Scottish Paddlesports Festival

Part 2 - 20/20 Vision

Gear
If you have a DV (digital video) camera, great; they produce the best picture and sound quality of the domestic cameras. If you can only get hold of a Hi8/S-VHS or even a VHS don't worry; console yourself with the thought that a brilliant film on VHS is better than an a load of old crud on DV and our judging panel will look for neat ideas and storylines rather than films made on expensive fancy gear. (Remember KISS, keep it simple, stoopid.)

Other useful gear

• A wide angle lens is very useful but, when buying one, check it on the camera in the shop (as cheaper ones can cut the corners of the picture, vignetting).
• If dialogue is important, it's best picked up with a small accessory microphone; you'll need a small set of headphones to check the sound is getting through and point away from the background roar of a rapid when recording.
• All electronic cameras are sensitive to the climate, especially moisture so consider a rain cover and other ways of keeping it dry plus hand towels to dry hands before using it. Be especially careful when moving from cold outdoors to warm moist indoors/car; moisture can precipitate inside the camera.
• Plenty of charged batteries
• Plenty of spare tape! If the weather is cold keep the batteries warm so that they keep their charge. This is easily done by having them close to your body, eg in a pocket but not beside metal (eg keys) that can short the terminals. Some of the older NiCad batteries can develop a memory when they have been repeatedly charged up without going flat. This can be corrected by running them down completely flat before recharging them; if this is done 3 or 4 times the full capacity comes back.

Shooting
Remember it's the action not the camera that moves. Zooming in and out (tromboning) and jerking the camera left and right (hosepiping) can be unsettling when included in a programme. You can get a great variety of shots by using the zoom to set up different frames.

Try to design your shots so that they are static and the action happens within the frame; it may sound boring but it really looks more professional.

Another basic rule is to start your shot with about 5 seconds of with nothing in it before your subject comes into frame and also leave 5 seconds at the end of the shot or, if panning or tilting, hold for 5 seconds before moving, then 5 seconds at the end.

Trust me, your editor will love you for it. Look around and see if you can make the shot more dramatic by going higher or lower; getting very close to the water level can make the smallest waves look like the Grand Canyon. (Well, with your eyes half shut it can.)

Assume that you will not be able to hear each other so work out some clear signs so that you can control when you want the action to start. Go for a variety of shots and as many as you can get.

Be creative
Once you have got all the shots that are important to making the programme then get some extra shots in; be creative but be realistic.

Shots can take a long time to set up and the last thing you want is for your stars to start getting cold and wanting to go home so the best approach is to keep things either simple or be completely organized in your mind about how and in what order you are going to get each shot.

You can get some really dramatic stuff with the most basic of gear. For example, if the river is quite narrow attach the camera to the end of a long pole or even a broom handle which you can hold out in the river; you'll need a wide angle lens and youÕll get an angle that the guys in Hollywood would take days to rig up and shoot.

If you are thinking of some dramatic shots, like a close up of someone in a hole or on a rapid, work out how you are going to do it before you get to location so that you will have all the necessary gear with you when you arrive and no-one is kept hanging around.

Most important, be safe
You'll need good sports shoes on your feet; wear a buoyancy aid when near the water (and maybe even a crash hat if scrambling on rocky slabs beside the water) and carry a throwbag as you may be the nearest when problems happen on the water.

Filming can blind you to the dangers that are always around when kayaking on moving water. No shot is worth the risk. As the film maker it is your responsibility to make an assessment of the dangers your stars are possibly facing.

Sometimes all of us are tempted to do something from which we would normally walk away but with a camera on us we start to consider it. If you think it is too dangerous for them to attempt, tell them you are walking away from it.

Part 1 - Planning and storyboarding
Part 2 - 20/20 vision
Part 3 - Editing