Save Your Edit with Details and B-Roll
by Kenji Imamura

On many projects, whether it’s a DVX100 mini-dv do it yourself digital film production or a Panasonic HVX200 movie production with a budget, one thing holds certain…COVERAGE IS KEY! From master shots (wide shot of the entire performance in a scene) to cinematic camera angles, you can bet that the more coverage you have at the end of the production day, the more you’ll find yourself in a position to assemble a more creative edit. Basically, the more editing options you have, the better.

In any film and video production, you’ll sometimes find yourself stuck while editing a sequence. The two things that can help save you from the post production rut while editing your digital DVX100 movie are detail shots and b-roll footage. For example, if you’re editing a sequence where you just can’t find that right timing or pacing to fit your scene, you can cut away to your extra detail shots or b-roll to complement your main a-roll footage. This works like a charm when you’re editing a video production with a one-camera setup. So put that DVX 100 to work!

When editing one camera shoots (like wedding videography for instance), you will most likely need to cut away from the moments when the camera operator zooms in or pans or changes his camera setup. So for this, you’ll have to cut away from the camera operator’s adjustments. This is where you can just insert a quick detail shot or b-roll clip of the wedding guests, table arrangements, etc, and pick it up where the camera operator resumes his shooting. This will make the edit smooth enough to look as though the video production was a two-camera setup instead of just a single camera setup.

Although that’s fine for event videography…but what about digital filmmaking with the DVX100? Well, if time allows during the shooting of your scenes, make sure to gather detail shots and b-roll footage of each scene. Focus on things that help accentuate the storyline and the particular scene. For example, if the scene takes place on a football field during practice or scrimmage, get details and b-roll of empty bleachers, gear such a football pads or helmets on the bench, voyeur shots of bystanders, etc. Get anything and everything you can, while you can, because chances are that when the movie production phase is over and post production starts, more often than not, you won’t be able to do pick-up shots.

So, consider…even if you absolutely have every shot planned out in your head before you start your actual film production and before you even power up the DVX 100, it wouldn’t hurt to think about some b-roll for the scene whenever and wherever you can to help your storyline options in the editing room later. It’ll help your digital movie and you’ll be glad you did.

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