Videos are the optimal vehicle for expression and communication. They are also the best tool. . . although the narrative may help us better understand, it is through the photographs that we remember for connecting people.

What follows are some techniques to help you become more proficient in shooting videos that communicate your ministry message clearly and memorably.

1. Focus - manual and auto. Always use manual focus. Zoom in as tight as possible on the subject, focus the camera, and pull back to the size of shot you have chosen to record. Your scene will then be in focus, even when the subject moves away from the centre.

2. Panning and zooming. Avoid pans and zooms. But if you must, keep pans short, crisp and at a steady, controlled pace. To reduce zooming, record a long shot to establish the setting. Then record details of the scene, one by one, at close proximity and from various angles.

4. Recording people. When a person is speaking, keep the camera fixed on them. Resist the temptation to wander to features they are describing. Record subject content details either before or afterward. Have persons being interviewed identify themselves, spell their names and give their proper titles on camera. 

5. Audio recording. Get up close to the subject to achieve better audio and reduce echo. Use a hand-held or lapel microphone whenever possible. Avoid venues with annoying or loud background sounds. When videotaping a person speaking behind a podium and microphone, choose a camera angle at which the speaker's face is not blocked out.

6. Proper lighting. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid low lighting situations where the camera's gain function must be used. Accentuate one lighting source. Avoid backlighting, high contrast conditions, and lighting that creates glares or shadows.

7. Head space and framing. Leave a proper amount of space above the subject's head. With objects or persons in motion, pan with the movement while leaving a little extra space in front of their movement and less behind.

8. Shot selection. To capture scenes with more visual impact, augment your long shots with ample close-ups. This is true with both scenes and people. Avoid videotaping from a moving vehicle.    

9. Continuity and tape speed. Maintain continuity throughout the video. If, for example, a person is wearing a hat or glasses or carrying a backpack in a scene and then wants to remove any of these items, have the camera record the change being made. Also, record at the fastest recording speed available on the camera.

10. Highlighting your ministry. Create an entire ministry story by showing exterior and interior shots of facilities, actual ministry activities and events, landscape shots and social settings that provide a sense of place and culture, personal testimonies and interviews.

11. Tagging tapes and information. Do not use in-camera titling or date displays. Instead, label tapes with subject matter and recording date and include an information sheet describing the scenes in the order they appear. Also include pertinent background facts and figures that could be used in an accompanying narrative about your ministry.

12. Be discrete. When videotaping in public areas, be aware that some people, and even entire cultures, are not open to being videotaped. If there is any doubt, ask first before recording. By keeping these few things in mind, while applying your own passion and creativity, you will soon be taking better photographs and shooting better videos. But more importantly, you will be communicating your story and ministry needs to supporters in a much more powerful and effective manner.