How to Shoot a Desert Video

1. Remember your narrative

When you’re out in the field, it’s easy to get distracted by all the beauty you’ll be surrounded by. Remember the video type you’re going for and what kind of shape you want your video to take. Keep this in the front of mind during the course of your trip to the desert to ensure your footage fits in with what you’re trying to do.

Haven’t settled on a narrative yet? Seek inspiration in the sights you see and the events that happen during your trip. Consider how the footage you’re taking might be arranged when you get back home.

2. Shoot plenty of good-looking footage

I’ve found that only about 10 percent of what I shoot ends up looking nice; most is mediocre at best. Thus, I try to shoot a lot of footage so I’m more likely to have some good stuff when I get back home. Memory is cheap, so why not?

That said, you won’t just get the 10 percent of the good stuff without effort, so keep these tips in mind.

Follow the rules

Many of the rules of composition that apply to photography (such as the rule of thirds, appropriate framing, symmetry, depth) also apply to shooting video footage, with good lighting becoming  especially important.

Capture motion

What separates videography from photography is motion. Capturing motion is the main strength of video, so take advantage of it. Shoot while you are walking or riding in a vehicle, or keep your camera stationary and film something – animals, people, leaves , water – that is in motion. Steady footage always looks better than shaky footage, so make sure your shots are as smooth as possible. Tripods are quite handy, but, lacking a tripod, you can use the landscape to your advantage by setting your camera on a fence post or a flat rock, or bracing yourself against a tree.

Keep focused on your subjects

A foreground subject will make your footage vastly more interesting. Put your friend, your dog, wildlife, a wildflower, a cloud, or even a feature of the terrain into your scene. Always be able to answer “what is my subject?” and compose your shots accordingly. Be intentional about making the entire landscape your subject.

Take a variety of shots

Keep your video interesting by incorporating a variety of types of shots and perspectives. Take some moving shots and some stationary. Take close-ups and wide-angle shots. Take shots with all different types of subjects. The more variety you capture out in the field, the more you’ll have to work with you start editing.

• 1080 will do: Tempting as it is to shoot in the highest resolution possible, 4k has many drawbacks, mostly related to the size of the files created. 4K video clips are quite a bit larger than the same footage shot in 1080, so you’ll need more memory, and, unless you have a powerful computer, editing will be slower. In my opinion, shooting in 1080 strikes the best balance between quality of footage and ease of use.
• Shoot in the highest frame rate possible: Shooting at a high frame rate will let you play around with the speed of the clip when you edit. Maybe you want to slow a clip down and not have it look all choppy. If you shoot at 60 frames per second and you’re making a movie that will eventually become 24 fps, you can slow down your shots to over 50% without noticeable choppiness.
• Go manual if you can: If your camera allows, manually control the aperture, ISO, white balance, and shutter speed.
• Set the right shutter speed: Your shutter speed should always be set at double your frame rate. I couldn’t tell you why, but that’s what everybody says. That gives you only aperture and ISO to play with to control your exposure.
• Don’t use your camera’s color presets: If your camera has built-in color settings, stuff like “Vivid” or “Sunset,” it’s best not to use these. Instead, have your camera at the flattest, plainest color setting (you may have a setting called “Neutral”) and save your color tweaking for editing.
• Learn editing software as you go: If you’re new to video editing, start with basic (and free) software like Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. Fairly straightforward to use, their programs will help you understand basic video editing. You can upgrade to software with more features later. I currently use Adobe Premiere Pro when I edit my short films. It’s somewhat complicated to use, but there are tons of tutorials on YouTube to show you how to use its many powerful features. As subscription-based software, paying every month to use it can add up, but the software is also constantly updated.

Check out How to Shoot a Desert Video – Part 2 for more editing tips!