Filmmaking Amateur | What NOT to do on a shoot (Day Six)

by Scott U
(Georgia, USA)

Saturday was to be a big day. It was my first time to shoot video with a purpose. It was an easy gig. Sure it was self-imposed, but a gig is a gig, even if you just make it up. Plains, Ga holds an annual Peanut Festival. There are vendors and kids games and of course, President Carter. There's also a 5K fun run. A parade. President Carter hands out Fun Run awards and signs books at his brother's old gas station. The festival even has a marching Marine Corps band. Lots of cool stuff. And I missed all of it. I got to downtown Plains around 3pm. The lighting was terrible. The people that were there were dreary. The heat and gnats were making people miserable. Vendors were having half-off blooming onion sales and two turkey legs for the price of one. I missed everything that should have been recorded to document this event.

On top of being late, I made a number of amateur mistakes in my recordings too. The boom mic showed up in a handful of shots. Video was blown out. The audio settings weren't right for the surroundings. Some of the shots I shot were stupid shots. I did manage to get in a few seconds here and there of usable footage. But for a large part, I brought myself some crap video to work with. I was fortunate enough to run into the event president and she was able to recount everything I missed. At least I had some audio. Without that one interview, I wouldn't have had anything to work with.

I learned a lot today by screwing up. You can read all the books you want but nothing will make you remember to turn off the camera like recording the entire trip back home from the inside of the camera bag. Books and advice are fine, taken in moderation. The best way to learn is to do. Today, I did. Just...real bad.

Comments for Filmmaking Amateur | What NOT to do on a shoot (Day Six)

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Oct 06, 2011
 Great video on what *not* to do
by: John

Scott, thanks for showing us what *not* to do! I enjoyed the self-deprecating comments. I can't wait to see future documentaries that show your improving skills.

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