If you’re broadcasting a news story or sports segment, suffice it to say, it should look professional. That’s why it’s important to have a passionate crew of workers as well as the right gear for the job. One of the most important pieces of gear, the video camera, requires special knowledge and preparation to handle. To help you prepare for your next broadcast, we’ll break down some mistakes you should avoid while filming. These mistakes may be common, but they are also easily avoidable when you have the right information and technology by your side.
Forgetting the Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is an important method of framing subjects in any given shot. The rule of thirds is a way of looking at your frame by breaking it into thirds vertically and horizontally. Following this methodology ensures your audience’s attention is on the subject. Ideally, you should place subjects at the side of the frame, with the surrounding area filling in the other two-thirds to help emphasize where the viewer should be focusing. If you don’t follow the rule of thirds, you run the risk of your footage looking unappealing to the audience.
Not Using B-Roll Footage
B-roll is additional footage shot at a separate location and time to assist the topic that your production is covering. For instance, if you’re broadcasting a news story involving a local event, if possible, have B-roll of the event to show alongside the discussion. This will help engage viewers by breaking up the monotony of just looking at talking heads the whole time.
Additionally, by showing what you’re discussing, it will help your audience understand the topic more thoroughly. Of course, that’s if you’re using relevant footage. If you’re using irrelevant B-roll, or no B-roll at all, you can confuse or bore your audience instead of engage them.
Incorrectly Setting the White Balance
White balance determines the intensity, or warmth, of the colors in your image. Cameras have white balance presets for you to choose from, but you can usually adjust the levels manually too. You can use a low white balance setting to give your image a cool color temperature, whereas a higher setting will provide your image with a warmer color temperature. If you’re shooting a sports segment or an interview for your broadcast, you should set the white balance in a way that makes the image look as realistic as possible.
If presets won’t help you achieve this, adjust manually and hold a white notecard in front of the frame for reference as you balance the color temperature. If you don’t have the right white balance for your production, it can create an image that isn’t aesthetically pleasing, which can lead to your audience disengaging from what you’re trying to show them.
As you can see, these mistakes you should avoid while filming are quite easy for novice crews to encounter. However, when you’re in charge of a more professional production, you must try even harder to prevent those mistakes from occurring. At Ikan, we can provide you with a wide range of professional video accessories to help your production look as professional and high quality as it should.