Videographers shoot and edit video footage. That’s obvious. But they may also wear other hats, including sound production, or film editing. Many times they’re involved in post-production after the video has been shot. They may handle everything from interviewing to editing film, or they may just operate the camera itself.
Skills needed to be a videographer
Videographers may be responsible for transporting or setting up this equipment, shooting, hauling it away, and then creating the movie or film clip.
Some typical responsibilities include:
Working with a Creative Director or collaborative team to create the film or video product.
Figuring out what type of equipment to use.
Cleaning and disassembling hardware
Setting up and tearing down cameras, audio recorders, lighting, microphones, and props.
Calibrating and maintaining equipment
Doing small repairs on broken equipment
Preparing background film or “B” rolls as well as live feed.
Troubleshoots problems with the equipment.
Interviewing people and creating a film clip via editing raw footage.
Working in the studio as part of a production team to edit film.
Inserting closed captioning, graphics, or other on-screen text into a video.
Adding computer graphics and special effects to a video.
Videographers needs the following characteristics:
Manual dexterity, physical mobility, and some physical strength/stamina.
Bravery to get the camera shot in risky situations.
Creativity and attention to detail
Ability to work under deadline pressure
Organization to manage their time efficiently.
Ability to capture snippets of film and be able to edit it into a cohesive story.
Flexibility and good listening skills
Enough patience to wait for the perfect shot.
Energy and determination
Technical acumen to be able to operate, configure, set up, and fix video, audio, lighting, or other production equipment.
Must know computerized tape editing software and equipment.
Understanding of post-production techniques.
Can work in a variety of digital venues with software to edit and finish film work.
Passion—they have to be all about getting the shot.
Some of the software you may run into in the field includes:
Celtx, for video planning and scripting
Pinnacle Studio 16 Ultimate for video editing.
The Adobe Creative Suite can be used for editing, scripting, or marketing a film.
Corel Video Studio Ultimate is a great tool to know.
Or, for those that are Mac-obsessed, try iMovie or, for the pros, try Apple Final Cut Pro X.
For balance, the PC-lovers will like Windows Movie Maker.