Digital Video Hacks

Chapter 3. Acquire

Hacks 26–38

Every aspect of creating a video revolves around the footage, so acquiring it is quite obviously the most important element. Without footage, you can’t edit or distribute a video. The decisions you have to make determine what you want to acquire and how you should do so. The hacks in this chapter will help you collect footage from various sources, shoot footage in unusual ways, and help you bring all of your footage (no matter where it originates) together.

Create a Time-Lapse Video of a Sunset

Compressing a long event into a few seconds can create a wonderful transition.

You have probably seen a time-lapse video in educational movies, such as the ones that show a rose as it progresses from a bud, to full bloom, to its leaves falling off. This type of imagery can be quite powerful. Unlike film cameras, most digital video cameras do not allow you to change the frame rate at which they capture.

Although the technique somewhat limited, this hack should provide an effect similar to what you can accomplish with a film camera, at a fraction of the cost.

Tip

If your camera has the ability to capture time-lapse sequences, consider yourself lucky. However, you can still experiment using the following information to fine-tune your final sequence.

Researching Your Shot

When you plan on capturing a sunset, or any time-lapse sequence, you should determine an ideal location at which to shoot. The following points might be obvious, but I am compelled to mention them ...