Planning Before Filming

When given a video assignment, it is very common to want to immediately start shooting footage. However, as I read in a Net Worked blog and discovered from past failures, it is extremely important to plan out your video before you get footage. Not only does this help you reduce time filming, it also helps you ensure that you have all of the shots you need so you don't have to go back out.

The best way I can think of to explain the importance of pre-planning is to share a personal experience I had. In high school, I was assigned to make a video capturing the men's swim team state championship meet. I made sure I had all the essential footage - key races, the presenting of the trophy, interview with the captain, etc. At the end of the night, I thought I would be able to make a pretty decent segment on the meet. I went back home to edit the footage and found that the story had a lot of gaps. I wasn't just presenting viewers with shots of key moments, I was telling the story of the event. I immediately wished that I had gotten shots of the other team for comparison, shown fan reactions, gotten footage of the team on the bench celebrating after a won race, or the coach getting angry after a loss. After all, these components work together to tell the story.

That moment is when I realized that it is important not only to plan ahead and think of what kind of footage you want to use before you shoot, but to make sure that with multimedia projects it is especially important to capture moments that make up the full story - not just the highlights.