Got a camcorder you rarely take out of its box? Or are you the opposite - fed up with making home movies nobody wants to watch? Maybe you fancy yourself as the next Tarantino? Or like most of us, would you just like to preserve some personal Christmas memories, and share them with relatives abroad?
Each Christmas is unique, and nothing captures the atmosphere like video, but too often, the only memories captured are some muddy images with dark orange faces. Making a good home video isn't impossible. According to Andrew Millea, of the video department at the National College of Art and Design, the most important ingredient is a clear idea of the finished video: "Planning is vital," he says, "because it's almost impossible to go back and reshoot". He's right - you'll be sorry if you miss that look of delight on your daughter's face when she opens the best present in the world.
Imagine you're telling a story of Christmas and, as in any good tale, you need a beginning, a middle and an end. Like a professional moviemaker, make a "storyboard" - a list of the shots you want, their probable lengths and your ideal camera position - and try to stick to it. Whether you want to create a record of your family Christmas or of a wild New Year's Eve party, the method is the same. Bear in mind that videos are like life - but with the boring bits taken out. For a 30 or 40-minute video, shoot for no longer than two hours. How does your family Christmas begin? With decorating the tree, or wrapping presents, or opening the door to guests? Use the talents of the children in the family and encourage them to make a festive poster for the title shot: "Christmas 1998", and film it in front of the tree accompanied by some seasonal music. Introduce each part of the video with a different caption: "My presents from Santy", "Grandad snoring after dinner", and so on. When the artists hold up and read the posters, film for 30 seconds. For editing purposes, a scene of 10 seconds must be filmed for approximately 10 seconds before the action begins and 10 seconds afterwards - a total of 30 seconds.
Think about good shots. Professionals use what is called an "establishing shot", which is just a wide shot to set the scene, so the viewers know where they are. Before your Christmas guests arrive, for example, take a wide shot (no longer than 30 seconds) of the outside of your home. Next, take a shot of the front door opening. Then, for instance, another wide shot of the inside of the dining room, before you focus on guests lighting candles or pulling crackers.
Lots of home movies are too dark - videos love light and they rarely get enough. What you see through the camera viewfinder is a good indication, so check it doesn't seem too light or dark. To avoid orangey faces, you need to control the whitebalance. This sounds technical, but really isn't complicated and is probably the most important thing you'll do all day.
Indoors, turn on all the lights, unless it is a very sunny day. Zoom in and fill the frame completely with something white, such as a piece of paper, or a wall. Press the whitebalance button. If there is natural light coming from the window, as well as artificial light, do the whitebalance test near whichever light seems strongest. Your camera will then tell you "white-balance accepted", or "OK".
After the main event, it doesn't matter how restrained your filming was, you'll have too much. Basic editing will get all this footage down to a watchable 45 minutes.
Watch the unedited video and make a list of all the shots you want to include (with the counter numbers, so you can easily find them again ). Connect your camera to the VCR. Switch the input setting to the appropriate auxiliary. Put a blank cassette into the video player, fast forward for one minute, then put in record/pause mode. Go to 10 seconds before the first scene you want for your final movie, and put the camera onto play/pause. When you're ready to go, let off the pause on the camcorder and then the pause on the video. Press pause on the video at the end of the scene, and the pause on the camcorder. Continue until you've put all the good bits (in the right order) onto the cassette in the VCR. Remember to include an end title; "The end". Make as many copies as you want by connecting two VCRs and recording.
Do's and don'ts
Do
Make sure you know whether the camera is recording or not. It's amazing how many home movies have the floor as a highlight. When the camera is on, there will be a red light, or the sign "rec" inside the viewfinder.
Kneel or sit on the floor when filming kids - it's more effective if you're at their height.
Set the focus to manual. Automatic focus is too inaccurate - it always focuses on the nearest object, which could be the table rather than your 90-year-old grandmother (who will look blurred). Automatic focus makes a video seem jumpy, especially in confined spaces.
Focus on a person's face, before you start recording, if you wantzoom in from a wide shot of a room to the face. You will be in focus for the wide shot, as well as for the close-up. The change between the shots will seem smoother and more professional.
Try to get as close as possible when people are talking, without being intrusive, or you won't catch any conversations.
Don't
Get in the way - be as unobtrusive as you can.
Film anyone in front of a window - faces will be completely dark.
Use the zoom a lot - it makes the audience dizzy.
Forget to do the white-balance test.
Forget to check the battery.
Keep the camera on all day - try to stick more or less to your planned list of shots.
Drink too much - you don't want to be found drunk in charge of a camcorder!