Shoot your video wisely

- I'm a video journalist. When I'm working, I tend to use cameras a little bit like this. They cost a few thousand dollars, but when you get the hang of them, they're really good. That one's really good. But, yes, like I say, take a little bit of getting used to. Got a bit of a confession to make, though. I actually prefer using the phone in my pocket, which is a little bit controversial, but not really because I think it doesn't really matter whether you plunk for one of those or one of those. There's a much bigger threat they both face, and it's happening again. No, no, no, don't click away! Don't, it'd be really embarrassing! Don't click! Don't! Thank you. Whew, that was close. That was it. If someone clicks away from you, then they won't know which one you were using 'cause they'll never see, and that's why it doesn't really matter. So for me, the most important thing isn't here, although they play their part. It's there. It's you. It's keeping you, the audience, engaged. That's my number one thing. How do we keep you engaged? Well, there's a few things we can do. The first one, though, is just like good manners or good handwriting. We keep the frame as it is now. Allow me to demonstrate. Let me just point my lovely camera at myself. How would it be if everything was just slightly lopsided? You start to feel a little bit seasick. Then how about if I add to it like this and start to maybe zoom a little? Zoom in and out all the time. Now you're feeling really seasick, and that's going to make you go, so I need to avoid both of those. And there's one more thing. This camera is a little bit heavy, actually, so we're starting to shake around like we're really on the high seas. Okay, I'm going to lose you in no time at all, so let me just try and pop that on my tripod and maybe just zoom back a bit. There we are, right. So now we're getting somewhere. Now we've got a nice level shot, and it's not zooming, and it's steady. So those are the three things. It's not quite right yet. Got quite a lot of room around me. You're seeing a bit too much room and not not enough me, so let me just try and just zoom in. There. Maybe slightly too close, in on each other's personal space a little bit. So let me just split the difference and show the audience a little bit of my room and a little bit of me. And there we are. It's like neat handwriting or good manners, a perfectly balanced shot. Now, this is going to guarantee your audience will stay with you, but it's certainly one giant leap in the right direction.