Dipping a Toe Into Videography
We spent the morning learning the basics of videography, including why it has become a popular way for destinations to promote themselves, and how it differs from still photography. After spending some time on our camera settings and tripod techniques, we headed off to Volendam to try our hands.
Our leader, Tom, took us to a few picturesque back streets he’d scoped out earlier, where we set ourselves up to film short clips — 20-30 seconds. While quiet at first, the second street we occupied became quite busy, and the local passersby, afoot and on their bicycles, shot us curious looks. Most bicyclists didn’t care if we were spread over the small street — they just powered through as if they owned the place; and I guess they do.
Setting up a shot
Petite Bridge
I’d like to add clips of the videos I shoot this week, but haven’t figured out how yet. Hopefully you’ll be able to see vast improvement from this first day to the end. However, I didn’t buy a panning head for my tripod, so can’t really move the camera much. At this basic stage we’re mostly concentrating on composition, lighting and setting up the shot.
Poking through the back streets of Volendam revealed a wholly different town from the touristy harborside, including charming little courtyards and old bikes dressed up as planters.
At the end of the day we visited a cheese factory for a private demonstration of cheese making and some tasty samples. They graciously allowed us to trundle our tripods to record the process. On the left below are cheese rounds bathing in salt water, and on the right they’re aging.
Tomorrow it’s off to Amsterdam!