 Barked: Fri Sep 25, '09 4:14pm PST | |
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Heya all you videopawgraphers out there!
Just wanted to spread a few of our tips for creating great videos with your pet!
We all love watching good pet videos, but maybe get a little flustered when we try to make one on our own... so I wanted to give a few tips, AND encourage you to post your own as well!
I'll start it off:
* Keep your video to one to two minutes in length. Especially when working with pets, get the cuteness, get it right, and get it quickly. If it takes 18 minutes for Fido or Fluffy to do that amazing trick, edit out the first 17.
* Label your video with a descriptive title. Come up with something short and sweet, but one that lets people know what *might* be happening in the clip. I say *might* because you still want to create an element of suspense so that people watch it. "Fido Jumps Over a Chair and Then sits On top of the Cat for Twelve Seconds Last Sunday" is not a great title, for example - it gives WAY too much away.
* Hold the camera steady. Nothing worse than watching a video where the camerahuman is shaking or laughing too hard to get a good shot. Granted, this can't really apply to spontaneous footage, but if you're trying to capture a trick that you've seen before, set up the camera on a tripod and wait for it... wait for it.. wait for it...
* Make sure you have good lighting. When capturing pets in still or moving pictures, good lighting is a must. If you are shooting your pet in front of a window or a strongly backlit area, you may want to consider setting up an extra light so that he or she does not turn into just a silhouette.
* If sound is a key element in the trick/action, make sure that your microphone is working properly and that you're actually catching the sound.
* Don't zoom in and out too much. Yes, an amazing technological breakthrough, those little plus and minus buttons on your camera, but it's not that fun to watch a video when you're zooming in and out on a subject. Don't make the viewer feel sick. Keep it steady.
* Frame your shots well. Sometimes a really great trick or bit of cuteness is ruined because of the (really!) dirty socks on the floor or the half eaten bagel on the table. Look around you and move YOUR position so that you've got an attractive image within the frame.
* Have fun and be creative! Batteries can be re-charged and bad video can be erased and replaced, so feel free to try things out with your pet, see how he/she reacts and then shoot it all over again. This can be a great bit of bonding and exercise for you and your pet!
Now get on out there and start making your vids...
and post them to your profile using Dogster and Catster Video!
Feeling great about what you've made and want to show it off? Enter it in the Dogster Video Contest or the Catster Video Contest!Edited by author Tue Sep 29, '09 7:33am PST
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