sobyVISION—I AM A STORYTELLER
“I am a storyteller, I just use a camera, microphone and you to tell the story.”
“Feel the Video, get electrocuted”
Equipment: Looking for equipment to do some video work around your office?
Canon VIXIA HF R300
$300.00 (B&Hphoto.com has it for $250)
ScanDisk
$15.00
Battery
$55.00
PearStone Lav Microphone $23.00
Tripod
$70.00
Editing equipment: iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Final Cut X $300, Adobe
Premiere Elements 11 $80.00. But Adobe has a sweet deal for $50/per month. (And you
need a computer.)
TIPS AND TRICKS TO SHOOTING A GOOD VIDEO:
“Your eye is the greatest camera ever made, shoot the way you look at life.”
Garbage in-Garbage out-Crappy pictures and Crappy video makes terrible stories.
SOUND…..WHAT? Listen Up I said “SOUND!!!!”-Everyone thinks video, but what
about your audio? If I can’t hear it or it is hard to understand, I’m not listening and I’m
clicking away. Wear headphones!!!
THINK BEFORE YOU SHOOT- Plan what you are going to shoot. Are there
distractions in the background, is the shot framed correctly? Get rid of discretions and
messy backgrounds. Use available light to light your subject. The CEO, should look like
a “god”. (well make them look and sound really good)
Shoot and move-Vary your shots—Wide, Medium, Tight, move.
USE THE VIEW FINDER- You’ll be surprised.
Composition-Visual sameness is boring, look for variation; we look at life this way.
Think of a plate of food at a potluck, you fill it with a bit of everything; your story needs
that variety. But don’t forget the message. (Get some Apple Pie)
The Hand Held Camera-Move in Close and shoot Wide. Control your Breathing. Don’t
be tense. Do what it takes to get the shot. The world is your tripod, you might look goofy
getting a shot but your video will look amazing. And for heaven’s sake do not shoot like
Helene Francis Mahoney! (my mother)
Avoid BOPSA-Bunch of people standing around. Snoozeville! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Know Your Equipment- You need to understand your equipment and what it does. You
don’t want to be fumbling with your equipment when the CEO or the big person in
charge is standing in front of you. This stresses you out and then you are not fun and that
rubs off on everyone in the room. Grumpy people do lousy interviews and look mad on
camera.
BE SAFE!! No shot is worth dying for and they make GoPro Cameras for that stuff now.
HAVE FUN! You will shoot a better story if your having fun!
Knowing this information will also help you hire storytellers when you need help to tell
your story. Know what you are hiring and what you need.
STORYTELLING
PART2
Seek gradual improvement
ALL STORIES MUST HAVE ANSWERS TO---
WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY?
HOW?
ALL STORIES MUST HAVE A:
BEGINNING
MIDDLE
END
A MESSAGE
AUDIO DRIVES YOUR STORY—
Sound allows you a way to tell your story in ways that are not possible with just
written words and pictures. Wear headphones!!
Silence can be golden.
Have POWERFUL INTERVIEWS!!!!
GET EXCITED-If your not excited about the story, why would the viewer.
TELL YOUR STORY THROUGH A CHARACTER! This is sometimes the hardest
part finding, a good character.
EMOTION-EMOTION-EMOTION-YOU GOTTA HAVE EMOTION!
HAPPY-SAD-MAD-GLAD-AGONY-PAIN-REJOICE-CELEBRATION
“Your viewer should feel something from watching your story and not because they
watched it in the bathtub and the computer fell in and it electrocuted them.”
LOOK FOR NATURAL MOMENTS-Moments you can’t plan for.
GET INVOLVEDINTERVIEWS ARE KEYWORDS: Words are an important element to storytelling. Too many words can be
overwhelming to the viewer, too little words can not provide enough information.
Words-pictures-sounds and sometimes silences can help tell a story- they need to be all
used together.
Commitment- In one sentence-What you want your audience to take away from the
story. It is a complete story with a subject, verb and object. Be committed!
SURPRISES: Build to a surprise. Use that emotional moment to push the story over the
top.
Don’t set the viewer up for something if your not going to show it.
Make images of things that are simple and true.
BE A StOrYtElLeR!!!!!
Who is this guy? Your reading ahead, so if I am boring here is a little more reading!
Welcome to sobyVISION: I am Peter Soby. I have been a Director of Photography in
television production since 1997. I am committed and passionate about the stories and
videos I produce. My experiences in television news taught me the skills to be fast,
accurate, flexible and easy going under stress. My experiences on documentaries and
corporate videos allow me the opportunity to treat projects with care and detail. I have
traveled the all across the United States and even internationally covering many stories
and experiences. I specialize in telling stories through people. I have the greatest job in
the world and I love my craft. SobyVISION can work within any budget to create your
vision.