Gadgetory

see you shoot video but you want to shoot it better these five simple tips and tricks will help level up your video game to certified crispy so what's up guys Jonathan here with TLD and tip number one is something really simple but often overlooked and in fact when I started shooting video I had no idea what it was but it makes a huge difference that is simply to take advantage of custom white balance now you can do this with an 18% gray card otherwise known as a white balance card and they're relatively inexpensive I'll post a few different options down below but the idea here is to white balance before you shoot that what you're not making your post-production editing hell or get it to the point where sometimes you can't even save the shot that this may have happened to you where you're shooting like a mother you're excited you get your footage back to your computer and you realize wow that looks really really blue or cool or damn that's really nasty warm now the process slightly differs depending on what camera you have but it's really simple and if you're not doing this now please do so because it makes a huge difference now tip number two is if you can invest in a good quality video tripod because you don't want to be that guy or girl who's got this nice camera and stacks it on some books so when you see those silky smooth buttery pens chances are that's being done with a fluid head and that's what you want to look out for cheaper tripods are ones that aren't designed for video often tend to give you jerky movements and on top of slick pans you can do a lot of really cool shots with just a tripod I know some of you might be intimidated or feel like I gotta go get a slider or a dolly or jib or something crazy but you don't and in fact I actually use my tripod for most of my trick shots one that I use all the time probably looks more complicated that it actually is but it's simply just to let the tripod down and bring the camera down and it gives it a really crazy cinematic look once you get those down you can start to experiment and have some fun you can do some pushes and some pulls when you get those mastered that has a complete new level to your shooting now tip number three is to be aware and take advantage of framing because that makes all the difference in the world framing is everything because you can take something that doesn't look so great and turn it into an amazing shot depending on how you frame the entire situation there's a pool of thirds that you want to keep in mind sometimes and that's just saying that you know having your subject in one third of the frame on the either the left to the right side will make a huge difference for me I want to make sure that I keep my shots nice and tidy right so I want to be able to sometimes push something off to the left to the right or something and use the thirds to line it up but a lot of times I use the third just as a guide to make sure that for example I can keep something in the middle third I make sure that something stays like on the top half of the frame whatever that kind of look that I'm going for I use the thirds to make sure that I'm getting it and I'm just guessing that oh it's kind of over there or whatever I know exactly where it's always at now tip number four is for those of you who shoot outside a lot or have a lens with a really wide open aperture that's to pick up an ND filter the simplest way I could describe it ND filter is that it's like sunglasses for your camera so if you've ever shot some video outside and everything is massively overblown or overexposed where did Austin go there is it much like the white balance cards these vary in prices but again I will post a few different options down below but this is essential for you filmmakers out there now last up this is really important that's don't be afraid to shoot on what you have whether that's a smartphone or a point-and-shoot camera and if some of you may see some of your favorite youtubers shooting on pro cameras and get a little intimidated but you can do some awesome stuff on cheaper cameras for those that remember the classic iPhone 6 and tree that was shot completely with iPhone 6 plus and you probably wouldn't have known had I not told you they have adapters that allow you to mount your smartphone onto a tripod so you can really step up your smartphone shooting game a la super-scientific or if you have a point-and-shoot just something as simple as adding a level of stabilization will completely change the game sometimes when you're shooting handheld you get some really shaky shots so adding something like that adds some stabilization especially if you're moving around with the camera now some of you might be saying Jonathan I got really stable hands why do I need that and sometimes it's really more for the creative element where you're gonna get into shots that you might not have thought of or been able to get with just using your hands so with these steps you are now one step closer to joining team krispy hopefully you enjoyed the video if you did and you are feeling like being awesome make sure to go Chuck Norris on that like but and of course in return you get a virtual high five at your face curious the intro for this video was actually a template we modified from video blocks which has tons of After Effects templates stock footage explosions epic titles and really just tons and tons of video awesomeness to spice up your chops now TLD fans can check it out free details down below if you have any questions drop me a line or hit me up on Twitter at TLD today aside from that this is Jonathan and I will catch you guys later