Do these 4 things to make your videos look more professional and less amateurish.

1. 4 Points to
Professional Video
Or, How to Keep Mothers Happy

2. Amateur Vs. Professional
• Anyone can record video.
• What separates professional video from
amateur video?
• Take care of these 4 things and the camera
will take care of almost everything else.
• If you don’t do these 4 things, even your
mother will be able to tell the video has a
problem.
We’re tired of your
amateur videos!

3. 1. Steady Video
• Video that has a moving frame can be
distracting!
• Unless the story/message dictates otherwise,
keep the camera steady!
• For steady video use:
• Tripod
• Shelf/ledge
• Your arms with your elbows to your side

4. 2. Bright Video
• If the video is too dark, you can’t see
what is going on!
• Brightness on a video camera is
controlled by manipulating the aperture.
• The measurement of the light going
through the lens is called the f-stop.

5. 2. Bright Video
• F-stop is really a fraction or ratio. It is an expression
of the “length” of the lens divided by the aperture
opening.
• 50 mm lens ÷ 25 mm aperture opening = 50/25 = 2/1 = 2, or f/2
÷ = f/2
Apertures.jpg by: Nagualdesign (changes made)
CC BY-SA 3.0

6. 2. Bright Video
• F-stop is really a fraction or ratio. It is an expression
of the “length” of the lens divided by the aperture
opening.
• 50 mm lens ÷ 3.125 mm aperture opening = 50/3.125 = 16, or f/16
÷ = f/16
Apertures.jpg by: Nagualdesign (changes made)
CC BY-SA 3.0

7. 2. Bright Video
• Notice the inverse ratio.
• As either the f-stop or aperture opening goes up, the other goes down.
f/2
Apertures.jpg by: Nagualdesign (changes made)
CC BY-SA 3.0

8. 2. Bright Video
• Notice the inverse ratio.
• As either the f-stop or aperture opening goes up, the other goes down.
f/16
Apertures.jpg by: Nagualdesign (changes made)
CC BY-SA 3.0

9. 2. Bright Video
• Some cameras have the zebra stripes feature to help
you properly set brightness.
• With the zebra stripes set to 70%, turn the aperture down until the
image is very dark.
• Then open the aperture slowly until you start to see zebra stripes in the
picture.
Zettl, Herbert. Television Production Handbook, 10th. Ed.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009, p. 232.

10. 3. Sharp Video
• Video that is “soft” or out of focus is hard
to watch!
• Unless the story/message dictates
otherwise, make sure the focus on your
image is sharp!

11. 3. Sharp Video
• Sharp video comes from adjusting 2
things:
1. Focus the eyepiece
1. Throw the lens out of focus
2. Open the aperture all the way
3. Point the camera at a bright area (not the sun)
4. Move the focus slider back and forth until the
words on the screen are sharp
2. Focus the zoom lens
1. Zoom in to the furthest point you need in focus
2. Adjust the focus so that the picture is sharp
3. Zoom out and compose your shot
Focus slider

12. 4. Correct Colors
• If the colors aren’t right, then your video
looks funny!

13. 4. Correct Colors
• Light comes in different colors. Color temperature identifies
different colors of light sources. Different colors of light are
identified by the temperature at which they occur. The
temperatures are expressed in Kelvin (K).
About 5,600 KAbout 3,200 K
Looks yellow/orange
Looks blue
Video cameras can only handle one color temperature at a time!

14. 4. Correct Colors
• To get proper colors in your video you
need to set the camera’s white balance.
• Setting the camera’s white balance tells the camera
what is white under the current color temperature.
• To set the white balance:
1. Zoom in on something white and fill the screen
2. Push and hold the white balance button
3. The icon will blink and then go steady

15. 4. Correct Colors
• To get proper colors in your video you
need to set the camera’s white balance.
• Setting the camera’s white balance tells the camera
what is white under the current color temperature.
• To set the white balance:
1. Zoom in on something white and fill the screen
2. Push and hold the white balance button
3. The icon will blink and then go steady
• Once the camera knows what white is under the
current color temperature, it figures out all the
other colors automatically.

16. 4. Correct Colors
• The camera can only handle one color
temperature at a time.
• Therefore, you need to white balance:
a. Before you begin recording video
b. Anytime the lighting changes (including daytimes)

17. Review
• Remember these 4 points to professional
video:
1. Steady video (use a tripod!)
2. Bright video (set the aperture correctly)
3. Sharp video (focus properly)
4. Correct colors (white balance properly)
We’re so proud!