Bre and I got married a few weeks back. Following the wedding we spent a week in Bayfield relaxing, wine tasting and recovering from the wedding festivities.
We were fortunate enough to have great weather for the wedding, but planning for it all sure took a toll on us.
That said, we were very much looking forward to some free time for less stressful activities. One of my favorite hobbies is reading, and I brought a whole backpack full of books that I had been meaning to read.
How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck was the first book I wanted to read. Because of our planning and preparation for the wedding I hadn’t spent as much time as I would have liked throughout the year focusing on our Youtube videos (general procrastination and laziness on my part didn’t help either).
I figured that since I had stepped back from Youtube inadvertently, perhaps this would be a good chance to hone my skills. From a purely business perspective, I was reinvigorated. That perspective caused some self reflection and I realized that my video skills were not adequate – and I needed some help.
I must say that there is a lot of good information in How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck. A lot of the information provided is aimed at beginning videographers, and there isn’t a lot of technical specs that might be confusing.
The two most important takeaways that I have are to really plan out the individual scenes, and to do everything I can to shorten them up.
In theory that sounds great, but with the topics I enjoy the videos still end up rather large. That said, I can still focus on keeping the individual scenes shorter.
All in all, How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck was a good read. Again, a lot of the information provided is geared towards beginners but I was able to read the entire book in a few hours lounging in a hammock and I feel as though I have a better mindset for the next video.
If you’ve read How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck, I’d love to hear your thoughts below!