LIFE IN MESSIAH
VIDEO PRODUCTION TRAINING

 
 
 

Welcome!

Part of LIFE’s 3-5 year vision states: “We envision a world class digital ministry team boldly and creatively engaging our digitally driven world for the sake of the gospel.” You may not think this applies to you if you have limited technology skills, but as 2020 showed us, technology has become an essential part of ministry! We want to help you grow and improve in this vital area!!

We are all in Jewish ministry because God has called us to proclaim the Gospel. Technological advancement has lifted video to the forefront of evangelism, and we should all be trained in the basics of film. After all, filming the proclamation of truth can put wings on our message.

As you scroll down this page you will find training videos on foundational aspects of video production. It will take some time to work through each video. Take notes, watch the videos two or three times if you need to, and feel free to reach out to the Digital Media team if you have any questions. We strongly desire to invest time in helping you to further your skills. You can ask about which equipment to buy, have us look at some test footage, or even connect through video chat to help you set up your video equipment

Learning video production is truly worth the effort, and will expand our ministry (individually and collectively) in the future. Ask the Lord for His help and go forward with excitement and confidence!

After spending time on the following instructional videos, feel free to reach out to officially begin your training with:

Beau Lee, Digital Media
blee@lifeinmessiah.org
347-703-7800

 

 Filming with a Cell Phone (For Absolute Beginners)

If you have never really made any videos before and you currently feel intimidated by more complicated cameras, filming with a cell phone is a spectacular way to begin. Everyone must start somewhere, and we all have cell phones. Go for it — make a little video — try it out!

Here are a few items you can purchase to help get your cell phone videography going:

 Overview of Videography

LIFE conducted a workshop to train staff on videography basics. While it is true that there is quite a lot to learn, your best strategy for moving forward is to just get an introduction to a lot of the basic concepts and terminology.

Sit down and watch this 90-minute training. Take some notes, but don’t get too detailed. Just look at it as an overview. This is a good way to begin.

Lighting Diffusion

Lighting diffusion is the most critical way to take your videos from looking amateur to looking more professional. In fact, lighting diffusion makes more of an impact on getting a professional look than buying a more expensive camera! Get a piece of paper and a pen and take notes—this will help you to process the information.

For those brand new to video lighting, go to Amazon.com and type in “photography umbrella.” Cheap and effective!

 Three-Point Lighting (Where to Place Your Lights)

The three-point lighting setup is an excellent arrangement for your lighting when it comes to video production. It requires three lights: (1) a Key Light, (2) a Fill Light, and (3) a Hair Light (sometimes called a “Back Light”). The Key Light is the strongest light, and it lights one side of the face. The Fill Light is there to fill in the shadow side of the face just a bit. The Hair Light (or “Back Light”) is set behind you to put a little glow on your hair and shoulders and to separate you from the background a bit. Many professionals routinely use the three-point lighting setup.

When you feel comfortable with the concept of Three-Point Lighting, go ahead and spend a little time learning about Rembrandt Lighting (VIDEO)—a very effective way to light a person’s face.

 Introduction to Video Cameras

There are five things you must learn to run a video camera. It’s a little complicated at first, and this is particularly true because you are learning a lot of new terminology at once. If it takes a little while to understand these five things, that’s completely fine. Be patient. You may be tempted to feel you can’t get this, but don’t let yourself feel this way. Video is a great way to get the message out that God has put on your heart, so it is worth putting in a little effort to learn these five things.

The five things you will need to learn to run a video camera are: (1) Frame Rate, (2) ISO, (3) Shutter Speed, (4) Aperture, and (5) White Balance. You can do your own research on each of these five areas of the video camera.

Recording Audio for Your Video

Quality audio is another important way to improve your videos; in fact, audio is so important that people will often put up with bad visual recordings IF the audio sounds good. You can record your audio with a lavalier mic (which attaches to your shirt) or with a shotgun mic (which you can mount above your head and out of view). If you have questions about which microphone to get, ask another LIFE teammate who is already involved in video production. We have some good ideas for microphones for every budget.

 Catch Light

When filming video, seeing a reflection of the light in the eyes of the subject being filmed is very important. Why? Because a “catch light” in the eyes gives the subject being filmed life. Making sure this small detail is in order can make a huge difference in the professionalism of your video.

Here is an article that covers “8 Crucial Things You Need to Know About Capturing Catchlights.”

 Creating a Filming Set at Home

Most of us need to film from home—but we don’t have video studios in our home. Here is a tutorial video that will give you some strategy for putting together a studio at home that will fit your needs.

 Video Editing Software

Now it’s time to begin learning about video editing software. It’s important for you to understand that this will take a bit of time to learn, and, at first, it can feel like a lot to take it. Don’t worry—it feels like this to everyone at first. Just be patient and give it a little time.

There are two different video editing softwares we would recommend. First, the paid video editing software is Adobe Premiere, which can be downloaded HERE. Adobe Premiere is the most common software used in the video production industry. Second, Davinci Resolve is a free video editing software that can be downloaded HERE. Davinci Resolve is not as commonly used in the video production industry, but it is very well respected software and seems to be quickly growing in popularity.

Remember, your LIFE teammates that are already working in video production would be happy to help with training on video editing software. Feel free to reach out. Zoom training with a LIFE teammate is a great way to learn.

 About Camera Lenses

There are a lot of numbers found on camera lenses, and it can be a bit confusing what all those numbers actually mean. First, when dealing with “millimeters,” such as a “35 mm lens,” this deals with something called “focal length” and “field of view.” Second, when dealing with an F Stop, such as “f1.4,” this deals with how wide open the aperture hole is in the middle of the lens (and how much light is let in AND how much blur there will be in the background).

The above paragraph might be confusing right now, but watch the training video. It will slowly come “into focus” for you. ;) Many people actually find it helpful to watch multiple videos to get a better sense of things, and others feel it helps to play around with a couple different lenses and compare them.

Now, take some time to watch the two training videos on camera lenses. One video will train you on aperture and depth of field (blurry background); the other video is on focal length and “millimeters.” You’ll have a better sense of these things after you view the videos. Enjoy!

 

 Setting Up Interview Shots

One skill that is very important is to be able to set up professional-looking interviews or one-person monologues. This is when the camera is filming just one person talking to the camera or to an interviewer. In the following video you will see many interviews of cinematographers (professionals who light for film). Because these are professional cinematographers, the lighting, the backgrounds, and the positioning of the people speaking are very well designed. Watch through the video and consider several details as you watch:

  1. Where the person being interviewed is situated in the frame, either the left or right third of the frame. (The Principle of The “Rule of Thirds”)

  2. Which direction the interviewees’ faces are pointed (toward the “empty” side of the frame).

  3. Which side of the interviewee’s face is lit more and which side is more shadowed.

  4. What they choose as the background for each interview.

 
 

Recommended Gear

 
 

Lighting

  • Video Light (Medium Strength; Good for Fill Light) - Godox SL60

  • Video Light (High Strength; Good for Key Light) - Godox SL150W

Audio Recorder

Lighting Modifier (for Diffusing Light)

 

Looking for More Advanced Training?
Here Are Other Excellent Resources.