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9 - TO SHOOT OR NOT TO SHOOT


Advances in digital technology have revolutionised video, but they have also made it all too easy to overshoot. Remember you’ll have to edit it all.

In the era of film, there was a financial motivation to be selective with shots, as each roll of film cost money. Money is less of an issue these days, but storage space is a real concern when filming video, especially if shooting on 4K with a GoPro Hero 4, Sony A7 or similar. Large high-speed memory cards aren’t cheap, so we find ourselves full circle to the old adage of selecting your shots carefully.

Editing is a time-consuming process, particularly if you are still getting to grips with the software. It’s a simple equation, but the more you shoot, the more you have to edit. Plan ahead and decide exactly what you want to appear in your final video, and it will save a lot of time further down the line.

As a rule, you probably don’t want to be shooting much more than a 2:1 ratio, which means 50 per cent of your material ends up discarded. Those with more time on their hands for editing might push this up to 3:1, but much higher than this ratio and you’ll be digitally drowning.

Don’t forget the cutaways, as these are the visual links from one scene to another during the edit.

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