How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck
by Steve Stockman
Reviewed by: Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP®
If you have a smart phone, you have a video camera. If you use it like the vast majority of people use it, you need to read this book and quit making video that sucks. Stockman is an experienced professional cameraman, and he is passionate about helping the rest of us learn some of the basics of good video.
His rules are fairly simple and straightforward. If a viewer clicks away from your video in the first 10 seconds, it sucks. If your camera is moving inexplicably, it sucks. If there are no “cuts”, it probably sucks. If your audio contains more extraneous than intended sounds, well, you get the idea.
Make no mistake about it, assembling good video takes time, patience, practice, and thought. But it doesn’t take a lot of expensive special equipment. Applying his principles to your smartphone or video camera will improve the output. Of course, if it becomes a passion, you could find use of a separate microphone, maybe some audio editing software, and a couple monitor screens. I’m just saying …
While we are still learning, my videos, both personal and professional, have improved considerably since reading this book. Just look at the videos tab on the website for proof!
Review by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP®
TRACKING #1-529365