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Learning video production is just like learning the guitar. When we begin to learn the guitar, we may first read up a lot of theory about the seven notes of Western music, the scales, bars, strings, reading notes, etc. and then proceed to finger speed, chords, lead techniques, etc. We read books to get the basic theory, but mere theory will not work. Practice is imperative, and we have to practice a ie5t if we want to master the instrument.
The learning programme at your institute gives you the space and time to pick up both the theoretical and the practical aspects of video production. Initially, what we see on screen may not match what we had expected. As we proceed with the learning and refine our skills, the gap between our expectations and the finished product reduces. We learn that each camera placement and each shot size has a significrtnce and the camera must always strive to capture the action. Simultaneously, we also learn how to plan single shots, build scenes, and sequence. One of the ways to do this is to draw a mental 'floor plan' of the location.
The floor plan indicates the camera positions and the shot sizes we want to shoot for the scene. It helps to shoot complete scenes and sequences irrespective of whether we are shooting fiction or non-fiction. For example, you are shooting a documentary on consumerism and you need to shoot a scene of people shopping in a super store. Begin with people entering the super store, people walking around it, looking for particular products, walking with trolleys (some without, and some with products in them), the various sections in the super store, some 'new' products, the 'offers', etc. Next move to the payment counter and shoot the queue near the counter, people with cash in their hands, credit cards, and the counter clerk entering data into the computer. Next shoot people paying cash, swiping cards, and the printing of the cash receipt. Then shoot people walking out of the shop
with their purchases. This completes a scene. That is, you shoot right from people entering the super store to them exiting it with purchases. Within this scene, you will shoot a number of shot combinations. Low angle of people entering the super store, MCD of people entering the interiors, topangle LS of the super store, CDs of people examining products, and LS of people walking with trolleys, CDs of the products in the trolleys, MS of the product racks, CDs of the products, some good-looking faces, a couple of kids bawling for toffees, MCDs of the sales girls, an MS of people in the queue near the payment counter, CDs of cash or credit cards in their hands, the look on their faces, the counter clerk, a CD of the clerk's hand operating the computer mouse, the computer screen with the data entries, a CD of the printing machine with the receipt emerging out of it, MLS of people walking out, CDs of their feet and the products they are carrying, etc.
Shoot a number of cutaways. Shots of close-ups of the products, the crying child, good looking faces, etc. all serve as cutaways. Do you see the number of possibilities? Give such footage to an editor, who will love it. The variety of shots you have canned will add visual variety to the film. Of course, you would not forget to take care of other parameters like lighting, aperture, shutter speed, etc.
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