Lights? Cameras? Action! You've bought the gear, you've planned the show, now go and shoot it.

So, you're making your video. You've chosen the gear and you've planned how you're going to do it down to the last detail. Now the day of production dawns, and of course there is absolutely no panic because everything was organised so well at the pre-production stage... and the pigs are winging their way over the rooftops. At any rate, you'll have all your gear organised, and you will know exactly what to shoot by your script.

Unlike documentary style, candid or live shooting, you will actually have total control. You can organise lighting, positions, camera angles and so forth to your exact requirements. This is a luxury usually reserved for feature films, so make the most of it.

As the producer and camera operator, you'll have to establish your role as a positive-thinking leader immediately. If you simply let things roll along with everyone taking charge at will, little will get done and the whole project is bound to become very frustrating.

Sets

If you're filming the band on a stage set, this will be the first thing to organise. Make sure that the only things on the set are the things you want to be seen. If the wall at the back of the set is grotty, it will look even worse on film, so, if you don't want the grotty wall, either cover it or light the set in such a way that the background is in total darkness. You might also light it so that it becomes red-grotty or blue-grotty: it could look better that way.

Be sure that roadies, hangers-on, fans (fans?) and the like keep out of the operative area. An example of what not to do was illustrated by the American set of Live Aid: a mass of scaffolding adorned the backdrop and what seemed like hundreds of bored technicians were mooning about and chatting.

Lighting

Creative use of lighting is of great importance. Video is a particularly suitable medium for bright lighting and colour, so don't be afraid to use it. The creativity which this sort of filming allows, means that you can get away with all sorts of lighting ideas, which in other filming situations would be at best inappropriate.

When lighting a face, the position in which you place your lights will determine what the facial features look like. Light from the front will flatten features, whereas light from the side will emphasise them. Light from below the face takes on a hollow, ghastly appearance, but light coming from behind throws the face into darkness, and gives a halo effect around the hair.

One effective combination is to have the main lights on one side, with some more lighting on the opposite side to give some fill-in. Lights behind and below can be switched on when required. Less powerful light can be used to light other parts of the set if required.

Lighting outdoors is not so complex and may only be a supplement to natural daylight. One small portable light unit will often be sufficient to give a little fill-in or lighten the darkest shadows.

A word here about comet tails: those bright squiggly lines you get when a video camera is pointed at a bright light and then moved about. The bright image burns itself on to the camera tube for anything from a few seconds to several hours. It's hard to avoid this when filming a set full of lights, but it's worth trying to avoid pointing the camera directly at lights whenever possible. Cameras which use the new CCD Imager chips, such as the Sony Video 8, do not suffer from this problem.

Camera Positions

Use a tripod, too many amateur videos are ruined by shakey shots. Remember Uncle Charlie's wedding video? We all felt seasick watching it. A tripod will allow you to make smooth camera movements. Only take the camera off the tripod to do tracking shots or big close-ups. Camera positions fall into five main categories.

1. Wide angle. The camera is far enough away from the band so that, with the lens in wide angle position the whole of the set is in vison.

2. Long shot. From the same position as the wide angle, the lens is used at the 'telephoto' end of its movement. You will probably get an entire person to fill the screen.

3. Mid shot. The camera is moved nearer to the set, so that shots of individual members can be taken, using the zoom lens, both full length shots, and head and shoulders shots can be taken from this position.

4. Close-up. Get into the set and you can get interesting positions and angles. You may find the camera easier to handle off the tripod and on your shoulder. Try some unusual angles. Put the camera on the floor or on your knees. Peer over shoulders and around the instruments.

5. Big close-up. Big close-ups such as of plectrums hitting strings or drum sticks hitting heads can be very useful at the editing stage.

The wide angle shot is useful for establishing the band in its setting and gives us the idea of the number of people in the band. It shouldn't be over-used though, as it's hard to get any camera movement in this position, and the shot will always look the same each time it is used.

One mistake often made in amateur videos (and also in snap-shots), is that the camera does not get in close enough. We've all seen hundreds of snap-shots of Auntie Gloria looking pathetically small in the middle of a lawn or beach or something.

"One mistake often made in amateur videos (and also in snap-shots), is that the camera does not get in close enough."

Camera Movements

The idea of camera movements is to inject life into moving pictures. Too few shots with camera movements will make the video lifeless and too many will make you dizzy. To achieve the right combination is an art in itself, but at the production stage it's always best to shoot both static and movement shots.

Camera movements fall into four categories.

1. Pan. The camera is swung from side to side.

2. Tilt. The camera is moved vertically up and down.

With pans and tilts, be sure to keep the movement even, rehearse a movement several times, and remember to tripod. A pan or tilt is only useful if you're moving the camera for a reason. You must be going from one place to another.

A whip pan is where the camera is moved so fast that the pictures become a blur. It can come in useful as an edit point.

3. Zoom. The zoom lens is used to move from wide angle to telephoto or vice versa.

It's a mistake to use a zoom all the time just because it is there. A crash zoom is where the zoom is done so quickly that the viewer seems to be shot forward. This can only be done manually, as an autozoom would be too slow. Incidentally, many professionals don't like using an auto-zoom at all. The problem is that the auto-zoom is instantly either on or off. By zooming manually you can accelerate evenly at the start, and decelerate at the end of the zoom. The result is much smoother, easier on the eye.

4. Tracking Shot. The whole camera is moved around or up to a stationary subject or is moved in pace with a moving subject.

Tracking shots can provide some of the best unexpected little movements which are useful at the editing stage. Using the camera on your shoulder, or walking round people can give interesting perspectives.

Tracking shots are usually done professionally by mounting the camera on a dolly or railway tracks to enable it to move smoothly. On our limited budget, a successful tracking shot can be achieved by putting the camera and tripod in a slowly moving car, if you want to follow someone down a street. On a set you could try sitting in a supermarket trolley.

Well, good luck with the shoot, and when you've got all that sussed, we'll go on to see how post-production pulls the whole thing together. Watch out for next month's tantalising installment!