Creating compelling video content does not necessarily mean using expensive cameras or the highest quality microphone, though industry standard equipment certainly enables content creators to fine tune their message. Publishing successful Vlogs, tutorials and cinematic content involves creativity and skill, mastering essential camera techniques can ensure your videos have the best chances of success. Here are ten fundamental techniques every YouTube creator should know:

1. Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds is a fundamental principle of composition. It divides your frame into nine equal sections, placing your subject along these lines or at the intersections makes your shots more visually appealing and balanced.

2. Leading Lines

Using natural lines within your composition such as roads, fences, or even walls to direct the viewer’s attention toward your subject helps to create depth. It guides the viewer through your frame naturally.

3. Depth of Field

Shallow depth of field (for example, using a wide aperture setting) blurs the background, keeping focus on your subject. A deep depth of field (using a smaller aperture like f/11) keeps everything in focus, which is useful for landscapes where fine detail is crucial.

4. Camera Movement

Moving your camera as a professional camera operator would makes your video cinematic. As an educational exercise, try to analyse camera movement in classic and modern cinema and consider how the director used it to communicate the films message in that scene or sequence. Examples of camera movement include the following:

• Panning: Moving the camera horizontally to follow a subject.
• Tilting: Moving the camera up and down.
• Tracking/Dolly Shots: Moving the camera forward, backward, or sideways for dynamic motion.

5. Lighting Techniques

Using lighting correctly and where appropriately, in a creative manner, is key to professional-looking videos. Consider using the following:

• Natural light: Outdoor shots often utilise natural light including the use of reflectors and shaders. Natural light is the most difficult to predict or control but when used correctly.
• Three-point lighting: Using a key light, fill light, and backlight it is possible to light a subject in a controlled manner.
• Practical lighting: Lamps or neon signs to add mood and atmosphere. This is very common in film making and often seen in the background of YouTuber’s professional or home-based studios.

6. Using The 180-Degree Rule

This guideline ensures continuity in conversations or action sequences and whilst you may not notice the rule applied correctly, you would certainly notice if it is ignored. The rule involves establishing an invisible line between two subjects—keeping your camera on one side of this line maintains consistent screen direction and avoids confusing your audience.

7. Over-the-Shoulder Shots

Commonly used in interviews or storytelling. Over-the-shoulder shots add context by showing the subject’s perspective and immerse viewers in the story from a human perspective.

8. Slow Motion and Time-Lapse

Slow-motion footage captured by a burst or constant high frame rate (typically by capturing at least 100 frames per second) can emphasise emotions or actions. Time-lapse footage condenses time to showcase transformations or movement. Each of these techniques have the potential to capture audience attention in a unique manner.

9. Stabilising Your Video

Stabilising footage can really improve the watchability of your content. Nobody wants to see nausea-inducing sequences.  By using a tripod, gimbal or in-camera stabilisation, it is possible to achieve steady shots. If you do not have access to these try using handheld techniques like the “ninja walk” to minimise camera shake.

10. Creating B-Roll Footage

Capturing additional footage to supplement your core video content is referred to as B-roll. This may include a close up of hands interacting with a product during a tutorial or scenic shots in a travel vlog. B-roll adds visual interest, improves storytelling and may even help solve challenging edits in the final cut.

Conclusion

Mastering these camera techniques will ensure your content has the best chance of success in a competitive marketplace. By experimenting with composition, movement and lighting, it is possible to develop a unique style that makes your content stand out. See Simcoemedia’s video, photography and design projects on the Simcoemedia Portfolio page.

If you’re a freelancer working as a photographer, graphic designer or video production, you’ve probably noticed how AI is rapidly being integrated into the software used by creative industries such as Adobe Firefly. Whether you see it as a useful tool or a threat to creativity, one thing is clear: ignoring it is not an option. Here are a few reasons why experimenting with generative AI is an important component of a media producers toolkit:

1. Staying Ahead Of The Competition

Freelancers who integrate AI into their workflow are likely to find ways of working more efficiently and effectively. AI-assisted video editing, AI-generated design elements or advanced photography editing using generative AI  have the potential to provide an edge over those still doing everything manually. For those who remain sceptical and resist the changes AI is bring to the industry, there remain many misconceptions about the technology and understanding it might assist others is a useful experience.

2. Expanding Creative Possibilities

AI will not replace creativity—it is a useful companion for enhancing it. Tools like Runway Gen-3, Magnific AI and Midjourney can rapidly generate ideas, styles and effects which both accelerate concept development and inspire creative processes. Experimenting with these tools allow content creators to rapidly produce a wide variety of concepts, translate audio content to different languages, accurately rotoscope with minimal intervention and deliver many other services that were previously time consuming and costly.

3. Increasing Productivity Without Increasing Costs

Freelancing means balancing creative work with business management. AI can automate time-consuming tasks —background removal, creating a seamless nadir and zenith on a 360 photograph, rapid colour grading and colour matching, scriptwriting assistance. These time saving activities allow freelancers to take on more business without sacrificing quality.

4. Attracting More Clients

Businesses are actively pursuing opportunities to implement their own AI efficiencies and therefore a freelancer integrating AI into their own work in an intelligent manner will stand out from the crowd. By showcasing  quality AI-enhanced work in your portfolio, you position yourself as an innovative professional who understands the importance of using this technology to maintain an edge over your competitors.

5. Future-Proofing Your Career

AI will not replace freelancers, but those using AI will have an increasing advantage over those that do not. Learning AI tools now prepares you for industry changes and fosters discernment as to their appropriate application – the more experience you have, the greater understanding of effective AI integration. You do not have to completely change your workflow overnight – by starting small it is possible to gain understanding of the potential and limitations. Maybe try some generative AI text-to-image experiments in Adobe Firefly for example.

 Freelancers who understand effective uses of AI technologies will thrive. Those who ignore it risk falling behind. Ultimately, experimentation with AI tools cost relatively little but not experimenting with AI could cost you projects.

Relevant Articles

• AI And The Future Of Media Production
• Introduction To Creating AI Generated Music Videos

Introducing Generative AI Technologies

During 2022 and 2023 a variety of photo and video Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies were released to a wildy enthusiastic audience of digital content creators. Examples include Midjourney and Adobe Firefly – both designed to create images from text prompts.

As a progression from image generation, similar principles have been applied to the creation of video content and, in a similar way to still images, the results are often close but not exactly as the user intended. Examples of video generators include Kaiber.ai, Pika.art and Runway Gen1 and Gen2 with many new apps, each with their own unique take on the process, being added all the time. Creating exciting, novel content by proving a text prompt or image is becoming easier and more sophisticated use of prompts, filters and styles are enabling users to generate content closer to their original vision.

How Generative AI Works

Generative AI creates image, video and audio content by using deep learning (a ‘machine learning’ technique). A vast array of content is ingested into the system where different styles, techniques and compositions are analysed and differentiated. Neural networks (essentially computers running learning processes similar to that of the human brain) analyse patterns, shapes, objects and the overall feel or intent to establish a series of principles upon which to build a new image, video or audio clip. The greater the number and variety of the source material, the more effective and realistic the results. In very simple terms, when a user makes a request to generate video via a text prompt or provides a visual guide by using an image, the system analyses and interprets the intention then synthesises what it considers to be the most likely pleasing result by reconstituting styles, shapes, textures and overall feel from a vast number of sources. The next section further describes some of the components that enable this process.

Components

There are three key computing principles upon which video AI systems are built:

If you are in the early stages of exploring different types of content creation or just looking to save a little money before investing in professional software such as Adobe’s Creative Cloud (which will cost around £50 / month for the complete suite), here are a few examples of free to use examples based upon their nearest equivalent in Creative Cloud (noting that these free to use equivalents may lack the sophistication offered in purchase /  subscription based solutions):

Motivation

It is 5 years since I began writing my book, the 360 Video Handbook. The book was written over a period of 8 months alongside my freelance project work. Here are several reasons for undertaking such a large project:

• Accurately assess the skills and experience required to create high quality immersive, VR or 360 video
• Consolidate and distill existing knowledge into clear and useful chapters for readers to consume easily
• Research areas of interest to increase knowledge and ensure accuracy of information
• Establish and improve credentials in what is a relatively new discipline and therefore be one of the first to market in terms of expertise
• Create links and build bridges with manufacturers including Samsung, Kodak and HumanEyes Technologies with a view to additional project work
• Prove to myself that I could create a significant body of work based on a subject that would further my professional career and push my skills as a designer

360 Video Handbook was launched in February 2018 on Amazon using the KDP print-on-demand system and available as a PDF conversion for Kindle Reader.

The Results

I can honestly say that the 360 Video Handbook fulfilled all of the above in one way or another. Here’s what happened following the book launch:

Kodak PIXPRO

Kodak purchased 8 printed versions of the book. 3 of them were given away in a competition promoted on Twitter. In addition, Kodak donated a 360 camera with accessories to create example content. They also sent me one of their mid range cameras (the AZ901) with an impressive x90 optical Astro Zoom capable of taking a reasonably detailed photograph of the craters on the moon. In  June 2018 Kodak provided a budget for me to capture images using their tech in Barcelona.

HumanEyes Technologies

Previous to writing the book, I had developed a solid business relationship with HumanEyes Technologies , experimented with their cameras and provided feedback regarding the stitching / editing software bundled with hardware such as the Vuze, Vuze+ and the Vuze XR cameras. The company gave permission to use product images in the book and bought around 40 printed copies of the 360 Video Handbook – gaving one to each of the directors, technical staff and marketing team. They provided me with their products as they were launched along with technical support.

Matterport

Having studied 360 Video Handbook, Matterport contacted Simcoemedia regarding the production of a similar coffee table style book to promote their virtual tour solution. The process began in November 2018 when the Matterport Pro2 camera and a selection of entry level cameras (Ricoh Theta V, Insta360) arrived at my door. Working closely with the Director of Marketing, Chris Bell and Chief Technology Officer, it concluded in June 2019 when the book was sent to the company. It focussed on learning through experimentation and experience and, similar to the 360 Video Handbook, contained many interesting gallery images for inspiration.

Hot Off The Press

There’s a new book on the way. It will be released on Amazon in August 2022 and is called “Freelancers Handbook: A Survive and Thrive Guide For Beginners in Creative Industries”