How to Make *Moving* Pictures
Video requires motion and emotion. That was the key take-away from my workshop for beginners to videography. Emotion I have covered in an earlier blog post. Having motion in your video is crucial because motion is what separates your video from everything else in the world - it's called a "moving picture" for a reason! A moving subject is important, and camera movement adds another layer of aesthetic complexity. But be careful, shaky camera movement will undermine your video quality... and probably make your audience seasick.
#ProTip: Use tools to capture professional movement.
Videographers invest quite a bit of money and training in tools to capture smooth motion. The cheapest and most simple solution is a shoulder brace that somewhat stabilizes the camera as you move. A tripods with a fluid head can also be used for smooth movement up-and-down or side-to-side. There are also special tracks called sliders that can be set up on two tripods and allow the camera to be moved back-and-forth. Our current favorite tool is the gimbal - it is held by two hands as you walk and can capture interesting movement in any direction, all the while stabilizing the camera so that the movement is butter-smooth. The drone provides long-range movement as well as view from above. There are many, many other tools on the higher end of the spectrum, including the steadycam rig, which is a full-body-brace, the dolly, which is a massive cart on tracks, and the jib, which is a crane holding a camera. While many of these require speciality training, if you are a beginner, try a tripod or a shoulder brace. You'll be surprised at how appealing your motion picture will become.
Katie Rutter is the executive producer of Thing in a Pot Productions. She has received multiple awards for her work, including a nomination for a Chicago/Midwest Emmy in 2021 and being declared Video Producer of the Year in 2018 by the Catholic Press Association. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our video ProTips in your inbox every month!