Video Portrait Shooting

A video portrait is similar to a photography portrait, with the exception that it is video instead. See this an example of this in "Video Portraits" by Patrick Lawler :

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What do you notice about this video? The framing, composition, lighting, the subjects, the text?

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For this assignment, you will go out in groups and shoot 10 second clips of a CU of everyone in your group. Shoot hand-held and employ a "swimming the camera" technique, in which the camera subtly, minimally, and smoothly moves in all directions. Pay attention to lighting and be sure to follow the "rule of thirds" composition.

More info about Framing, Composition, and the Rule of Thirds.

Video Portrait Editing

To add text that moves with the background of the video, you will need to add motion tracking to your video in After Effects. The process is explained in the motiontracking tutorial to the right:

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You will be using this clip in your Bio Documentary, so your text should have your name on one line and say something about who you are on the following line(s).

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To export, go to File>Export>Add to Render Queue. Change the Output Module from "Lossless" to "Quicktime" & the video format options to DVCPROHD1080p30. Click the file after "Output To" to rename and choose where you want to save it.

Student Examples