10 TRICKS TO MAKE AN AMATEUR

VIDEO LOOK PROFESSIONAL

B OOK 2
DANNY YANN

Copyright © 2016, 2017 by infinity Publishing.

WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK
I wrote this book because... I want to help people learn about DSLR filmaking. I love
the art of the filmaking process and all the obstacles that come with it. The process is
challenging yet rewarding. I cannot think of a better profession, I would rather be in.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
This book will help you make your videos cleaner and more professional looking. Use
these tricks and tips wisely and practice as much as possible to get that sweet pro look.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Why I Wrote This Book
Why You Should Read This Book
Table of Contents
Trick 1. Lighting
Trick 2. Use Available Light
Trick 3. Color correction
Trick 4. Tripods or lack of
Trick 5. Shaky Footage
Trick 6. Shoot in highest resolution
Trick 7. Shallow depth of field
Trick 8. Shoot close to your subject
Trick 9. Boost volume Remove noise
Trick 10. Automated dialogue replacement
About The Author
Other Books By Danny Yann
TRICK 1. LIGHTING

Choosing the right lighting for your shoots can be very expensive. Thankfully there are
cheap solutions to lighting your scenes. Bulbs and lighting fixtures can be purchased
from just about anywhere. What’s even better than buying a bunch of lights from the store
is using the ones you already have at home. Experiment with the lights you have before
you go spending a bunch of money on things you may not need. You should learn how to
use your lamps and house lights to make your scenes look nicer and more professional.
How do you do this? Start by choosing any room in your house and choose your main
focus. Pick an object or a person and light the scene according to your preference.
Remember that light effects the mood and feeling you are trying to express. Look at any
of your favorite films and choose a scene you would like to mimic. Take notice of the
lighting situation. Pay attention to the shadows or lack of. You may need to place cloth
or any material that dims the lights you have. You can even fold a sheet of paper if you
have to. Be creative and learn how to do things cheaply if you don’t have a budget or
any money to spend.
Low key lighting is all about shadows and contrast. High key lighting is when shadows
are minimized. Here is an example of low key lighting.

Notice the shadows coming from an overhead light. Looks like one main light from the
ceiling. This light is most likely a really bright light so you may have to get multiple
lights together to achieve the look you want. Here is an example of High key lighting.
Notice the lack of shadows on her face. The light again is quite bright and evenly
displayed on her face. You can still achieve a dramatic shot with bright high key lights.
When you are feeling comfortable with basic lights feel free to buy some lights or build
your own. There are plenty of DIY tutorials on how to build light bars, bank lights, and
powerful 800 watt lights. Start small and experiment with what you have.
When you are ready to invest in pricier equipment, I suggest you either rent first or try to
borrow. If you can’t rent or borrow equipment, try watching videos of the product you
want before spending a lot of money. You may not need the most expensive equipment.
Once again I highly suggest you learn at home with the lights you currently own. Teach
yourself how to light scenes more professionally using 3 point lighting and other
techniques.
TRICK 2. USE AVAILABLE LIGHT

Available light is free and abundant. This includes any light source you don’t have to set
up or pay for. Shooting with available light is challenging, however it will give your
scenes a more natural look. You can also bounce natural light using any kind of
reflective material available.
The magic hour is the period before sunrise and sunset. When sunlight is near the
horizon the intensity is reduced giving you the opportunity to have the most ideal natural
light from the sun. I would also like to point out that you can use the sun as a backlight or
as part of your 3-point lighting if shooting indoors. Let’s say your talent is in a room by
an open window. Use the light coming from outside and adjust it for a backlight, fill light
or key light. Use curtains, blankets or anything you can get your hands on to adjust the
brightness coming from outside. In some cases, you may need a neutral density filter to
help combat the harsh sun and get better exposure of the sky.
Choose the right locations that will offer available light. There may be a some very
appealing light sources already set up and free if you look for them. Think of a scene
near a café or restaurant and having nice light sources in the background. Use these
locations to your advantage when thinking about your concept or story. Preparation is
key at this point. Look around and take pictures of possible locations that will fit your
vision.

Example of only using available light.

TRICK 3. COLOR CORRECTION

Color correction is one of the many steps in the filmmaking process. Some of your
footage may need adjustments. This is where every clip you have will be adjusted for
optimal exposure and balancing of light. Color temperature is also important because it
lets you determine if you want your images to be warm, cool, flat and everything in
between. I typically use adobe premiere pro when I am color correcting. Use a
waveform monitor to get perfect exposure. Also, take notice of the movies you like and
examine what temperatures and effects they are using in the scenes you like the most.
There are plenty of adjustments you can make within your editor. Try to match the scene
by taking a screen shot and adjusting the colors and exposure. In movies, typically
warmer colors are associated with temperature/weather. In a desert scene, it would
make sense if it’s hot in the scene the temperature should reflect that. Scenes can be flat
as well. Washed out colors with any temperature. This is all a preference and a creative
decision.
TRICK 4. TRIPODS OR LACK OF

You may encounter a moment in which you wish you had a tripod. Try using the camera
strap that came with your DSLR and wrap it around your neck and push forward while
the camera is attached to the strap. Also, if you have some string long enough you can
step on the string while the camera is attached at the top. Shaky footage is cool
sometimes however if your whole video is shaky and there is no real need for it people
will complain. Try leaning against a tree or anything stable near you to keeps your shots
smoother. You can crouch down or lay down as well. When your holding your camera,
instead of holding your breath try inhaling then exhaling slowly.
I remember my first wedding I used a monopod and not the tripod. That was a big
mistake. I was really unprepared and my footage suffered because of it. In that situation,
it would have been more ideal to setup tripods and have a stabilizer for my moving
shots. There was also a annoying photographer who kept jumping in my way ruining
more footage. The clients never told me about the photographer and that was another
problem I am warning you about. Always get as much information as possible when it
comes to your gigs!
TRICK 5. SHAKY FOOTAGE

You want to avoid shaky footage as much as possible when you are not using the
shakiness in a creative way. When you do encounter shaky footage, you can use image
stabilization in your editor. This may not be a cure all solution but it could help if you
have no other choice. You can also try slowing down your footage to add smoothness to
shaky footage. I had to use image stabilization in my wedding video. My target kept
moving and my shots were unstable and horrible looking. Some of the scenes I used
slow motion to help give it a more romantic and majestic look.

TRICK 6. SHOOT IN HIGHEST RESOLUTION

Shooting in the highest resolution will give you options later when you want to cut the
scene and zoom in to make it look like a second camera. You Tubers do this quite a bit if
you pay attention. If you have a 4K camera this feature will come in handy if you learn
how to utilize panning and zooming in the editor. For example, your shot is in 4k or
1080. You will create motion within the editor to appear as if you had some fancy
camera sliders or equipment but really you just used your editing skills. I like to use
zoom ins and outs as well as panning from left to right. The cool thing was that all I did
to begin with is shoot a tripod shot with no movement in 4K then added my movement
later. I used motion in adobe premiere. Select where and when you want the motion to
begin.

TRICK 7. SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD

Depth of field can look awesome if you know how and when to use it. What happens if
you don’t have a prime lens to use depth of field? Try using a zoom lens and standing
further back from your target. This trick can be used in a desperate moment when you
either don’t have or forgot your prime lens. Shallow depth of field is used artistically to
isolate your main focus. The viewer’s eyes will tend to focus on what’s in focus and not
pay attention to the back ground.
TRICK 8. SHOOT CLOSE TO YOUR SUBJECT

I am going to assume you don’t have fancy or expensive audio equipment available for
your daily use. If this is the case, you can try shooting your scenes with dialog as closely
to your subject as possible then reshoot the same scene further away or at a different
angle. The point of this is to is to get a better audio track if you don’t have any external
audio equipment. Take the audio from the close up shot and match it with the shot further
away to make it look like you have more camera angles and a higher production value.
TRICK 9. BOOST VOLUME REMOVE NOISE

Sometimes your audio will have issues when you don’t have someone monitoring it full
time. In this case, you may need to adjust the audio tracks you have in your editor. You
may find your audio to be to quiet or too loud. You can use programs like adobe audition
or a free program called audacity. Check your levels to make sure your audio is not
peaking in the red. That means your decibels are too high and it will sound terrible if
you don’t fix it. Audio noise can also be adjusted in the editor. I like to use adobe
audition for noise or adobe premiere pro. You may hear background noises in your
footage like humming or any unwanted noise you want to clean up. Also, another audio
trick is to use your smart phone with headphones that have a small mic on it. You can use
this as a lavalier mic. The best part is you already have a smart phone now all you need
is some cheap headphones to get audio close to the subject. Just hide the cord as best as
possible so no one sees what you did.
TRICK 10. AUTOMATED DIALOGUE REPLACEMENT

In some cases, your audio may be horrible and need to desperately replace it. You can
redo the audio in a cleaner more suitable environment like a home studio. Simply redo
all the audio you are not happy with at home while monitoring your footage. Use the best
mic available to you in the quietest room you have. I suggest you have at least one studio
condenser mic at home with an XLR connection. I personally use a Scarlette solo by
Focusrite. That unit connects your studio microphone to your computer via USB. I highly
recommend a mic stand and a pop filter. The pop filter will filter out the p’s that
naturally come out while speaking. XLR microphones are used by professionals so get

used to it and get yourself one.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Danny Yann is a videographer and entrepreneur. He enjoys the great outdoors and
everything to do with film making.

OTHER BOOKS BY DANNY YANN

THE ULTIMATE INTRODUCTION TO DSLR FILMMAKING: Book 1

Dead End: Kill or be killed (part 1)
The Quest For Success: A simple guide to achieve anything (Life success)

ONE LAST THING...

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Table of Contents
Why I Wrote This Book 3
Why You Should Read This Book 4
Table of Contents 5
About The Author 15
Other Books By Danny Yann 15