Camerawork and editing RAAM
I’ve finally gotten back into editing the RAAM video in earnest. While doing so, I came across some clips that illustrate some of the points from my series on video vs stills.
The first is an example of me being too worried about unmotivated camera movement. Because I didn’t want to move much for fear of distracting the viewer (or loosing possible actions that may come up), I didn’t creep around as the people shifted. Gradually the rider moves behind the inspector. It’s a really boring shot. Notice how much more interesting it feels when they step apart and accidentally give me an interesting composition. (Actually, the other reason I didn’t follow the people is because the tailgate of a minivan was inches from my head - if you watch carefully, you can see me clock myself with it).
Watch this one before I explain it:
This is another example of me being too chicken to move around a bit. We stare at the inspectors back for a long time - quite boring. But, this cameraman’s rigidity, though, lets us see another peculiarity that I call Alien Characters - people who you didn’t know existed until they start talking from off camera or suddenly appear from nowhere. It’s a bit unsettling; hence the need for an establishing shot ahead of time to show where you are and who’s there. Unfortunately, doing documentary work, you don’t always get a chance to do an establishing shot. Even if you do people often are moving around you - as in this case when two people crept up behind me who weren’t there when I started the camera.
(and don’t you just love that microphone boom…)
