Filming Tips.

[matt.price]

I'm quite interested in filming at the mo (Trials that is)

and i'm just after some tips ! because my bike broke today so i'm gonna do a fair bit of filming the next few days ..

so any decent camera men on here give me a few tips..

cheers

matt

[LukasMcNeal]

Use a tripod, a shaky cam instantly makes stuff look shite

[Revolver]

Naaah, not necessarily.

Tripod shots can be boring. Watch GET2, watch Clean 001, watch anything filmed by Ben Rowlands, then try to emulate that.

[MadManMike]

For the love of god, do NOT get one of those push on Fisheye cap things - they really do look awful.

That's my single biggest piece of advice.

[Dwarf Shortage]

Try not to make any noise, what could've been some fairly sweet vids are an effort to watch because the cameraman is constantly screaming 'OH YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!' after every shot.

[Max Quinn]

• Mix up your shots between tripod and freehand, but make sure you've got a steady base to hold the camera (either just a good support with your arms or rest your elbow on a wall etc)
  
• Look into photography compositional stuff, rule of thirds etc.
  
• Think carefully about framing of the actual rider with the surroundings, when you get to a spot think 'what makes this spot different to film then others' and try and make use of whatever you come up with.
  
• Use the odd pull focus technique/panning to the rider, but bare in mind that if you do that too much it gets boring as f**k and you just look like you belong on a fixie instead of a trials bike.
  
• Step back occasionally. Especially if your at a spot that looks good with good surroundings, stuff can look good from a far as well as close to the action.
  
• Film from different heights.
  
• Think about editing while you're actually filming. If you look at films or the best bike videos you realise the switches between shots couldn't have actually been done without forethought in filming (when they pan across to a black wall and then pan out of a different black wall into a new shot for example).
  
• Practice all the above, then just forget it and do your own thing.
  

[Ali C]

If you've got a tripod with an extendable mid-section, they can be a pretty handy sort of steadicam. Innuendo ahoy: Expose a hands-width of mid-section, then spread the legs and extend them a touch. If you hold it one-handed on the exposed mid-section bit, it balances it out really nicely. Works well for non-fixed tripod shots.

[NVWOCI WVS]

Make a steady cam (amazing easy tutorials online, if you have any engineering inclination). Makes everything look a million times more professional, ad you can do amazing panning and moving shots perfectly smoothly. Make a jib too.

All easy stuff to make and do, and even if the camera is shit, it looks much higher quality with the smoothness and lack of hand wobble.

[Endohopper]

Clean your damned lens before every take ,

Complete sections / lines as opposed to single moves ,

Film a talented / innovative rider .

[Captain Scarlet]

Film more than you think you need, maybe not so necessary in the trials sense as most people create the length of their trials video in the edit, but it's of course easier to do it all in one.

A variety of shots, this comes back to the previous point, if you are dedicated camera op for the day (i.e not riding) then film at every given opportunity, to catch the spills or get some close-up shots that give your video depth, you might not ever use these clips but you can always delete them later.

Don't use excessive camera motions, like riding a line in trials, plan your camera movement so you don't have to go back on yourself because you panned too far. Timing is key here, if it is a planned line get the rider to walk it through for you, so you know exactly where to be and when.

If your going to be doing a lot of handheld shots, bend your knees to absorb the motion when walking, and lock the camera against your upper body for stability. If you can try go for a steadicam as this gives a much improved quality to your footage.

[Miles Mallinson]

Think of the song your going to use before you start filming and mould the riding around it, most good videos are ruined by terrible music and also pick music that appeals to most people.