Makes a
Great Gift!

Award-winning videographer, Victor Rook, discusses his experience in making, promoting, and selling his Telly Award winning nature video, "Beyond the Garden Gate." Order this top-selling video at www.gatevideo.com.

Part II: Production & Editing

Now that I made my equipment purchase decisions (Part I: The Goods, The Gear), I began production of my video masterpiece. Different projects have different requirements, and a nature video can be very demanding—both on your equipment and your patience. Since I wanted to capture "a year in the life of a garden," I knew the project would take me at least a year. I shot in frigid cold temperatures for the winter scenes, on extremely hot and humid summer days, even in torrential rainstorms. For time-lapse shots where the camera would sit outdoors on a tripod for 6-12 hours straight, protection became even more critical.

Protecting your Investment
I found that on the hot summer days, arching two sheets of white paper over the camera kept the heat low by reflecting the light, but still allowed air flow around the camera. Make sure you also cover the eyepiece of the camera so you don't burn the inside viewfinder, and keep the LCD display closed if your camera has one. I covered the eyepiece with a quarter to reflect the light, then later with a small piece of paper so that I could monitor the time-lapse shots throughout the day. Still, check often to see if the camera is getting hot in any place. If need be, position an umbrella over the camera to keep it in shade without causing a shadow on your subject. I did this by attaching the umbrella to a second tripod and placing it next to the camera tripod.

For other scenes that were not time-lapsed, like in the rain and in the cold, I used a clear plastic bag with a hole for the lens to keep the warmth in and the rain out. If the camera gets too cold, bring it inside for a spell and let it slowly acclimate to the inside temperature to prevent condensation on the lens or tape.

Mother Nature Knows Best
Getting to know your subject is critical in any video production. Getting to know nature is very important if you are shooting a nature video. I had to learn to predict when flowers would open, when it might rain, and where the sun would be throughout the day. One day I was capturing a large patch of cacti flowering in time-lapse, only to notice after the third hour that I was also capturing the shadow of the tripod moving over the plants. A quick decision to zoom into two of the flowers out of the shadow saved the day.

On another occasion, I set up the tripod in the morning to capture honeysuckle opening. After the six-hour battery began to fade, I plugged the camera into an extension cord. Four o'clock in the afternoon and still nothing. Finally, at 7 pm, just as I was about to give up and turn the camera off, the delicate flower petals began to peel open. Thus I learned that day that honeysuckle opens in the evening as the sun sets.

Ingenuity
Ingenuity will play a big part in any production when you want to get a special shot on tape. My goal this summer day was to capture a hummingbird coming up to the camera lens. Hummingbirds tend to return to favorite feeding spots every fifteen minutes to refuel. My plan was to cover three of the four openings of a feeder, and place the camera lens up close to the remaining opening facing outward. Since my camera's remote control would not work from the distance I placed myself (so not to scare off my subject), I simply let the camera record continuously and rewound the tape until I got my shot. I made sure beforehand that the camera was in close focus and the shutter speed was high so I could slow down the magical moment later.

Another example of quick thinking was when I wanted the camera to float through a field of wildflowers. Unfortunately, the Glidecam rod that stabilized the camera was too long for me to get the camera down low enough to the ground. So, thinking ahead into what I could do editing-wise, I turned the Glidecam upside down to get the shot. I then digitally flipped the scene in post-production. An added bonus, a butterfly darted in and out in front of the camera to make the scene even more special.

Once in a Lifetime Moments
If you've ever produced anything on your own, you've probably encountered those unexpected moments that become the jewels of your production. Throughout the twenty hours of tape that I shot for "Beyond the Garden Gate," there were many. I caught fireflies mating at dusk (the female sits on a leaf, the male does the flying, but both light up when they see each other), a baby squirrel taking a break from its apple to provide me with a perfect photo opportunity, a hummingbird and a hummingbird moth playing air tag, and so many more.

I also learned what you can do when you experiment with your camera controls. For instance, falling snow sparkles like glitter if you turn on your high-speed shutter. Take some time to play with the controls when shooting a scene, and if you can't get the effect you want, there's very little that you can't do with today's editing software.

Post-production
At the same time that I was shooting this video, I also began editing the different "vignettes" that would make up the final masterpiece. It's nice to be able to complete portions of the video as you go, and it often reveals other shots you might want to pick up next time out.

My project scenario required that the year in the life of a garden be shot and edited as naturally as possible, and that only music would be used to "narrate" the seasonal transformations. If you've ever looked for quality music to add to your production, you know what kind of challenge that can be. Luckily, serendipity played a big part in the making of "Beyond the Garden Gate."

Web design was my day job, which I would do at home in between shoots. As luck would have it, one of the sites that I designed was for Emmy-nominated composer, Matt Ender (mattender.com). He had just released his new album, "Ancient Isle," of which three songs worked perfectly for the video. I then contracted him to produce two more original scores for the video, and the rest of the songs for the video (nine songs total) I found on my own. Hooking up with a talented artist may be a stretch of luck, but you'd be surprised on how many are ready and waiting to show off their work in films and video. Royalty-free music libraries can be very cumbersome and disappointing, so check out the Internet to find and listen to other artist's work. Music was one of the most important elements in my video, and so I spent months getting the right pieces for it.

800 hours later
And so, on December 31, 1999, after over 800 hours of production and editing, I completed "Beyond the Garden Gate" in all its splendor. The challenge now for the new century was trying to let the world know about it, and hopefully get them to buy it. Don’t miss Part III for some very valuable lessons learned when promoting your work, and see how "Beyond the Garden Gate" became an award-winning best seller. Ì

Order this top-selling video at www.gatevideo.com.