Hi, there!
I feel warmer by the touching of the sunshine coming down from the blue sky. How are things going on with you?
Oh, before anything, I should introduce myself. My name is Kyungmin Choi and I am the one who assumed the responsibilities of operating "video production" column on Getvicom.
From now on, I will do my best to bring you the most practical and working secrets of professional video artists you can use when you videotape from anything from daily trivia to big family events. I also understand there might be things you don't necessarily understand. So, if there is anything unclear or want to know more about, feel free to ask. I am glad to tell you that there is Q&A column where you can post questions and I can put my thoughts. If this doesn't comfort you enough, there is another advice section from video professionals from the site I operate individually. My column will pick the issues as follows; first, I will draw upon "what is image". I know probably a lot of you might think 'why bother with image or any big sounding words'. To some, videotaping is done just by turning on their camcorder. That's OK for lower end home amateurs. If you want to improve your work, you must know the ABCs of the image you produce. That's what it takes to separate something normal and remarkable. We will then move to our next subject of the mechanism of camcorder. Just like any other electronic gadgets, camcorder has evolved over the years. It got much smaller to begin with and simple switch maneuver do the rest of the work. Sadly enough, this simplicity of the operation has made people ignorant of the mechanism of camcorders. People tend to think the more expensive the better the device is. I don't deny this, but remember this is true only when you understand the mechanism and only after that, you can fully take advantage of the device. Next, we are ready to move into the heart of 'videotaping'. We will review the basics such as scenario preparation, angle planning, taping techniques, and camera operation. Our next stop will be editing. Many people find it difficult and even I feel editing rather a boring job to do. But it is also true that well-done editing can animate the content. Fortunately, editing devices have been improved as well for the easy operation of any ordinary people. After all these, I will bring up the issue of 'how to have your own broadcasting station on the web'. As it may sound too big for you, it could be the equivalent to uploading your clip on the web. If you are a bit little more enthusiastic about your personal station than others, you can have a great showcase of your work and guess what? Getvicom puts out a great gift for those who make the best work on their personal broadcasting station. Above all has been the basics of video producing. For those who are more into the subject, I will write more about general broadcasting theory, production planning, composition/planning/scenario production and others in an easy language. I promise. I have always stressed the importance of basics. A lot of people ignore this when they go out and taping. As a result, the work only satisfies the one who has taped it, giving all others a headache. In spite of the similarity between camcorder and still camera, there is much to be differentiated. You can get a nice movie only when you understand this well and apply to your taping. In fact, I am planning to save a little space for your own essay from your work and have experts throw advice to you. This can be a real hands-on lesson. Now, I want to wrap up by presenting 'tips for novice'. I promise next time my writing will be much better and useful. Until next time then, have a good time.
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Tips for novice
This is from my past trip to Kyungju, one of the most visited cultural village in Korea. I found one change from the past. That was a lot of people were using their camcorders instead of still cameras. Many of them were very into it, which made me anxious to see their work. When I came up to them, however, the disappointment took me over. Here comes another story. One of my acquaintances took a trip to Europe recently with his state-of-the-art camcorder. He proudly presented his work to me after he got back. It might have been to him, but to me I was trying my best to hold up my vomit throughout the tape.
My another acquaintance, whose hobby is to videorecord, invited me to his studio where a very expensive editing device was sitting and showed me his latest work. He asked my opinion and I lost my words. Literally I thought 9 year-old second grade kid could have done better. It has been unsolvable mystery to me that people always seemed to be interested in bragging about their fancy camcorder or the quality of picture their camcorder produced. Not many people asked me how to capture good images. I am not trying to say the top line camcorder or the quality of picture from the camcorder are not important. I am just trying to say it will get a lot better if those fancy things are accompanied by the basic knowledge of videotaping.
Unfortunately my sincere advice does not seem to work on many people as much as I hoped. There are two distinct characteristics in amateurs. First one is that they care about the fanciness of their device. When the outcome is not satisfactory, they blame the camera or the lack of certain functions with their machine. They never blame themselves. Even the majority of question which are asked on my site is about the quality of the picture. Second mistake a lot of people are making is that they constantly use the zooming. I understand it could be fun to watch for the lens coming forward and backward, but you are not a 5 year old children. It may look fine to you, but believe me. You are giving one serious headache and dizziness to everyone else. Especially current technology has made it possible for camcorders to grab a picture which is hundreds of meters away as if they were just under your nose. Just take a moment and think about how dizzy the picture would be if you zoom in and out repeatedly. On top of that, people just don't know how to produce. Almost all the people make mistakes by holding the camera with one hand and their walking is not suitable for videotaping either. My first question has to be 'how to correct all these problems?'. Surprisingly enough, the answer is quite simple. Get back to the basics and have a lot of experiences. Fortunately a lot of workshops are being held for people who want to improve their work and there are a lot of video specialists out there. If you ask professional's opinion on your work, that helps a lot too. If you can fit a lesson into your schedule, you can turn to books as well. There are many of them at the bookstore and they well elaborate on the mechanism of the camera or tips for producing a good scenario before the actual shoot. Choose one with a lot of illustrations and examples. You can also watch TVs. Many TV documentaries and news toe the line of basics of shooting. But many entertaining, not educating, TV shows do not so try not to mimic their skills. My last advice would be that you get experiences. If your camcorder is handy, take it out with you as often as possible and take a shot. If you are held up at work all the time, maybe weekends would be a good time for you to go out with your family and make some family history with your camcorder. But don't be grumpy. Let other family members can also use your camcorder. After all, it has to be fun, right? Before closing out, I would like to brush upon what I have said so far. The first and foremost thing for a novice is to learn the basics. It is really a ground work for you and without it your shooting experience will not be fun because you will not improve your work at all. Also don't be obsessed with the fancy gadget. Even with your old camcorder, you can still have fun and learn the basics to produce good works. Now I want you to go out with your camcorder. If you keep in mind what I stressed before, you will be having a lot more fun while you are doing it and while you watch your own work.

E-mail : k.m. chae