Classroom in a book

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Get a closing shot.
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Get an establishing shot.
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Shoot plenty of video.
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Adhere to the rule of thirds.
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Keep your shots steady.
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Follow the action.
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Use trucking shots.
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Find unusual angles.
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Lean forward or backward.
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Get wide and tight shots.
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Shoot matched action.
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Get sequences.
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Avoid fast pans and snap zooms.
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Shoot cutaways.
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Use lights.
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Grab good sound bites.
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Get plenty of natural sound.
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Plan your shoot.

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ADOBE PREMIERE PRO CS5 CLASSROOM IN A BOOK
61
Get a closing shot
Your closing images are what stick in people’s minds. You should be constantly on 
the lookout for that one shot or sequence that best wraps up your story.
Get an establishing shot
An establishing shot sets a scene in one image. Although super-wide shots work 
well (aerials in particular), consider other points of view: a shot from the cockpit 
of a race car, a close-up of a scalpel with light glinting off its surface, or a shot of 
paddles dipping frantically in roaring white water. Each grabs the viewer’s attention 
and helps tell your story.
The establishing shot sets the scene: It’s a wide shot of the 
villain in his medieval environment.
The close-up shot tells the story: The villain is speaking 
intensely to the hero.
Shoot plenty of video
Videotape is cheap and expendable, and with tapeless cameras that record to 
compact flash media and hard drives, storage space is usually ample and can always 
be reused. Shoot a lot more raw footage than you’ll put in your final production. 
Five times as much is not unusual. Giving yourself that latitude might help you grab 
shots you would have missed otherwise.