Introducing my first (rather amateurish!) notebook video– this is a look at the notebook I just finished using. I’ll try to post more notebook videos in the future, and if any readers want to submit links to their own YouTube videos of notebooks, I’ll share those too.
I enjoy watching these clips, especially the stuff that moleskineart does for the company’s Detour series. However, as a professional photographer and video guy, I’ve got some suggestions for all of you.
1. Use even, soft light. Ideally there are two equally powered light sources, 45 degrees above each side.
2. Open the book to some nearly blank pages, allow the camera to set exposure, and then disable the autoexposure. Then open up one half on full f-stop. This slight overexposure makes the white paper white instead of gray. This also prevent eh camera from trying to change the exposure on every page turn. (If you don’t know what an f-stop is, you’re not only using the wrong camera for this type of work, you’re documenting your notebook inappropriately. You’d be better off doing lo-rez scans of selected spreads and exporting an image sequence out of them.)
3. Use a stable camera mount like a tripod so you can use both hands to hold the notebook in place. Do not try to hold the camera with one hand.
4. Focus carefully and then disable the autofocus or the camera will try to refocus everytime you turn a page.
5. Try to figure out a way to lock down the notebook with rubber bands or clips.
6. Use the camera’s mic. I think most of us find the sound of the paper appropriately soothing, but be quiet and shoot in a quiet location. otherwise, don’t upload the audio. Or cover your audio with a music track but don’t use music that distracts from the images in your notebook unless you wrote and performed the music which makes the music an integral part of your artwork.
7. Do not zoom in or out. If you need to cut to a closeup, learn how to use a video editing application.
8. Watch a few dozen of these types of movies to see everything everyone else is doing wrong and don’t do that.
david boise ID
Great to see your notebook. Thanks for the film. Also, loved hearing Amy Mann in the background. One of my favorites!
I bow to Mr Bogie’s superior knowledge, but I enjoyed it. More interesting than a lot of the ones already on YouTube.