Filming is complex in nature. And now at the top of that let’s say you want to film yourself. This creates a really hard-core combo. Expectations of modern viewers are high, but fear not, here are my practical tips when Filming Yourself Cinematic.
Use tripod.
I am often hired because of my ability to take stable shots with different stabilizers, and I enjoy the beauty of hand-held shots. But when it comes to filming myself, I rely completely on different forms of tripods. From the smallest Joby up to full fluid heads with cross, I use them depending on where I am, and what I can carry with me.
The thing is, that when you trying to film yourself, it’s best to simplify. It’s much easier to stabilize and compose when you don’t need to act in front of the camera at the same time. That is why, stable, tripod shots are the best when filming yourself.
Tripod helps me think like a cinematographer. I compose the shots, like a painter. I look for balance, shapes, and leading lines. There is time to do so. If I had to shoot myself hand-held, my only concern would be to get capture an acceptable composition, without too many shakes.
Focus manually on the marker.
I am a big advocate of manual focus. And filming myself is no different. It’s much better to miss the focus a bit than to lose it completely because a flying duck appeared in the background and autofocus caught it.
When at the studio I use Asaro’s head. That is an extremely versatile art model of a human head. I put it exactly where I will be in a second, and focus on it. Then I fix the camera, remove the model, and appear where I previously marked.
When I am outdoors I will use something I carry. A light tripod works great, as well as a hat, or a backpack. If you are smart you can focus up to 1.8 aperture at a 50mm lens, but if you want to be on the safe side or allow a bit more movement, then shooting with a 35mm lens at F5.6 will do the job.
Shoot as much B-Roll as you can.
The B-roll will allow you to edit better, and will up overall feel of your your video. At best every shot will carry some information, something that is not directly mentioned in the commentary. Or just illustrate the environment. You can’t have too much b-roll. Sure, you don’t need to use everything, and I rarely do. But having this variety of material helps greatly. Also, it kind of eases the process of filming yourself which can be intimidating at times.
Shoot another take using a different lens.
When shooting interviews ofter multiple cameras are used. In edit, you can cut through different views, and bring a bit more variation to the image. Self-filmed videos are often speeches or lectures. Without a change of angle, it might be hard to keep the viewer engaged.
If you have two cameras, then shoot exactly like with an interview. Make sure to vary the lens and angle. Best composed shots will have similar parts of the background, but also something varied. Vary the shot sizes, jumping between two sizes at best. So for instance going from Medium Shot to Close-up, or from Full Shot to American Shot (BTW: I can see there is still a lot of confusion about that online, so I need to create some article for you).
But if you have just one camera, record everything again. In a professional film environment, you would rarely do so (except for some poorly done TV shows), it’s much better to plan the full variety of shots, creating beautiful sequences. But when filming yourself, I think it’s often the best option. I just film it all again, and I decide later in editing what I use.
Use static shots.
This might sound like blasphemy since modern cinema often relies on camera movement. But let’s remember, we are filming ourselves. Any complication will affect our performance in the frame. Therefore if we can avoid complications, we should! Conforming to static shots only gives us the ability to focus more on the performance and composition of the shot. And those elements are way more valuable than camera movement.
That always reminds me of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Beautifully composed static shots. If the static shot concept served Kubrick well, then why not try it yourself?
Sure, when filming yourself there are plenty of tools you could use to move the camera for you. But I believe that everything in film should serve the purpose. Think, what is the purpose of that movement? What kind of information does it carry?
Shot longer, let the emotion and words sound.
Movie magic happens on the film set constantly. Unplanned, unpredictable things, just when you thought that everything went sideways, something beautiful appears on your monitor. When you stand behind the lens, you always look for those accidents, you are constantly ready to press record.
When you film yourself you don’t have anyone looking for those moments. That’s why it’s important to always record a bit longer. Let the moment sound. Enjoy yourself. You are in the mountains – forget the camera is recording for a second, someone interrupted you – don’t stop recording immediately, let it run a bit more. Don’t be afraid to react naturally to you. There is no hidden disclosure that you have to use all of your shots. But, if you won’t let the camera run, you may lose the most valuable shots.
Plan in advance.
In filmmaking, planning is probably the most important endeavor, because it saves time and money. But even if you are filming yourself for a vlog, or it’s a simple lecture, planning can help you dramatically. It starts with the idea, and how you want to show it. But then you plan how, and where, and with what. At what time, and in what order? Bullet points or full scenario? Thumbnails for compositions, etc. When you start filmmaking it all looks like a happy, artistic videomaking. But true art is in concept, consistent vision, economy of shots, and clearly understandable message.
The sequence is more important than a great shot.
Sometimes I have this awesome shot, that I really, really like. But it doesn’t work with a previous or the following shot. And I know how painful it is sometimes, but the whole is more important than a single shot. So I threw it away. The ability to look at your shots, and relentlessly remove what doesn’t work will help you with every film you do, not only when filming yourself. But when recording yourself, there is this inner voice that tells you how important all of that is. To us, creators – for sure. But how important it is in relation to the message? How does this shot affect the consistency of the full video?
I can tell you, that as I advance with my experience and knowledge I tend to plan more, shoot more selectively, and delete much more.