Hour 1. Camcorder and Shooting Tips

To make an excellent video production you need to start with high-quality raw material?the original footage. Most books on Premiere gloss over this subject, but no amount of clever, whiz-bang editing can turn mediocre raw video into a dazzling final product. The old computer-programming adage applies: garbage in, garbage out. Except in the TV world that adage has a slightly different twist: You can't fix it in post. That is, postproduction techniques will not resurrect reels of video junk.

I have 15 years experience in broadcast TV and video production. I've done my own shooting and have worked with some of the best photographers in the business. In this chapter I'll pass along some of their video-shooting tips that will start you on the right track to a finished product you can be proud of.

The highlights of this hour include the following: