unfamiliar camera is verify that is properly back-focused. In other words, I want to know whether it is adjusted to maintain sharp focus throughout a zoom; however, because a back-focus chart isn't always available, I have pasted one to the inside lid of the my gadget case. The chart's face is protected by a layer of clear, stick-on shelf paper. Now I always have a chart at hand, and the open lid becomes an easel, holding it in the proper position.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Tired of wasting time looking for the shot you need? Cynthia Bonacum of Jackson & Associates in Hickory, North Carolina, provides this tip: Use the blank inserts that come with new tapes to jot down brief descriptions of footage as you shoot it. Note whether the footage is b-roll or an interview. Then tape the insert to the cassette box.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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A common problem with shooting panel discussions is remembering the names of the participants. Instead of using names, one director I work with assigns letters to the speakers, from left to right. The directors' call might be, "Camera two, give me A and B, " or "Camera one, close up on C." He doesn't assign numbers to the panel because they might be confuse with camera numbers or terms like "two shot." When I'm doing a shoot and the director doesn't have a system, I use a 3x5 card to make a seating chart that I tape near my viewfinder.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Anyone can build a convenient camera stabilizer by tying a five-foot length of clothesline to a threaded bolt that fits into the camcorder's tripod mount. Stepping on the cord and pulling it taut while shooting has a wonderful steadying effect on your shots. However, vibrations from the upward strain on the cord can produce an unwanted shake in the camera. The solution: splice a short section of bungee cord into the clothesline near the camera. It's easy, it's portable, and it works quite well.

Glenn Mitchell
Coalinga, California
From:
Videomaker
November 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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Fill the TV screen with shots of family album photos, stamps, etc. using a +3still photography close-up lens accessory attached to your camcorder. Sure, you have a macro function on your camcorder with its very shallow depth of field, but with a close-up lens, you can zoom into photos and pan across the picture while remaining in focus. Make sure the camcorder is on a tripod and us the remote to start and stop. Also, you can use the digital functions on your camcorder to make transitions between images and put music and narration with your album story.

Ken Kearney
Aptos, California
From:
Videomaker
November 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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After trying stickers, markers and other methods, we found that the easiest way to know the status of our smaller batteries is to use inexpensive sandwich bags. Our rule is, "if it's in the bag, it's hot (charged); if it's out of the bag, it's not." Bags can be re-used many times; our company's total price for one year's baggies was $1.49.

Rudy Casper
Naples, Florida
From:
Videomaker
November 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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Recently, I was able to put an old retired wall mirror to good use during a late winter shoot. We needed to get a shot of a north-facing storefront while including the large sign at the edge of the parking lot. This dark green sign was low to the ground, so in order to include the store in the background, we had to shoot facing the south (and therefore sunward in our northern region). Scheduling the shoot for the early morning hours, we managed to limit the sun to the far left of our camera angle, but the sign was still in shadow. Using the mirror to reflect the early morning sun onto the sign, w were able to adjust the angle and tilt of the light so that no edges or shadows were present. The result worked extremely well, and we used it as an opening shot on a TV commercial.

Warren Gile
Port Angeles, Washington
From:
Videomaker
November 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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Much of my video work involves interviewing senior citizens for a family video history company. In the studio, I used clip-on wired lavalier microphones. Unfortunately, many of my subjects are camera shy, and to relieve their uneasiness, they play with the microphone cables. In spite of my firm suggestions that they suppress this nervous behavior (at least for the duration of the interview), the problem continued.

I have since purchased a small variety of palm-sized worry stones from which I let the interviewees choose to hold and fiddle with during the interview. My microphone cables are now much happier, and the stones even seem to put the interviewee at ease in front of the camera, vastly improving the quality of our taping session.

Bryan Konefsky
Albuquerque, New Mexico
From:
Videomaker
November 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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I am a wedding videographer, so maintaining a strong signal for my wireless microphones is a must. I use an Azden WMS-PRO wireless microphone system, and to make sure that I have no audio problems or interference, I went to Radio Shack and purchased a large rubber antenna designed for a cordless phone (catalog number 43-191). They're also available at K-Mart, Wal-Mart and other discount stores. After screwing the new antenna onto the receiver unit of the Azden, I noticed a little better reception and less frequent drop-outs.

Steve Ippolito
South Lake Tahoe, California
From:
Videomaker
November 1997
http://www.videomaker.com/

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Suppose you need a controllable lighting instrument with very sharp edges to light a speaker who will be standing next to a projection screen. You don't want you light to spill onto the screen, but you don't have an ellipsoidal spotlight available. What's a video professional to do?

Try using an overhead projector. You can trim the edges and color the light to fit your needs by placing pieces of paper and colored gels on the projection table. Slide them around until you have exactly what you want, then tape everything in place.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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I started to let two fingernails on my left hand grow long 14 years ago when I needed to get the attention of on-camera talent in the news set at WVIR. The talent would be looking at the wrong camera and not noticing the tally lights, and needed to be attracted to the correct camera. I would click the two fingernails, making a small snap sound, and gesture to the correct lens. The snap sound was quiet enough to not go out live over the air and was loud enough to get the anchor's attention.

Then I discovered another good reason to leave these 2 fingernails long. When shooting in the field, I sometimes needed to do a focus roll to a foreground object, imagine an exterior of a building with an out-of-focus flower in the extreme foreground. Doing a focus roll to the flower would usually be a pain because it is easy to overshoot the focus point for the thing, going soft for a moment, then focusing back out to it again. Using my fingernail in the gear teeth of the focus ring of the lens as an adjustable focus stop, and stopping the rotation of the focus ring when the fingernail reached the housing of the lens' zoom control gave me an no-brainer focus pull. Just rotate the focus ring till the flower is in focus, put my fingernail in the last tooth of the gear on the focus ring where the ring goes under the zoom housing, pull focus back from there to the building and roll tape. After the usual 15 seconds of the WS, I'd do the focus roll till my fingernail stopped the focus ring and voila! Having a long fingernail on both fingers that handle the focus ring enabled me to focus in or out as needed to a stopping spot of my choosing.

Richard Drumm
3D - Drumm Digital Design
3218 Bumley Station Rd.
Barboursville, VA 22923
804-973-2738
drumm@charlottesville.net

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Whether you're the operator of a hand-held camera or in any other job that requires kneeling, you can benefit from this tip from Denise Delaney of KCSM, a television station in San Mateo, California: Wear knee pads. The pads in the picture were purchased at a local sporting-goods store. Their elastic backs hold them in place and they can be hidden under trousers.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Some video cameras can be seriously damaged if their viewfinders are left pointed at the sun for more than a few minutes. The ocular lens in the viewfinder can focus the sun's rays like a magnifying glass and melt or scar the display surface. Repairing such damage is usually not covered by warranty.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Jerry Chiapetta of Orchard Lake, Michigan, photographs wildlife. The metal legs of his tripod used to make noise and hurt his shoulder as he moved through the woods. Now he covers the legs with foam insulation that is used to cover water pipes.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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When shooting with more than one camera that are not synced, when shooting the original tapes, point all the cameras at a still-camera flash unit. Pressing the test button won the flash creates a frame that can be cued on both decks during playback. Just make sure you don't stop rolling on the cameras.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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On a recent assignment, my crew and I needed to rapidly move between locations within one building. Because the length of the recording precluded the use of a camcorder, we hung our Sony BVW-50 recorder on the tripod and put the whole thing on dolly wheels. A twist in the shoulder strap used the recorder's own weight to keep it from slipping down.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Welcome to the world of Blue Screen! Once the exclusive domain of Hollywood special effects artists, blue screen imaging has expanded to include video and computers. There are many mysteries to the successful execution of a blue screen composite and considerable confusion as to what a blue screen composite is.

What is Blue Screen Imaging?
How does Chroma Key work?
Why Blue? Can't other colors be used?
Lighting for Blue Screen
Paints and Backings
What is ULTIMATTE?
Lighting for Ultimatte
Some Blue Screen Q's and A's

What is Blue Screen Imaging?

Creating a blue screen composite image starts with a subject that has been photographed in front of an evenly lit, bright, pure blue background. The compositing process, whether photographic or electronic, replaces all the blue in the picture with another image, known as the background plate.

Blue screen composites can be made optically for still photos or movies, electronically for live video, and digitally to computer images. Until very recently all blue screen compositing for films was done optically and all television composites were done using analog real time circuits.

Other colors can be used, green is the most common, although sometimes red has been used for special purposes.

Another term for Blue Screen is Chroma-Key. Chroma-Key is a television process only. A more sophisticated television process is Ultimatte, also the name of the company that manufactures Ultimatte equipment. Ultimatte has been the ultimate in video compositing for 20 years. With an Ultimatte unit it is possible to create composites that include smoke, transparent objects, different shades of blue, and shadows. Ultimatte now makes software that works with other programs to create digital mattes, called Cinefusion.

How does Chroma Key work?

The Chroma Key process is based on the Luminance key. In a luminance key, everything in the image over (or under) a set brightness level is "keyed" out and replaced by either another image, or a color from a color generator. (Think of a keyhole or a cookie-cutter.) Primarily this is used in the creation of titles. A title card with white on black titles is prepared and placed in front of a camera. The camera signal is fed into the keyer's foreground input. The background video is fed into the keyer. The level control knob on the keyer is adjusted to cause all the black on the title card to be replaced by the background video. The white letters now appear over the background image.

Luminance keying works great with titles, but not so great for making live action composites. When we want to key people over a background image, problems arise because people and their clothing have a wide range of tones. Hair, shoes and shadow areas may be very dark, while eyes, skin highlights and shirt collars can approach 100% white. Those areas might key through along with the background.

Chroma Key creates keys on just one color channel. Broadcast cameras use three independent sensors, one for each color, Red, Green and Blue. Most cameras can output these RGB signals separately from the Composite video signal. So the original chroma key was probably created by feeding the blue channel of a camera into a keyer. This works, sort of, but soon manufacturers created dedicated chromakeyers that could accept all 3 colors, plus the background composite signal and the foreground composite signal. This made it possible to select any color for the key and fine tune the selection of the color.

As keyers became more sophisticated, with finer control of the transition between background and foreground, the effect became less obvious and jarring. Today's high-end keyers can make a soft key that is basically invisible.

Recently I have been working with the Grass Valley Digital 4000 special effects switcher. This unit makes beautiful chromakeys from a good source. With the Hitachi SK2700w studio cameras the results are stunning. Fine hair detail is not lost and shadows and other variations in the backing can be maintained or dialed out. However it doesn't have the capability to remove blue spill, as an ultimatte does.

Why Blue? Can't other colors be used?

Red, green and blue channels have all been used, but blue has been favored for several reasons. Blue is the complementary color to flesh tone--since the most common color in most scenes is flesh tone, the opposite color is the logical choice to avoid conflicts. Historically, cameras and film have been most sensitive to blue light, although this is less true today.

Sometimes (usually) the background color reflects onto the foreground talent creating a slight blue tinge around the edges. This is known as blue spill. It doesn't look nearly as bad as green spill, which one would get from green.

Usually only one camera is used as the Chroma Key camera. This creates a problem on three camera sets; the other cameras can see the blue screen. The screen must be integrated into the set design, and it is easier to design around a bright sky blue than an intense green or red.

Lighting for Blue Screen

A considerable amount of mystery is usually attached to blue screen lighting design. Also, a number of myths have been nurtured through the years, most of which are only half-true. Myth #1 is the flat lighting myth. While it is true that the blue screen must be lit evenly, this is not true for the talent or other foreground subjects. They may be lit as dramatically as you desire. The trick is in lighting the foreground without screwing up the background.

A great deal depends on what matting process will be used. If you are using Ultimatte, then a great deal of freedom is available. On the other hand, Chroma Key is not nearly so flexible and has more restrictions. I am assuming that most of the readers are most interested in video or computer uses, so I will not cover lighting for film mattes (perhaps someone with greater experience in that area can create a page for film matting?)

Ultimatte units have controls that allow for "cleanup" of an uneven background and other adjustments to fine-tune the matte. Ultimatte mattes can also maintain the background through shadows, veils, smoke, water, hair and other semi-transparent objects. Most Chroma Key units cannot even approach this level of subtlety.

One popular technique to minimize "the matte line" around the subject is backlighting. A straw, yellow, or CTO gel on the light helps to wash out blue spilling on the talent's shoulders and hair. (This technique is inappropriate for Ultimatte, as Ultimatte has a circuit that removes blue spill.)

If you are lighting a scene in which the subject does not need to be near the blue backing, then lighting is simpler because you can put distance between the subject and background. Generally you want the level of light on the backing to be the same as the level on the subject from the key light. In video terms, this would be between 60-75 IRE on a waveform monitor, although slightly lower levels will usually work. It is most important for the screen to be evenly lit. If the talent is standing or sitting on blue, then it is more difficult, almost impossible, to have separate lighting. With primitive chromakey systems, shadows can create a lot of difficulty, and so you must use a flat lighting scheme on the talent to minimize the shadows.

Many different lights work well for lighting the blue. Cyc lights are the old standard. A newer light rig called a "Space Light" also works well. This is a set of lights pointing up and down into a cylinder of white diffusing fabric. The new florescent fixtures are ideal also. Some people use HMI's, on the theory that they will punch up the blue by using a blue light on the backing and warm tungsten light on the subject. Some special effects companies use translucent blue screens that are backlit by dozens, even hundreds, of special blue florescence.

An old favorite of pros and amateurs alike is a single thermonuclear fusion source, placed 93 million miles away. This light source gives perfect corner to corner illumination and makes a perfect match between the key level and backing level. Shadows are easy as it makes only one set of shadows. If you place a water vapor diffusion screen several thousand feet up, you get a great shadowless light. A thinner water vapor diffusion softens the shadows nicely. Those who are inexperienced at controlling these types of diffusion may want to use a large silk or other diffusion instead.

I'm serious--I've done some great mattes this way. If you're shooting spacecraft models, this is probably the best way. Plus the rental charge can't be beat. The Death Star trench scene in Star Wars used this very same light source.

A waveform monitor is an essential accessory on a video blue screen shoot. Since it displays a graphic representation of the video level in the scene, small variations in brightness are very obvious. A screen that looks good to the eye may have considerable gradual falloff from top to bottom. I would recommend using one on film shoots, in combination with a cheap video camera. The graphic display is so much more useful in this case than a spotmeter.

Paints and Backings

The standard paints which almost everyone uses are from Rosco, the light gel manufacturer. They make Chromakey Blue and Green, as well as Ultimatte Blue and Green. One of the reasons I dislike using green as a backing is that the green paint is difficult to apply and just looks hideous. There is nothing more unsettling than having to work on a stage that is completely covered in Ultimatte Green!

You can also get blue and green fabrics and drapes, as well as backlit screens. Stewart Filmscreen of Torrance CA makes a backlit screen.

For location work, Wescott makes a folding background that is very handy. The fabric is sewn into a flexible ring, similar to a Flex Fill. This is great for when you need to get a talking head shot in an office, for compositing later. Elite Video also sells these, They have a Web Site. Photoflex has also started to make pop out blue backings.

What is ULTIMATTE?

Ultimatte is a trademark of the Ultimatte Corporation, of Chatsworth CA. It is an outgrowth of work the company's founder, Petro Vlahos, did in the 1960s for the Motion Picture Research Council. The goal was to invent a better matting system for motion pictures. Electronic technology was not ready yet then for a film resolution system, but video could be achieved, and so the first Ultimatte units were created in the 70's.

It is useful to think of the Ultimatte process as a mixing process, not a keying process. This is why it is possible to matte with shadows, hair, water etc. An Ultimatte uses the intensity and purity of the blue signal as a function to determine how much blending to perform between the foreground and background images. Another useful feature of the Ultimatte is the previously mentioned blue spill removal. Other circuits deal with glare, uneven or dirty blue backings, etc. Modern units from the Model V and up can independently adjust the color of the background and foreground plates. An Ultimatte used to have many knobs on its front panel, but the new digital units use a display screen and multifunction controls. The Current Model is the "8" and there are also models for High Definition work.

There are also very useful Ultimatte plugin filters for Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. Although the After Effects production bundle has an excellent matting filter of its own, it requires considerable manual tweaking of the controls to perfect the composite. The Ultimatte plug-in automates these functions, making the work of compositing much faster. Highly recommended and worth the cost if you have a lot of mattes to do.

A very useful feature is Screen Correction, which allows the operator to create perfect mattes from really bad blue backings. With Screen Correction, A still is first recorded of the backing alone, with no talent or other non blue pieces. This recording is then fed into the screen correction input. The circuit cancels out all the unevenness of the backing before any foreground elements enter the scene.

Lighting for Ultimatte

Ultimatte Lighting is not so much difficult as it is misunderstood. Ultimattes can retain shadows onto the background plate. Yet camerapeople often run into trouble trying to create a shadow! This happens because they first light the blue and the subject with an overall flat light and then add a light on the subject to "cast" a shadow. They see a "shadow" on the background, but it doesn't show on the matte. The shadow is still lit by the overall key. The new light is pointlessly creating brighter area around the shadow.

The backing should be lit to the same intensity as the key light. So to retain shadows, in which the shadow is actually darker than the rest of the backing, the same light should be used to light both. Also the light must be even. If there are darker corners, then the composited background will be darkened in the corners also! You can use this effect to improve the look or even relight a background plate. Since a shadow on the backing becomes a shadow on the background image, the background can be "touched up". Very useful for backgrounds created in computer modeling programs, almost all of which have very bad and artificial appearing lighting tools.

Blue gels can't be used on the backing, if they will also light the talent. Another big problem (with all blue screen work actually) is blue floors. They invariably have a slightly different shade of blue. This is because the light is glancing off them at a different angle from the wall. This glare effect can be removed with a polarizing filter. The downside is the two-stop loss through the filter. This means the camera will need to open up two stops or that the set will need 4 times more light. Try to position lights so they are pointing in the same direction as the lens, and not straight down into the floor. This will reduce most glare to a minimum. Where this becomes a bigger problem is set pieces such as blue desks and props that pick up glare from side lights and back lights.

Another difficulty that makes beginning Ultimatte artists tear their hair out is a lack of side lighting. To the naked eye on the set, there may appear to be sufficient illumination on the sides of the subject. But the subject is in what amounts to a brightly lit blue bowl, and is bathed in blue bounce light. When the Ultimatte removes this blue spill, the subject suddenly has no side light, and very dark shadows. If the background plate is bright, say a beach scene, the subject looks very out of place. In fact the effect will almost look as if there is a brown matte line around the subject. So you need to provide the same fill lighting that the scene you are matting into would provide. Fortunately this effect is easy to see if you are doing on set matting. If the matte is to be done in post, try to turn off as many lights as possible that only light the backing, while setting the subject's lighting. Generally it is best to start lighting the subject first, then adding fill light to the backing to even it out.

updated 9/30/97
steveb@ricochet.net
from url: http://www.seanet.com/Users/bradford/bluscrn.html
Bob Kertesz is the Grandmaster of Ultimatte. He now has his own page at www.bluescreen.com. He's also developed a refinement of Ultimatte techniques to create useful on set alignment mattes for film shoots.

Some Blue Screen Q's and A's

Q - How evenly illuminated does a blue screen have to be, within a one-stop variance, for instance?

A - How well you need to light the background depends on the equipment that will be used to create the composite image. Some versions of Ultimatte, for example, can tolerate extremely poor lighting. What's most important is that the equipment be able to identify the background as being of a single color.

Q - Which is more effective, soft or hard light?

A - Normally, since you're looking for even lighting, soft sources work best, but that is up to you.

Q - Does the foreground subject need to be evenly lit, as well? I usually like to use some shadow on the fill side for modeling.

A - The foreground lighting need not be even at all the foreground should be lit in a manner that would be natural to the replacement background scene. If the backgrounds a sunset, for example, the foreground might look best as a silhouette. If the background has a strong light source coming from the right, so should the foreground.

Q - How important is it to keep the subject's light off the background? (Will the subject's light reflect onto the screen unwanted color, for instance?

A - Foreground light falling on the blue screen is not normally a problem. Again, the background should be fairly evenly lit. Whether that light comes from the screen lighting or the foreground lighting is of little consequence unless the foreground light is colored, in which case it could be a problem. What's much more of a problem, and is more common, is blue light reflecting off the screen onto the foreground. That can cause portions of the foreground to disappear in the composite image. The best way to prevent this problem is to allow sufficient separation distance between the foreground and the screen so that the screen doesn't contribute any backlight to the foreground.

Q - Finally, why blue screen? Is there a qualitative difference between the use of blue screen over green screen for video chroma keying? A recent article I read said that green screen for film provides less contrast. Considering that video is a high-contrast medium to start with, would there be a noticeable advantage to green screen over blue screen - or would video' more drastic limitation s in contrast over film simply render any advantage of one over the other meaningless?

A - Blue was selected as a color that doesn't normally occur in flesh (blue eyes are relatively easy to mask). In video, there is a significant difference between blue and green in terms of the replacement background video. Green is video's brightest primary color, representing approximately 60% of the brightness signal. Thus, the camera shooting the foreground ill normally make a transition from the bright green background to the darker foreground and back to the bright green background. Blue, on the other hand, is video's darkest primary color, representing only about ten percent of the brightness signal. Thus, the camera shooting the foreground will normally make a transition from the dark blue background to the brighter foreground and back to the dark background. If the replacement background video is to be a bright day scene, the use of a blue-screen background for the foreground shoot can cause an unnatural transition between background a d foreground. Similarly, a green-screen background would b e inappropriate for a night-scene replacement background. In practice, these rules don't need to be hard and fast. Again, what's normally more important is the equipment used.

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When Chris Conroy of Broadwing Communications in Goffstwon, New Hampshire, is shooting in the field, he often needs a portable blue screen for special-effects shots. His first improvisation, a blue cloth, quickly became tattered. Now he uses linoleum - not the side that faces up, but the backside, painted with chromakey paint. It is a rigid blue screen that is easy to ship and can be rolled up when it is not being used.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Not wanting to dirty the studio floor when you roll your camera dolly in, you carefully clean the rubber wheels. Although the wheels roll silently, their cleanliness makes them squeak against the floor when they turn. That can you do?

"Spray the wheels with the silicon sold in auto-service stores that's meant to preserve rubber trim," writes Jayson Sutton of Chapman Studios in North Hollywood, California. It stops the squeaking, he says.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Wanna add some heat to your scene? If either for a desert effect or just to for the sake of effect, place a Tota or Omni light directly beneath and in front of your camera lens. The heat vapors will create a rippling effect within the air. This is great for adding a little stress to your action. Be sure that the light is safely away from your plastic shade box!

Bill Greene
Commercial TeleVision
Denver, CO
303-236-1994

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While shooting an exercise video, Mark Shepherd of Shepherd Video in San Jose, California, notice that perspiration was causing dark spots on the instructor's uniform. The production team's solution? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Gus Archut, grip, filled a spray bottle with water and dampened the rest of the uniform to even out the color.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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For an exciting MTV effect, try playing some previously shot footage on a TV, then videotape the TV using pans, tilts and zooms. Add strobe, black & white and paint effects for an artsy look.

 Michael J. Nasvadi
Canal Fulton, Ohio

Your Tips
Videomaker Magazine
July 1998

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I like to travel, and I am often times shooting video out of the car. The biggest problem shooting this way is the sun reflecting off the dashboard onto the front window and messing up the shots. To counter this problem, take a piece of black cloth and cover the dashboard with it. The cloth eliminates the dashboard's reflection in your video.

 Marty Wallace
Patterson, New Jersey

Your Tips
Videomaker Magazine
July 1998

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 Most of us who use battery-powered equipment have more than one battery for each piece of equipment. To keep track of these batteries we normally put a number or letter on each one. This can be the subconscious cause of a problem.

Without thinking, you will normally use the battery marked "1" or "A" first, "2" or "B" second and so on. After a while, the low-numbered batteries have been used on every shoot and the higher numbered ones have been used very little, an imbalance which can shorten total battery life. You can avoid the problem by creating a scheme which forces a rotation such as using the batteries in ascending order during odd numbered months and descending order in even months.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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 THE PROBLEM: Mounting a poster, still picture or other flat art so it can be photographed in the field. Some videographers use double stick tape on the back of the art, but I can rip the surface upon remove. Others use staples or thumb tacks, which leave holes.

 THE TIP: The secret is to use several strips of magnetized tape and a metal mounting surface. Usually two strips will do the job, but if the art has badly curled edges, the magnets can be place on all four sides. This method will work in the field by using a car door, a metal equipment case, the side of a filing cabinet, a flag from a Lowel lighting kit or any other metal surface as the easel.

One word of caution, be sure to keep the magnetic strips away from your videotapes.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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It's that time of year again when dew switches start popping and shutting down video recorders. The dew switch is a device inside your recorder that senses if there is condensed moisture on the tape path. If there is, it immediately stops the deck to prevent damage to the tape and heads. As usual, the best cure is an ounce of prevention. If possible avoid moving your camera between areas of greatly different temperature close to shoot time. Some Videographers prevent condensation by putting the camera in a tightly sealed plastic trash bag before leaving the first environment, then letting the temperature stabilize at the second d location before opening the bag.

 If you do get caught, one of the best ways to get things rolling again is to dry the tape path with a portable hair drier set to its lowest temperature. My neck ahs been saved several times by a 12-volt drier which plugs into the car's cigarette lighter.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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Whether you're being interviewed by "60 Minutes", "Hard Copy", or the "corporate friendly" hired video gun to promote your products or services, just smile. Smile as much as you can! Smile if you're nervous. Smile if your guilty of what you're being accused of. Smile if you're happy. Smile if you're sad. Smile if even you feel that your smile is goofy and forced. What usually comes across 99% of the time is that YOU'RE CONFIDENT and a good person; a person to be trusted! You're saying "I'm OK. You're OK." Plus, you'll probably come across as a MORE liable person than the on-camera interviewer. Makes you on-camera interviewers think, too, doesn't it?

Bill Greene
Piranha Films
303-236-1994

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Last week,  while experimenting with various reflective materials, I discovered this unique lighting trick... unique to ME, anyway!  I've yet to see it done on TV, so if you use it, you could very well be the first.

Go to a Pep Boys or other auto parts store and invest in some 3" (or larger) silver prism reflective Letter Stickers. These are medium stick adhesives that are typically used as car or boat decals.

In studio or on-location, spell out any word or name, backwards, on black cardboard - using the adhesive stickers.  Then, either with the sun or a 1K (more or less), angle the stickered card to reflect the light source onto a flat single colored wall or cloth behind your subject.  With a little testing, it will project a unique stone texture and rainbow prism of illuminated text!  (Of course, with some letters, you have to tape them to your cardboard backwards, or they'll look like Greek letters).  

Whether it be 1s and 0s for your next high-tech industrial or a 1-800 number for a commercial, your PA can could hand hold the card and
gently float the illuminated text across your scene.  Try it....It's like totally psychedelic, man!

Bill Greene
Producer/Editor
Piranha Films
303-236-1994
303-236-2005 fax

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Post Reverses

As a Director, when working with veteran Directors of Photography, it's always a thrill for me to get an "Ah-ha!" reaction from them, as usually, THEY are the ones I am learning from.  

Recently, I had the honor of working with the renowned DP, Dennis Boni of Virginia.  We had a shot which included one of our talent getting hit over the head with a shovel.... HARD!  Prop shovels not available, I coached the actor on reversing his reaction of getting creamed in the back of the head, with our very real spade.   

Camera rolling, I carefully placing the shovel against his head, where he grimaced just so on "1".  Then I quickly swung the shovel back away from his head, showing the large and very fast arch of the metal.  The actor quickly raised up to a "normal, pre-hit" position on "2".  

With little rehearsal, we shot the shovel hit backwards for a realistic and painful looking reversal in post. Dennis rewound it in field playback showing the scene, from which he expressed a delighted  "Ah ha!".

As my old mentor Reizner knows, Post reverses aren't unique, but this proved a happy surprise.

Bill Greene
Producer/Editor
Piranha Films
303-236-1994
303-236-2005 fax
 

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A few tips for shooting "door off" from a helicopter.

1. Set your focus to infinity, then tape the focus ring in place. The wind stream can easily turn the ring. You won't notice it at a wide angle but it will make your beautiful zoom-in go soft.

2. A polarizing filter can reduce glare.

3. A UV filter will help cut the haze and protect your front element from debris impact.

4. If possible, schedule your flight for a time of day when you can avoid shooting toward the sun.

5. If you are using a screw on lens shade or filters, tape them in place to prevent the slipstream rotating them off.

6. Be careful that the camera does not touch the helicopter while you are rolling. The contact will transmit all the ship's vibration directly to your tape.

7. Let the helicopter company know that you will be making video from their bird and ask for one on which the blades were recently tracked. All other things being equal, it should give you a smoother ride.

8. Be sure to conduct a thorough briefing before leaving the ground. It should cover the exact location of the target, easiest way to get there, type of images you want, and the angles from which you want to cover them. Having this discussion in the air can be very expensive.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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A tip for folks shooting chroma key backgrounds without the aid of a waveform monitor comes to us from Michael Goldberg of International Videoworks in Tokyo.

To get the necessary even lighting on the backdrop, Michael turns on his camera's "zebra," stops down the lens, and then slowly opens the iris. The zebra should appear in the viewfinder fairly evenly across the entire backdrop. You can even tell if the lighting is stronger on the top or bottom, which can be difficult with the waveform monitor.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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A tripod is perhaps the most awkward piece of equipment we normally carry. Hal Donovan, video communications specialist for the Hazelwood School District, made his tripod easier to transport by adding a handle to the balance point on one of the legs.

The handle is actually a door pull which is attached by two worm clamps. All the parts came from the local hardware store. Hal said he cut the excess strapping from the worm clamps with a hack saw then filed down the ruff edges. If your tripod needs something to hold the feet together, a small dog or can collar may fill the bill.

From: Dick Reizner
To share your tips for possible inclusion in his article in Videography magazine, contact Dick at:
Reizner & Reizner Film & Video
7179 Via Maria, San Jose, CA 95139
dickreizner@worldnet.att.net
All submissions become the property of Reizner & Reizner. None can be returned.

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