Camera Movement & Recording Sound

Pick 24fps for a cinematic feel or 30fps for straightforward web video, and keep it consistent through the whole project. Shoot 60-120fps only for clips you plan to slow down. Set shutter to roughly double the frame rate.

Handheld with elbows tucked works for energy; a gimbal smooths walking shots; a slider or tripod with a fluid head gives controlled pans and pushes. Start and end every move on a held frame so the editor has something to cut to.

Try it at home: Record a slow push-in and a slow pull-out on the same subject. Notice how one builds tension and the other releases it.

A lavalier clips to a shirt and stays consistent; a shotgun mic on a boom aimed at the mouth sounds richer; a handheld mic is best for street interviews. Whatever you use, get it close — distance is the enemy of clean sound.

Aim for peaks around -12 to -6 dB so loud moments don't clip. Wear headphones while recording; you cannot fix distortion or a rustling collar afterwards. Record 30 seconds of room tone at every location.

Keep music well under dialogue and duck it when someone speaks. Only use tracks you have a license for — royalty-free libraries or Creative Commons with proper credit. Platform copyright systems will find anything else.