Tips for Recording Better Movies

These general tips for images and sounds will help you improve the quality of the movies you make with the Digital Blue™ Digital Movie Creator 2.0. Because this is a digital camera, it's easy to experiment and try different lighting and sounds. If you don't like the results, you can delete the scenes and try again. There is no waiting to develop film and then throwing it away if you don't like the results. There are many factors that contribute to good photography and movie-making, so check the Activity Guide for more information.

For the best images:

• Make sure that the source of light is behind or to the side of the person holding the camera, rather than in front of the camera. The camera person should not be looking into a light source.
• When filming a movie, hold the camera steady. If you need to move, adopt a firm stance and turn your body from the waist up. When taking a snapshot, hold the camera as still as possible (holding your arms close to your body helps to do this). You can also put the camera in its base.
• When taking snapshots, hold the camera steady until you hear the snapshot sound. If you are taking snapshots with moderate to dim lighting, this may take up to 2 seconds.
• While it's fun to experiment with different kinds of lighting and scenery, know that extremely bright lights or settings without much color contrast can result in gray, washed out video clips or video clips with flickering bars.
• Always take a slightly longer shot than what you think you need, so you'll be sure to get all the action captured on film. You can trim the ends of the scene using the Digital Movie Creator 2.0 software.

For the best sounds:

• To reduce noise from the person holding the camera, try to hold the camera steady and be as quiet as possible -- the microphone will easily pick up heavy breathing, camera handling noise, gum chewing, etc.
• The best range for audio depends on how loud the scene is and how much background noise there is. You'll need to experiment with the best range for your scene, starting at around 6 feet from the scene. Depending on the dialog between the actors, you may need to move closer or further away to record the clearest sound. After you download your pictures, preview them to check the sound.
• Make sure the volume of sounds you are recording, such as a conversation between two people, is at a moderate level. If you or the camera operator can't hear the sounds clearly, move the camera closer to the action.
• Very loud sounds can overwhelm other sounds you may want to capture in your audio.
• Very low frequency sounds, such as the wind, street traffic, riding in a car, and very loud sounds may not record well.