Transcripts
1. Welcome to the Class: Hi, I'm Eddie. And my whole life, I've always been
considered the shy kid. I disliked the attention
from too many people. I didn't talk much, and I
always kept it to myself. And fast forward to now, I've been doing videos
for more than five years. And trust me I had and
have to film so many times in public and also alone since I like to take
time during my shot. There are people who
love the attention. M, on the other hand,
I've had to learn the best techniques to film in public without people
even noticing it. Different scenarios use
different strategies that can be better for
specific situations. In this class, I will teach you everything from all the
cameras that I use for different scenarios to all
the different techniques that I use that are very
helpful when filming in public. Alongside, I will give
you examples to how I got the specific shots in
very public spaces. And for the class project, I would like you to use some of the techniques
that you'll learn and post a photo or a short
clip of you in public. You can share this project
and get feedback from me or any other students
showing the techniques you use and maybe even
share new potential ideas. With that said, I'll
t in the next lesson.
2. The Importance of Camera Choice: Okay, great. Before we go
into the actual filming, we have to first think
which camera should we use? Some cameras are better
for some situation than others because some situation
requires more pre thinking. Otherwise, there would be
completely impossible to film. So by the end of this lesson, you'll know specifically
which camera is best to use for
different scenarios. And I'm going through
all the three types of cameras that I use
for all of my shoots. The first one is my main one, and I shoot with this
almost all the time. It's your DOLR or Murals camera. And well, it's not
specifically this one, since I'm shooting right
now with my Sony 6,400, but let's pretend it's this one. And this one is the camera that reproduces the best results. Depending on the lens it has, it just looks the
best, and therefore, it's the one that I
use 90% of the time. But in public, it
has one big problem. You see? First of all, the size is bigger, so it's
more easily noticeable. But also, when you point
at someone in public, It might make them
feel more intimidated opposed to other cameras that I'm going to
show you later. The big cameras can make people a little
more uncomfortable, and this is something I would like to avoid during my shoots. Also, in most cases, I leave the camera
filming so that I can go to the scene and do
the action for my shot. In this case, the camera
is pretty visible, and this might make
people feel two things. The first one is uncomfortable, and the second one is
also curious because, for example, it's not
every day you see a camera like this just on top of a car
filming someone else. But to reduce this problem, I'll show you in a later class, how to film yourself in
public without people really noticing you,
even with this camera. The other camera that I
use is my action camera. Any action camera is good. Since they're really small. It has amazing stabilization, and the best part is that
they're really stealthy. Point this at someone.
Compared to the DSLR. You really see the
difference, right? So comparing these two, the DSLR or mirrorless camera is way more imposing than
the small action camera. Let me give you an example. Can you see where the camera is? Yeah, right there. But what
about in this situation? As you can see, most of the
times it even goes unnoticed. You are more than free of
filming yourself without causing too much attention
on you or the camera. For example, in the gym,
in most situations, I don't want to make
other people and myself feel uncomfortable
with cameras. Using a smaller one actually
mostly goes unnoticed. People pass by and they don't even notice it, which
is really good. The reason I use
this less often is because it always has
a very wide angle, which may look good in some situations in
action situations, but usually in my
shooting situations, I want it to look
more cinematic. So this is why I use
this camera more often. And the third option
I have is my phone. And my phone isn't
really a high end phone, so the camera quality
isn't the best. So I tend to use it only when I actually really need to.
There's the only option. I don't have any other
cameras. I only have my phone. The most modern advantage
of filming with a camera phone is
that everyone has it, so no one will
take it seriously. And most people are familiar
with filming like this, opposed to something like this. Okay. So most people
won't even notice you. They will look at you,
but forget about you. It really goes
unnoticed in public. And now, it is your turn. For the next time you're
going to film in public, can you think of
which camera you can use if you have the option? If you have multiple cameras, it's always good
exercise to first think which camera should
you use for which situation. But if this feels like a lot
at first to film in public, feel free to always
use the phone camera. Since people won't really care and it really goes
unnoticed in public. With that said, see
you in the next one.
3. Special Gear for Filming in Public: I recently went on a trip to China and look at the
footage I could get. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think the footage can get more public than that. This is an update to the class. As I learned a few new things. And fortunately,
about six months ago, my gear actually got stolen
from the previous video. And so I had to buy a new one, and I got to experiment. I got to update, and
one of them was this. It is the Insta 363. It's small like the
other camera I had, but it has more special powers
than no other camera has. It can detach, and
it has a magnet. The magnet capability is a game changer for the amount of angles you can film yourself. Just like so. You can use it on a metal poles or any
creative place you want. And the camera comes with
cool multiple attachments like this necklace here. Use it inside,
inside the T shirt, and I have the
necklace right here. Check this out. That's how I was able to get the POV shots. The only con is that the camera
is actually pretty small, so the sensor size physically cannot be as big as
a normal camera. So video quality is not as good. Now, it is your turn. It is always good to
know the latest tech and see what you might or
might not want to upgrade. This is a great little
camera that does a lot. I only use it in very
specific conditions, but I know there are others who might only use this
camera to fill memories without disturbing
anyone pointing a camera. Think about it, and I'll
see you the next one.
4. When to Use the Tripod (and When Not): Now, the tripod is the single most
important equipment when filming to get the
specific angle you need. But a very common question I have is when filming in public. Should you really
use this or not? Because tripods cause
even more attention than any camera
you use attached. Because more common to see than cameras is to see
tripods in public. They are big and you can
spot them a mile away. Now, not all public
spaces are made equal. So in some situations, I do use the tripod, but in others, I improvise. If the spaces you're
filming in are more secluded and
have less people, then having a tripod,
one really matter. In these situations,
I feel free to use the tripod because I feel more comfortable since
there's less people. And if a person
happens to pass by, they'll usually see
you and your tripod. Be a little curious, but then
just go about their lives. If the place is completely
full unless you have no social anxiety or are
completely extroverted, then feel free to
use the tripod. If that's fine to
you, that's okay. But for me, things are
a little different. I don't feel so
comfortable at all. I can't just pop
there in the middle and whip out my tripod and film. The clips you're
seeing right now, I was 100% feeling
uncomfortable. And honestly, I hated
every second of it. So what I do is improvise. I don't use the tripod anymore. And I try usually see what
spots I can put my camera on. Maybe it is on top of a car, on top of a wall, a chair,
something like that. And then I use another
object, for example, my phone to maybe angle it up
like this or angle it down. Maybe a piece of
cloth can be more flexible so that you can have
your shot perfectly set up, and then like this is
more invisible than compared to a tripod and
the camera in public. Of course, you're trading
the shot flexibility, how you want your shot
to be with comfort. And for me, I think
that's a fair trade. Let me give you some examples. And all the following shots, I haven't used any
tripod at all. I just had to improvise to
put the camera somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. Now, it is your turn. Maybe you already know the
place you're going to film in. So in this case, it
would be a good idea to scout for places where you
can place your camera. And also, you can practice at home is to film a
little yourself. Maybe put the camera
on the table, put a phone here so you can angle it up or any
piece of clothing, your jacket, like this. And then you see what
kind of shots you can do. How much flexibility
do you have? This is a really good
feeling to have. Okay. And district will be very handy for
you in the future. In later classes,
I will teach you other techniques to even
give you more flexibility. With that said, see you then.
5. The Tripod Smaller Alternative: This was also one of
my newest additions, and it is the magic arm. This is so small that it can fit in my camera
bag, no problem. And that's one of the big
advantages compared to a tripod because it allows me to clamp
the camera on this side, and on the other side, there's one clamp as well. And it attaches to everything. It allows you to expand the angle possibilities
and compared to a tripod, you can do special
angles like this. This shot was taken with
a magic arm, like so. And if I were to have a
tripod on the shopping cart, it would have been
even more obvious. The advantage is that you don't have to carry on
the tripod all day, if you can just put this
piece inside your camera bag. Now, it is your turn. Consider if the magic arm is
something you'd like to use. I most honestly recommend
everyone to have it as it's so cheap and in
lock so many special angles, but you shouldn't use
this all the time. I use this for a few
shots here and there, and that's perfect for it. Seriously, consider
if the type of videos you're doing needs a
lot of angles because this expands the possibilities
by a lot. See it then.
6. When You Need to Switch to Manual Focus: Previously, we
learned which camera to use and how to place it. In this class, I would
like to focus more on how to film yourself.
That's pretty easy. You set up the camera,
to press record, you go and do the action. But most importantly, I would
like to focus on the focus. Manual focus or autofocus. Because different
situations calls for different types of focus. The best way to
learn is by example. Let's take a look at this one, and I'll first let you guess which type of focus have I used. Manual focus where it focus only in one spot or autofocus. You'll let the camera automatically
focus where he wants. Much And if you guess manual focus,
you guess right. Now, the simple rule
is the following. The further away you
are from the camera, and the more
confusion there is in between on the background
people passing by cars. In these situations, it's
better to use manual focus. In the example you saw, I set the camera on
manual focus to focus on the screen as I knew I would D in the
same depth to it. I set record and
then I went for it. And you see all the people
going by left and right, and the camera does not care because it's
on manual focus. Usually, if the camera
is on continued focus, it would see all people here, and then would focus here. And that's not very nice. I want it to be focused on me. And another example to use manual focus if you're
doing more close up shots. Let's take a look
at this example. In this case, I set up
the camera on the floor. And if the camera were
to be set on auto focus, it would maybe
focus here or there instead of the middle because there's a lot that the
camera can focus on. It's not very easy for him. So in these situations, it's best to use manual focus. So first, I put the shovel
where I want it to be, I manual focus there. I pull out the shovel, then I throw it to the ground. And it's immediately,
always in focus. If it were to be in auto focus, if I would take the shovel out, it would maybe focus on the sky. Now, if the background is
static, just like right now, and it's very easy
for the camera to recognize your face or a body, then it is best in this case, to use continuous focus, continuous or auto focus. For example, me arriving at the beach, I went
out of the car, I placed a tripod and
since there was no one, there was no one passing by, I knew it was a
really easy shot. And of course, the car is going continuously further away. So setting the camera on continuous focus was
the best choice. In this case, I'm getting
out of the store. If I'm moving into the
camera and I'm getting closer and I want to be
continuously focused on, then it is impossible to do
that alone with manual focus. So in this case, I just
use continuous auto focus, and it first focuses
on the store. And as I get out,
it focuses on me. Now, it is your turn. If you're new to cameras, I would like you to learn for your specific camera how to set it on manual or auto focus. And the next step would be to train in a safe environment
like your home, set the camera somewhere and then use yourself to go left, right, forwards, backwards to test out the capabilities of
your camera to autofocus. Maybe the face tracking from
your camera is really good, then you can move
a little faster. If it's not, then maybe
it's okay to move a little slower because if
you're shooting in public, there is not a lot
of room for error. You have to get the shot, and then that's it. So knowing your camera well, it's capabilities of manual
focus on how to auto focus. This will be crucial for you to know when filming
in public. Good luck.
7. The importance of Microphone Choice: There are multiple types of microphones you can use if you want to
upgrade your audio. And if you're like me, you'd like to draw as
little attention as possible for you or for the
camera with the microphone. So the choice is crucial. So for the first time, I
wanted to upgrade the audio, and I brought a relatively
small microphone to attach here? Like so. Having this attached to any camera attracts
a lot of attention. I only learned that
later in the hardware. And the end result is I
really never use this. I mostly use it just for voiceovers at home,
and that's about it. And the solution to
this is to actually upgrade instead of this
to a wireless microphone, the one I'm using right now. These tiny things go
way more unnoticed and you can attach them
wherever you want. You can attach your microphone in any part of the clothes, even inverted, like so, it will look much, much
stealthier than compared to this. Now, with these, I
can feel myself in public even far away and
I can talk to the camera. It sort of unlocks this new dimension of
shots you can use. I'm doing the exact opposite. I am from the city,
and now I'm here. I could never settle down. Now, for most of the shots, I don't even talk to the camera. I just do something specific, like walk or throw down a
shovel, something like that. In these cases, the microphone choice
doesn't even matter. But in case I want to express
any opinions to the camera. This is a very good choice. Now it is your turn. I hope you got to understand which microphones are good or not to buy for
different situations. In a pinch, I sometimes just use the microphone that's
in built in the camera, and it works perfectly well because when you're
talking to the camera, you're usually talking
at a closed space. All of that choice,
but I still don't know which kind of
gift is the best gift. And a good exercise
to do is to test the camera microphone
capabilities at different distances. So you can go outside or inside. Usually, it's better outside
because of the wind. And then you can test yourself, talk at a meter distance, really close, 2 meters, and then review the shots and see which distances can you use. And then this is really
good to know if you're shooting in public and sometimes you just want to
talk to the camera, something that
happened and opinion, and it's good to know at what distance can you
use because once I did this and I was really
far away and I thought the camera could catch
it, and I went home. I barely could hear myself. So with that, good luck.
8. Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Time: One thing you can
do before you even shoot is to organize
a little bit. Scripting your video gives you so much more
focus on what to do. So when it is go
time and you shoot, you know exactly what shots you need. And
that's really good. Not only this is
beneficial for the story, which is a really
important part in video, but having a shot list immensely cuts down
on the time you use outside when shooting in public because you know specifically
what you need to shoot. Let's take a look
at this example. Again, this car shot. I knew I wanted three
different shots, a wide, medium close up shot. So I went out, put the tripod. There were some rare occasion, some people walking by, so I had to wait a little
bit, but that was fine. I stopped the car, I
have ran to the tripod, I went back and then close
up shot, just like so. If I didn't organize myself
first a little beforehand, I wouldn't know where I
would like to put my camera, and then maybe I
would film a little too much or too little. In this case, I filmed
exactly what I needed, a wide shot, a medium, and a close up shot,
just like that, and I went immediately to the beach without wasting
that much more time. W with you. Shy a. Smells nice, right?
This is like the beach. Come to beat. And once you got your shot list, you'll maybe notice how little
shots you actually need of yourself because you can use other shots like filler shots, close up shots of
other things where you can stand behind the
camera and film them. And maybe that might
help you realize that, you know, it is not so bad. Now, it is your turn. When filming a video, do you have a shot list? Because if not, it is
best that you have one. It will cut you immensely on how much time you
use for filming, and it just streamlines the entire process because
this tiny process, a little time organizing, makes a huge difference on
how much time you are in actual public filming
yourself. Good luck.
9. Technique 1: Film in Crowded Places: So my best friend when
I'm filming in public and a trick I use all
the time, is this. This is a fanny pack, a fanny pack that
can fit my camera. This fanny pack essentially lets you carry your
camera without people even knowing you have a camera because this does
not look like a camera bag. And more importantly, if
you're filming in public, you first set the record
button on, you put the camera, you set up the shot, and you place it
somewhere in public. All of a sudden, this
camera almost invisible. This is a trick I use so often. So do you see the difference? If you're filming
yourself like this, just with the camera,
it's very obvious. And all of a sudden, I've had people passing by
over the scene that I'm filming without even realizing that I was
recording myself. It is a fat good. It doesn't necessarily
need to be a fanny pack. It can be a jacket, a backpack, any sort of item you're just carrying around,
usually, normally. So if you have the camera alone, it really catches a
lot of attention. As long as you have
other items around it, for a person that's
just walking by, it will just not notice. They're not really
paying attention on you. They're just walking,
going along their lives. They will definitely not notice. Now, it is your turn. Do you maybe have an item that does not look
like a camera bag? Maybe you can find one
around your house, a backpack, or maybe you
can try with the jacket. You can practice around, putting the camera in, maybe
angle it up a little bit. You have to have the lens outside so nothing's
obstructing it. And just try it. This is really good
practice to have for one you're actually filming
out in public. Good luck.
10. Technique 2: Film Without People Knowing That You Are Filming Yourself: So we talked about
clothes, jackets, or bags to really distract people from really
seeing your camera. Now, I want to talk about the
best way to really film in a really crowded place without people even
noticing your camera. I use this often, but
not all the time. Let's take a look
at these shots. You see how one shot the camera is on the
other side of the street. And then in the other
one, it seems like I put the tripod in the
middle of the street. Amazing, right? But let
me give you a spoiler because I did not use
any tripod at all. You know what I used? So how
I did it was with a bike. And you can use the bike
or any other object like a bush or a tree.
Those work well. In this case, I put
the camera inside the basket case with
a piece of clothing. The camera becomes
almost invisible. So invisible, in fact, that I'm confident in
parking the bike on the other side without caring for people if they're
going to steal my camera. Again, here, I parked
the bike and this time, a bit in the middle
of the sidewalk. But the concept is
exactly the same. If I were to do
this with a tripod, first, I wouldn't be
confident in doing that. And second, I would be too worried of people maybe passing by and they could potentially steal my camera if
I'm too far away. So in this case, the bike was the best option. In these clips, I use the
different trees or bushes. They also give a lot
of very good coverage. And I set the tripod
next to the tree, and setting up the tripod
next to the tree just makes it less obvious for
people to spot the camera. If you have the tripod at
the middle of nowhere, all of a sudden, this
is very noticeable. But if you have a
tree or a bush, it becomes way less noticeable. Impressive, right?
Now, it is your turn. Do people use bikes a
lot in your country? Maybe they use other types. Maybe you can use
your car to park somewhere to put the camera
exactly where you want, or you can use the
tree or a bush. You can try and practice
these techniques outside. And if you know maybe another creative or clever way to do it, maybe put it in the
discussion tab. I or other students
would love to know. With that said, good luck.
11. Technique 3: Strategic Timing: Waiting for the right time
means two things to me. The first one is
the time of day. We all know that
sunset gives you the most beautiful natural
lighting possible. But with that said,
if you're in a place where people enjoy the
sunset a lot like the beach, you'll see a lot of couples
or people just passing by, and it becomes a pretty
crowded place very quickly. Me shooting at the place
and people just enjoying their time at that
same exact place don't really mix well together. So the solution It's really early in the morning is to actually go
at another time. In this case, at sunrise. This sounds like no fun, but have you ever done it? I guarantee you that
you will love it. Having no people around. The space is all yours. Your mind and creativity can be fearless and do
whatever they want. And that is really the
best feeling in the world. Another example
of time of day is to know when people
are there a lot, for example, at rush hour, you do not want to
film in those times. And here I went to the store at opening time since there are
way less people walking by. Usually at opening time is where there's the least
amount of people. This is very strategic. So I kind of got the
whole store to myself. I could walk around, place the cameras without
having to bother anyone. The second thing that
I want to talk about waiting for the right time
is not the time of day, but when you're at the spot, you have to wait
for the right time. So here again, at this store, I had to wait a little to see when people
would go out so I could go out the store into the camera and then
talk to the camera. Okay. So for example,
here at the airport, I had to wait a minute before
so that no one would be looking at the screen and I
could be there and stand out. If there'd be a lot of people next to me, I wouldn't
really stand out. Now, it is your turn. If you're filming at
a specific place, is there a time you know where it's the least
amount of people. You can always use Google Maps. It will always tell you the statistics of how
many people there are, and to also know
the opening times. I usually film on weekdays. I avoid weekends
on public spaces, and I'm really serious
about Sunrise. Places look
completely different, really different when it's
really early in the morning. It's such a calming
experience to be in a place where it's usually
crowded. But at 6:00 A.M. There's almost no
one. I strongly recommend you doing the same. With that said, Good luck.
12. What You Think VS What Others Think: Spotlight effect is the psychological
phenomena where people tend to overestimate
how much attention they're having from
people around them. Let's take a real life example. I went out and I went for
the worst possible scenario. I went for the most crowded
time and I went with the biggest tripod I have
and see what happens. You see how people are just walking and minding
their own business. They might acknowledge
that the camera is there. They see it, of course. They might be curious
to what you're doing. But in reality, they
really just maybe take a look and then walk by.
Like it was nothing. They don't care, and frankly, they probably forgot about
you 3 minutes after. Your mind plays a lot of tricks. It really thinks that all the
people are looking at you. But as a final exercise, I would like you to point the camera at yourself
in a very public space. And then review the footage.
See what people do. They might look at you or the camera for a
brief second or two. And then they just
continue walking. They don't care. And then you realize how much of the
spotlight effect you have. And for the next time, you'll
feel better when filming. With that said, good luck.
13. Practice Makes "Perfect" and Outro: Along the years, I can
tell you that filming so many times in public that
practice makes perfect. I say perfect like this because it indeed gets
better over time. I feel more comfortable
doing this. I don't care so much of
what people think of me. And if I review the footage, the first times
I've been doing it, my movements were very robotic. It didn't seem very natural. But I can tell you
that over the years, this tiny nervous feeling you have before you go
filming is still there. I still present. I
feel better about it. I can manage it better, but I still feel a little nervous every time I
go film in public. Like, my mind really wants me to be inside
the comfort zone, but I do otherwise. If you enjoy this class on how to film yourself in public, I'm very sure you'll be
interested in my step by step, how to improve your video class. Feel free to review this
class if you want to, and I post weekly on
my YouTube channel. There you can see my style
of videos and also how I shoot my videos in the public areas even when
I really don't want to. I hope you learned
a lot and I hope to see you in another
class or video.
Edi Liang, Physicist + YouTuber
