My ideas on making a video

I lke many thought that making a video was easy, how wrong was I. So many things to take into consideration and different situations bring up more problems, First of all what to video and what you are allowed to and not allowed to. Police may well stop and question you because terror threat filming public buildings, Again where children are you could be considered a pervert by the parents or whoever. You might even be on private land without knowing it , office blocks do have their own frontages which are private.
So now I think about where and what I can video. Zoos are a good place to start without upsetting anyone. You find a good spot and set up only to have someone stand right infront of you or beside chatting so the mike picks it up.
now to eventually start. Do I do a long continuous video or break it up into say 5 or 10 second sections. Do I do the verbal then or a voice over later on .

No point during the day videoing into the sun a waste of time and effort also wind noise rumble another problem All this and not even given a thought about sound, do I do stereo or directional do I use a lapel mike or not .and this is just in daylight let alone dusk or at night.
This is just one senerio and there are many more, each situation is different.

OK days shoot over now onto editing a completely different ball game, there are people who make editing a living but me? Just for my amusement and enjoyment.
one can alter a video in so many ways. add inserts- texts- colour change- speed up or slow down etc etc.
For me it is the enjoyment of the different challenges and overcoming problems in editing. I don’t think many realise what goes into making a video be it for onesself or for others to enjoy

Not to mention the trouble and strife it can cause for others

I remember when my son started making videos, I remember saying you can’t film there, be careful who you /and what you film…. And him being 16 then, there were also the worries of someone giving him a slap and having away his gear, especially in some of the places he’d choose to film.

Thank god he never had anything serious happen, just a few minor occurrences we know

Things have changed a bit now, more people using recording devices. Yes one has to be careful but as long as ones is aware of how others may react then taking a video is no problem. Few golden rules- don’t video children - don’t video public buildings such as police stations- don’t make it obvious people may be in shot. Camcorders now have amazing zoom capabilities that descreite videoing does not make people aware and cause unnecessary annoyance. Dash cams can help as we well know from the video I posted, saves any arguement as to who is at fault in an accident.