Before Your Vacation Your family is going on a vacation along the coast of California and wants to catch every moment on video, but they don’t know exactly how to prepare in terms of what equipment to take or if they have to buy special accessories for their digital camcorder. Surprisingly, the majority of people who go on vacation neglect to take their camcorder with them. Even if they remember to, they pull it out of the closet at the last second before leaving. This is when you run into the problem of getting to your destination, such as the San Diego Zoo, and realize that your battery is dead and there is no source of AC power. HomeMovie.Com wants you to get the most out of your family vacation by preparing your digital camcorder, having fun with it while you are there, then using Afiniti to edit, share and publish your family get-away! The following items are essentials as well as suggestions for your camera to take with you on vacation: A properly stocked camera bag with the following: Two sets of fully charged batteries with a charger Plenty of tape stock A lens cleaning cloth A pen for labeling your tapes Headphones or earpiece Owners manual (manual that came with your camcorder) A extension cord A plastic bag in case of rain to fit over your camera A tripod A white towel for a sun-shield when its in the direct sunlight and also can be used to test the white balance Protecting Your Digital Video Camera We all know that keeping your digital camcorder safe is something everybody worries about. Because it represents a significant investment on your part, the last thing you need is for it to be lost or stolen while you are vacationing. Your camcorder bag for instance, should not be a “theft magnet.” Sure, you want to get a nice bag that holds all your accessories and is easy to carry, but bringing cases such as Canon, Sony or Panasonic on vacation with you is taking a big chance. What you should do is find a case that obviously is not storing a camera and one that has plenty of padding so that the camcorder optics do not get damaged. Also, think about purchasing a camcorder strap. It is more likely you will drop it if it isn’t secured around your neck. Getting Through the Airport Ever since September 11, security has heightened in airports around the country. Getting your digital camcorder through security is harder than one thinks. As previously discussed, it is very important that your camcorder is properly functioning before you leave the house. When you arrive at security and the X-ray machines, if your device is not properly working, it may be hard for security to tell what it is. If it works properly, you can prove to them that it is a camcorder. When passing through the X-ray machines, it is very unlikely that your digital videotape will get damaged. Generally, the intensity is so low that camcorder tapes are unaffected when passing through the X-ray field. The good thing about having a digital camcorder is that even if it does have to go through the X-ray, the machinery cannot harm digital media storing devices such as CompactFlash, Memory Stick or Smart Media. Shooting during your Vacation You have purchased your camcorder, packed everything up and now you arrived at your destination and want to start shooting! Here are some basic tips for how to shoot video on your vacation including what angles to shoot from, zooming and what to do in sunny conditions. Wait Until You Get Back Home to Start Editing The nice thing about having a digital video camcorder is it’s easy to import your video to our Afiniti player in no time. When you are filming, try to film longer sequences, knowing you can edit out the boring parts later. Doing this will ensure that you get the shot you want. Enjoy your vacation while it lasts, don’t spend it worrying about getting the perfect shot. More is better in the long run. Get Up Early to Enjoy the Surrounding Environment Just imagine…your family is staying in a very beautiful area in southern California. It would definitely be worth it to try and get up early to catch some of the scenery that surrounds you. Every place has a unique personality, and a good vacation video shows that personality. Getting up to take only five or ten seconds of scenery footage can really show the character of the surroundings. In addition, this can help you when you edit on Afiniti by showing a few seconds from each scene to set the location. Include Yourself in the Video It seems that all too often, the person in charge of shooting doesn’t make an appearance in the video. If you are the mother or father, make it a point to show each of your family members how to use the camcorder so you can include yourself in the video. Encourage them to use it when they see something interesting or if they just want to practice using it. Taking Your Camcorder to the Beach If your vacation destination includes going to the beach, environmental concerns are very important. Salt spray and sand can do major damage. HomeMovie.Com recommends that while you are on the beach or near the ocean, keep your camcorder inside a tightly closed plastic bag any time it is not in use. If you don’t have a plastic bag, a towel will work just as well. However, wrap it tightly and make sure that there is no sand in the towel that will damage the lenses. Shooting From Your Hotel Room This is the time when you can get together with your family and talk about the day’s events. This can provide somewhat of a “video-log” so when you get home, it will be easy for you to organize and title your scenes accordingly. Here are some ideas HomeMovie.Com has thought of: Taking video of the scenery from the balcony Interview/ask children how their day was and what they did Tips from the older folks about what they did If you don’t have a tripod, an old photographers trick is to screw your video camcorder onto the top of the lampshade for an impromptu shot. This works if the person doing all the recording wants to get into the shot Zoom to Show Both Location and Detail For example, if you are at the zoo and want to show an animal such as a monkey or a tropical bird sitting up in a tree, you might want to get a close-up of them as well as their immediate surroundings. Start the scene zoomed in to show only the animal. Then smoothly zoom back to show the entire scene. If possible, remember to use a tripod close by to help steady zoom shots. Here are some tips to think about using the zoom feature: For the best results, you should avoid zooming during a shot as much as possible. Overuse of the zoom not only distorts the viewer, it also creates light problems whether you’re focusing the camera manually or using auto focus. Consider repositioning the camera instead of using the zoom lens to compose the shot Setting the Focus Manually If you are someplace where there are a lot of people, such as the zoo or an amusement park, try setting the focus manually. This will usually have better results because the focus is not changing constantly, with the main subject going in and out of focus. Because you are on vacation, you are usually shooting outside. Remember to zoom all the way in when you are setting the focus, and if you are outside shooting objects more than 15 feet away, you can usually leave the focus set at infinity most of the time. Film With the Sun Behind You, NOT Your Subjects When the sun is behind your subjects, it’s called backlighting. You don’t want this to happen. Backlighting will cause the faces in your video appear to be in a shadow. If for some reason you have to shoot in a backlight situation, try to adjust your camcorder’s exposure to show your subjects faces correctly. When the sunlight is in FRONT of your subjects, the picture is sure to capture the details of their faces much better. Taking Still Pictures of Still Subjects You are walking along the beach and want to take a picture of a palm tree or maybe a lighthouse on the hill. Use your camcorder’s ability to take a still picture of the tree or lighthouse. When you get back home to edit your vacation video, you can grab the picture from your video or flashcard, and it will be steadier than if you tried to capture video of the object instead of a still. Shooting A Landscape or Panning If you are shooting a landscape or a large area, it is okay to pan slowly across the field of view. Avoid panning and zooming too quickly, and too often. A few well- composed static shots of the views are better than a continuous wide-angle pan across the whole area. Also, move around or shoot the subject from a different side. If you are using a tripod that isn’t very good, you may find it difficult to pan smoothly. If you lubricate the tripod’s swivel head with WD-40 or silicon spray, this will make it easier for the tripod to move around and create a better panoramic shot. Practice these main points when panning: Pan only once per shot Begin panning slowly, then gradually speed up, and slow down again before stopping Panning too quickly is a common mistake, especially over a landscape Try to vary your point of view; don’t always try to shoot from the same height and same angle. Rather than panning across a scene, try moving the camera with the subject Think About Shooting in the Future When you’re on vacation, it’s important to think about what else you may want to shoot in the future. You also want to plan ahead so you don’t lose the chance to fully enjoy your trip by thinking you have to shoot everything you see. Some environments are good for rolling tape and others you may just have to enjoy naturally with your senses. After Your Vacation You just arrived back home and you are excited about editing and sharing your video footage. If you are fairly new to the editing process, HomeMovie.Com makes it easy for you to import, edit, share and publish your video right from your home! Although these are the major steps in getting your video ready for editing and sharing, our members site goes into more detail on the “How-tos” of Afiniti 3.0. Archive Your Video for Safekeeping Keep footage of your vacations all in one place! If you have video of vacations from past trips, import them into Afiniti 3.0 and create custom movies of the different places you traveled with the ease by archiving them in one place. Ideas for Creating Custom Movies from Vacations An overview of your vacation. What happened and the sights visited in 10 or 15 minute highlights Create a movie for each location visited Mix footage together from past trips to collaborate if the vacation is a yearly trip. This would be a good idea if you have taken your children on these yearly trips and can watch them change and grow through each video. Make a movie of the landmarks you have seen on your trip Snap Shot Albums Take digital stills from your video in Afiniti 3.0 and create a customized SnapShot album to share with your family and friends Mix and match digital pictures with images from your vacation video for your Snap Shot album in Afiniti. Upload a sample of local music you may have purchased on your trip and mix it with your video to create the memories of being in that area during your vacation Upload music from your computer library and add background music to your SnapShots album Create a slideshow of your stills and add background music Editing Your Videos and Photos HomeMovie.Com provides easy navigation and simple and easy to read directions on how to go through the editing process. If you need step-by step instructions, go to the member’s site after you have logged in and go to Afiniti Help. Here you can learn how to create scenes, make DVD’s and create custom packaging for your DVD’s. Sharing Your Videos, Pictures & Music Securely Online An exciting new feature of Afiniti 3.0 is our sharing option. This allows you to share your videos online with only the people you want to, not with the public eye. Even if the people you share with do not have a HomeMovie.Com account, they can sign up to view up to their first five hours for free, even if they don’t have any of their own videos on Afiniti 3.0! This makes it easy for friends & relatives across the globe to watch your vacation to California and share the experience with you! Having the Right Requirements for Your Computer Before you import your video to your computer, HomeMovie.Com wants to make you aware of the necessities before you can edit on Afiniti. In our “Afiniti Help” section, you will find more detailed requirements including processor speed and browser version. The main system requirements include: A Broadband Internet Connection Install the Afiniti 3.0 Advanced Toolset control, which allows the process of editing and sharing to happen. Windows Internet Explorer Version 6.0 Windows Media Player 10 for best image quality Fire Wire or IEEE 1394 cable for transferring video to your computer For more tutorials on how to use Afiniti 3.0 go to our homepage