Shooting Better Video with Your DSLR (or Video Camera)

Expand your creativity with moving images! Find out how to make a better home video or shoot a short film with your own DSLR or video camera.

With every new technology breakthrough, video equipment and accessories for filming are getting more affordable. Consequently, a video is becoming ever more present in our lives. This course can help you to prepare for film school entry exam, record a better presentation for the office or record a fantastic home video.

We’ll cover the technical basics first (frame rates, shutter speed, sensor size etc.) then move on to camera position, angles, movement and ‘mise-en-scene’ and framing and composing shots, plus other essentials. Practical exercises will look at ‘sense of space’ and ‘working process” on a topic of your choice.

While we’ll talk about editing principles, we’ll focus on the production side – editing footage and post-production will not be covered. Editing fundamentals will be discussed in the context of 'single shot' and 'sequence of shorts' as a primary element of visual storytelling only.

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:
- Operate your DSLR/Camcorder in manual mode
- Understand the basics of composition and framing
- Understand the difference and potential benefits in various levels of video equipment
- Know what kind of shots you need to get to tell ‘that’ particular story
- Record excellent home video or a short story

Bring your personal DSLR camera or small camcorder, plus a media/memory card with min 20min of available rolling time. Compact cameras are also OK as long as they have the ability to record video and option for full manual control. Please make sure you have enough battery to last the two-hour session.

Presenter: Milan Maric