Video: Using the Zoom

By: Chris Nickson - Updated: 9 Sep 2012 | *Discuss

 

Hi, my names Steven Hutchinson, I'm a film maker and on behalf of FamilyVideos.co.uk I'm going to give you a bit of advice on how to use the zoom on your camcorder.

When you're shooting your video try not to overuse the zoom as this can look quite unprofessional at times. If you want to zoom in on something, the best time to operate the zoom is when the camera is in it's pause position not when it's recording. The result of which would be a straight cut from a wide shot to a close shot, which looks a lot better.

And avoid at all costs zooming in and out of the same subject, this can just look irritating for your audience and again just doesn't look professional.

Try and note that when zoomed in on something that's very far away, the shakiness of the frame will increase. So try not to zoom in on anything that is too far away or at least try not to stay in that shot for too long, unless you're using a tripod. The use of a tripod will steady the shot, which will allow you to zoom in on things that are very far away and not allow for any shakiness of frame.

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