Instruction manual

Filters - For special effects, check with a nearby photography store, and ask about the
availability of camcorder filters. A filter mounts in front of the lens, and alters the image
that’s recorded. There are many choices available. When pointed at lights, a Star filter
causes each light to emit beams of light, sort of like a twinkling star. A 4-point Star filter
will create 4 beams per light; an 8-point Star filter will create 8 beams per light. A Fog
filter creates the illusion of a hazy fog in the shot.
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Encourage people as they perform. While shooting, it’s OK to yell instructions to a
performer, provided they can hear you! Here are some phrases that a Director uses during
a shoot:
“Quiet, Please” “Standby” “Videotape Is Rolling”
“Roll Music And Action” (begin a Take)
“Cut” (to stop a Take)
“Pause Tape” (end of a Take)
“That’s A Wrap” (the shoot is over)
Continuity - When shooting a scene with one camera from different angles, continuity
means that the conditions existing in Take 1 should be recreated during the remaining
Takes. As a result, it will simulate a multi-camera shoot.
As for the performance parts of a music video, there are 2 schools of thought
about continuity: (1) Follow the normal rule of continuity; (2) Throw continuity out the
window.
Many rock videos show performers whose clothes, location on stage, and
instruments change from one shot to the next. (One classic rock example is “Nothing But
A Good Time” by Poison.) Along those lines, here’s how to throw continuity “out the
window”: Performers should make different moves from different places at different
times during each sync attempt. They should change clothes, hairstyles, and instruments
between Takes.
If you wish to follow the normal rule of continuity, the band should plan and
practice all of their stage moves and choreography in advance. They should know what,
when, and where these moves should take place. If the song is a ballad or has a slow
tempo, it should be rather easy. If the song is a rock, pop, or dance number, the addition
of some runs, jumps, kicks, fists in the air, and exaggerated facial expressions would
make a big contribution to the entertainment value of your video. The performers should
do anything, except act like a vertical couch potato. Whatever they do, they should do it
at the same time, and from the same place, during each sync attempt.
Everything worn by each performer in Take 1 - including buttons, headbands,
glasses, scarves, and jewelry - must be worn throughout the shoot, unless the addition or
removal of an item takes place at the same time during each Take. Every amplifier,
microphone, guitar stand, prop, and any other stationary object that is seen in Take 1,
must remain in the same position throughout the shoot. If an object gets moved on