The Visual Guide to Camera Shots (Our First Assignment!)

Video Tutorials that you will need to complete this assignment:

• Sony Vegas Basics: Importing Video Footage, Using the Timeline, Trimming Clips, Inserting Text, Credits and Overlays.
• Saving Files in Sony Vegas.

Part One, Filming:

Using your Video Language Dictionary, head out onto campus or over to the park and shoot 25 different 10 second scenes. I do not mind if you work together, but please make sure that your work and your shots are your own. Make sure to avoid contamination!

Each of these scenes should demonstrate ONE of the 25 different camera shots and angles discussed on the Video Language Dictionary. (PLEASE NOTE: There are actually 26 shots on the worksheet, please LEAVE OUT the Boom/Crane Shot for now.)

When filming these 10 second scenes, make sure that EACH SCENE IS DIFFERENT! I do not want the same person over and over again in your shots, find new people, new subjects, new locations for each scene. Make sure you get all 25 shots! This is NOT a race, take your time and get me some good footage and some effective shots!

Next class period, we begin work on the next parts, downloading, importing and editing!

Part Two, Editing:

Download your clips from the camera to one of your Q: Drive folders:

• Plug in your USB cords to an Editing Computer (those with the Silver Duct Tape on the top of the monitors).
• Turn on your camera and touch the USB Connect button on the camera screen (the icon with the cylinder) to connect your camera to the computer.
• We can import your clips directly from your camera into Vegas, but then if you disconnect your camera in the future, the program can no longer find them. It is best to copy the files to your Q: Drive Folder. Use My Computer to copy the files from the Camera (E: Drive) to your Q: Drive.

Import your clips into Vegas, so that they are ready for editing. Use the Video Tutorials above as a guide for this process.

You will be putting together a “Visual Guide” to camera shots, using the different clips that you took over the last few days. Make sure to include the following:

1. A title screen: “Visual Guide to Camera Shots”
2. Introductory titles for each camera shot video clip, indicating the name of the shot to follow.
3. Trim your video clips, as necessary, to cut out unwanted visuals (including “the bird” or other rude gestures). Clips should be about 5-8 seconds long.
4. Please place a text overlay on your shot, over the last 3-4 seconds of the video clip, telling what the shot is commonly used for.
5. Turn off the Audio Layer altogether, so that the visuals speak for themselves.
6. DO NOT use VIDEO EFFECTS or TRANSITIONS for this assignment. We will have time for those later.
7. If necessary, take your camera back out to recapture any shots that you might be missing.
8. Include final credits at the end of Visual Guide, listing camera people, actors, editors, etc.

When you are completely done, watch your movie, make sure that there are no spelling errors, unwanted video or audio, etc. Then, do a FILE>MAKE MOVIE and save your project to your V: Drive folder, call it lastname_visual_guide. (See the Video Tutorial regarding Saving Files for assistance with this step!)

Copy your Visual Guide from your folder to the Q: Drive DROPBOX for grading.

Part Three, Grading:

You will be graded mostly on how well your clips fit the definition of the camera shot being illustrated, as well as proper use of titles, credits and other text. We may show these to the class for laughs. I will give a total of 3 points for each of the 25 shots required for the exercise, plus 25 points for the titles, overlaying text and credits.