Ways to avoid holiday video hell!

With summer holidays inching ever closer, now is a good time to start thinking about the best ways to capture your sunkissed memories.

Good quality digital video cameras have become cheaper and more accessible over the years. This has lead to what can be a baffling array of options for those new to digital video.

Before you purchase your camera, do lots of research online and check out what people are saying about various camera makes and models in forums. Consider what your needs are – is shelling out a little bit more cash for HD going to be worth the investment? Do you want something you can fit in your pocket? Or are you prepared to carry something bulkier around so that you can enjoy more features?

Once you’ve navigated your way through the minefield of picking the right camera, there is the problem of what to do with it.

We’ve all sat through people’s boring holiday videos, with shaky camera work and the predictable accidental shots of people’s feet.

With a bit of knowledge and thought, you can make dull holiday videos a thing of the past.

Here are some top tips from the video production experts at Wolverhampton’s Mediacove Productions:

1. Don’t shoot too much!: This is the downfall of many a holiday videographer. Overshooting means that you will spend a long time transferring your video to your computer and even longer sifting through the footage and deciding what to keep and what to trash.

2. Use a tripod: You can now get hold of cheap, convenient and compact tripods. Using a tripod will make a big difference to the quality of your footage and help you make those shaky shots a thing of the past! You can also use them to experiment with different shot types, like pans and tilts.

3. Be aware of light: Sunny days are glorious, but they can be a nightmare for video cameras. Always shoot away from the sun – otherwise your subject will be in silhouette. Over-exposure is another menace, causing your shots to look washed out. Fix this by using the ‘white balance’ settings on your camera.

4. Review your footage: There is nothing worse than arriving home to find that the glorious sunset you filmed is but a blurry mess. Try to do a quick test shot of your important memories and watch it back. That way, you can be assured that you’ve got memories to last a lifetime.

5. Be creative in the edit process: Even the simplest of editing packages will offer some basic graphic options. You can add some simple captions to remind you of the names of places you visited or maybe create some fun basic opening and closing credits.

Meet the MCP interns – Jas says 'Hi all!'

I have recently graduated from University of Wolverhampton with a BA (Hons) Business Information Management course. My course gave me the qualifications and skills needed to succeed in business. Upon completing my course, I decided to specialise in marketing. I am currently studying a CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing. For the next 6 months, I am working at Mediacove Productions through the West Midlands Graduate Internships (WMGI) scheme. This scheme is aimed at graduates who are out of work and provides a valuable opportunity to gain industry experience.

I started my marketing internship with Mediacove Productions in March. This placement has given me an insight into the worlds of marketing and video production. The internship has given me hands-on experience of promoting Mediacove and the services it offers. It has also allowed me to explore the creative industry and the innovative tools, equipments and software.

The placement has been a great opportunity for me to gain experience and work on real projects with Mediacove. My duties range; from market research and managing the client database, to promoting services we offer. My favourite task so far has been planning and preparing training tutorials to help people use various software packages. This has allowed me to explore new software such as Final Cut Pro and Photoshop etc.

I am looking forward to getting more involved in Mediacove as I have learnt so much in such a short period of time.

Interns join the Mediacove Team!

The easter holidays are now but a distant memory here in the Mediacove Office. All of this lovely sunshine has given us an extra spring in our step and we're looking forward to a busy and exciting summer.
We have been joined by three fantastic graduate interns: Lauron, Jas and Rupinder, who will be working with us over the next six months.
They'll be writing regular posts for the blog about their experiences as interns - so watch this space for updates!