My First Video Shoot

I am working on my last project for my integrated media and storytelling class, which is going to be an iMovie, with some added pictures and audio. Today I went and shot the video and pictures, and I just wanted to share a few of the things I learned along the way. I'll be posting the finished project once I get it all edited (I promised my subjects I'd put it up here) so stay tuned, but in the meantime:

• It is harder than you'd think to make sure you aren't cutting off a subject's head in your shot
• I drink too much coffee to hold a camera steady
• Sometimes the B Roll contains the real gems
• People are comfortable in a group, but get them alone and they can freeze up
• Fluorescent lighting is no one's friend
• A rolling desk chair can be a fun, and useful prop
• I still hate how my voice sounds when it is being recorded
• The smaller the camera, the less people realize you are shooting them
• Sometimes getting the shot means getting down on the floor, or up on a table
• I'm really tall, I'm really nice, I give good hugs, and I'm like totally old enough to have a husband by now. (My subjects might have been more interested in me than the science, but the interviews were great!)

Now here's a little hint about what shooting my last project entailed, and what my topic will be:

I love my blogging buddies!