The image you record on videotape will be influenced not only by the subject at which you aim the camera, but by the lighting, by the camera position and movement (or lack of movement), by the focal length(s) chosen on your camera lens, and by the clarity of focus.

A word on lighting, both artificial from indoor light sources, and natural, such as that outdoors and coming into buildings from windows: Remember that brighter light levels allow for greater depth of field in the camera image, i.e. a greater near-to-far of in-focus objects as seen by the camera. The human eye is far more sensitive to visible light than are most video camera image tubes and chips, so as you look about a room, remember that even the natural light which seems sufficiently bright to you may need supplementary artificial lights in order to make your camera image look well-lit and clear to the viewer.

Avoid shooting into the sources of your lighting. Windows through which daylight is entering a room, as well as fluorescent lights and other light bulbs appear in the backgrounds of indoor shots as "hot spots" which distract form the foreground subject matter and cause automatic exposure systems to close the lens aperture to the point where the entire picture darkens. In fact, since outdoor light is typically many times brighter than indoor lighting, you may wish to pull the shades, close the blinds or at least minimize the amount of time during which the light sources or windows appear in the image. If you wish to use incoming natural light to supplement the interior scene lighting, try shooting with the window behind the camera instead of facing the lens.

When a narrator will face the camera, make sure that his or her face is well-lighted. People tend to look better when their eyes show "catch light" or highlight reflection, but watch out for those unflattering shadows and light reflections caused by eyeglass lenses. Have peoples faces about five feet away from the camera and use a moderately telephoto focal length to fill the frame with their heads or busts; moving in too close while using a wide-angle lens setting causes displeasing image distortion such as lengthened noses, and widened foreheads and necks.

For stabler images and for smoother pan and zoom shots,use a tripod or other stationary camera support. Also, without the use of a good set of dolly wheels or a Steadicam, those hand-held shots done while walking are going to be extremely hard to watch. In pan or zoom shots, use a smooth, slow progression in order to keep the image from smearing. When panning, don't cover more than about 30 degrees of rotation per second. On a tripod, use a "fluid head" or a "fluid effect head", if one is available, to smooth out the starts and stops of a camera rotation.

Think twice before using that zoom lens while recording! Can you move in closer or back up instead? If the zoom is really the best way to show a close-up and a wider view of something, keep it smooth, and record at a fixed focal length for 5 seconds or so at the beginning and at the end of the zoom sequence. This brief fixed shot lets the viewer focus on something to which he or she will pay more attention in the ensuing zoom shot , or which has captured his or her attention in the preceding zoom shot, whichever be the case. Be wary of too much zooming while recording. Use the zoom feature to preview your angle of view before you record, so that you'll choose the best focal length available for each shot.

Excessive use of panning or zooming in your "raw footage" recorded with the camera tends to make the video editor's job extremely difficult, unless you want to give the final, edited version of your tape a look akin to that of poorly-done home movies or impressionistic music videos. Such a look has a place in art, but is distracting to the viewer who wants a documentary look at your facility, materials, action, or equipment. "Shoot for the edit" is indeed a good rule of thumb when planning your videotape. Start with a "storyboard" on which you write out notes about each shot (draw a sketch too, if it helps), including length, angle of view, lighting, and to which you correlate your soundtrack, especially narration. Then "shoot for the edit," by adding about 5 seconds onto the beginning and the end of each shot. Editing equipment needs between 3 and 7 seconds of tape to "pre-roll" or back up before locking onto the signal for the shot you intend to use. If you intend that the viewer should pay attention to some detail in a shot, make it at least 5 seconds long. By this formula, your short, simple shots will last 15 seconds when you originally record them, although they may be trimmed during editing of your final tape.

Finally, with regard to the camera-generated image, I offer a word on focusing the image. If you rely on an autofocus system to do this for you, check its accuracy first. Many autofocus systems focus merely on the largest object near the center of the angle of view. Some have only a zone-focus system, which allows for three general zones of focus: close, far, and everything in between. If you choose to manually override the autofocus system, focus before you begin recording each shot. Pick your camera position, then use the zoom feature to close in the angle of view to whatever will be the most important feature of your upcoming shot. With the lends zoomed in, focus the image on that important area of your shot, then return to the angle of view with which you want to begin the recorded shot. Behind this exercise is the idea that focusing errors made when the lens is at a telephoto setting will be magnified when the focal length is increased during the ""zooming-in" process.