Camera work in a vlog

So, I am working on a vlog, I have the plot, characters, and first few entries planned out, but I have no camera experience ( basically, I can't shoot good film). If anyone has any good ideas (preferably those who have actually done this sort of thing. outside sources who can back them up are appreciated), could you please share them? I appreciate all your help.

1. Don't shake the camera around a lot.

2. Don't film every single detail, nobody does that.

3. Although you do see people point the camera towards the ground when their running, try to avoid that when you're not.

If you have Slendy in a shot, don't focus on him for very long if it's not distorted heavily enough. I've noticed a lot of Slenderfans find details that ruins immersion that way.

and one more thing, plot related, I am considering having the main character know what's going on, basically, that he knows about the Slenderman, due to being on the internet, but I feel like that would take away from the immersion, but on the other hand, I am doing away with a LOT of common plot points (sorry, I don't want to give them away just now). and thanks for the advice. But on the topic of details, what about filler shots?

Having your character Slender-aware isn't necessarily bad. There's one series, I don't quite remember the name of it off of the top of my head, but it starts out that this guy is doing Slenderman tutorial videos. The more he got into Slenderman, the more he stalked him. So, if done right, your character being slender-aware can be taken to your advantage.

I've never tried blog style before but I am a cameraman/grip

For generic camera tips keep in mind that the viewfinder shows more on the edges than is usually filmed (hence the brackets). Depending on the distance I try to keep the persons eyes at around three thirds up the screen and if you expect to be filming something thats moving keep the shot wide enough so that you can react before it leaves the frame.

Before you start shooting carry the camera around with you and film random stuff. Check the footage, see how it looked and try to improve in your efforts to film random stuff.
Just get yourself used to filming and using a camera before you start.

Really great advice, guys.
Chewie-that's gold. thanks, man. In addition to better skills, the footage may come in handy, too.
Sage-thanks. I did learn that rule in Multimedia class, but since I stunk at that class (I passed it by appearing in other people's videos. derp) I never really paid attention. That and the teacher wasn't as good as he should have been (paraphrase of teacher; "Get to work, guys." (five seconds later) "Hey, look at this video!"
Near-Really what I'm going for is that the character has seen the "Big Three" (TT, MH, EMH), but doesn't believe they're real until Ol' Slendy shows up. Sound good?

That sounds like a relatively good idea. You just have to make sure you're doin' it right, you know?

Sounds great! Let me know when it's up, I love vlogs, I watch tons of them . Probably too many, lol. My series doesn't involve Slenderman, but even still my character knows about them all and thinks they're all series. So you can work with it, you just have to do it right. I...would only suggest my series as a "how not to do it" thing .

I'd say, keep the camera focused but don't be afraid to move it around a bit, keep it relaxed and remember that real people aren't "professionals" so they'll mess up and stuff while filming. However, make sure and keep your movements clean or else people can get sick. Also, I agree with the "less is more" part of showing Slendy. If you just flat out show him, sometimes people will catch your errors in clothing, stance, anything. Good luck!

Vohn-Yep, that makes sense- I do have to have the obligatory-"OH CRAP IT'S SLENDY RUN!" moment, and I am focusing on steady camera work. sadly, as I only have thirty minutes of record time, I have to be REALLY sure about what I'm doing (yeah, I can delete stuff, but, you know, easier to do in one shot).
Near-what do you mean, doin' it right? I think that I know, but I'm not sure (that, and I wouldn't know when to overdo it)

When filming be sure to realize if you have the program disort the camera any time possible during editing, but not obnoixiously. If its one problem some people too much and you cant even tell whats going on and where slendy is.

As well as use a variety of shots, such as Establishing, Wide, Meduim and close ups. I know if it seems like a found footage type deal directing skills must be applied so it doesnt look like a "OH HEY A CAMERA IM COOL" kind of deal. People want to be entertained, so make sure you get creative of how you make shots. Ant-eye views are my favorite because they leave mystery and leaving the viewer to view more. As well as bird eye views, they show a good amount of the area and leave the character searching and in intrest.

The Slenderfreak wrote:

Vohn-Yep, that makes sense- I do have to have the obligatory-"OH CRAP IT'S SLENDY RUN!" moment, and I am focusing on steady camera work. sadly, as I only have thirty minutes of record time, I have to be REALLY sure about what I'm doing (yeah, I can delete stuff, but, you know, easier to do in one shot).
Near-what do you mean, doin' it right? I think that I know, but I'm not sure (that, and I wouldn't know when to overdo it)

Yeah I have the same problem, I have only like thirty minutes on the camera. Luckily, so far, everything has gone well enough that we've only had to do a few takes to get everything right. Hopefully, whatever you plan on doing won't fill up your camera, but then again I guess that depends on how much editing you plan to do.

Never reveal entire surroundings, always keep enough of it hidden for the people who close in the screen looking for something to fuck with them. If an entire room is revealed, your element of mystery is blown.

Quote :

Near-what do you mean, doin' it right? I think that I know, but I'm not sure (that, and I wouldn't know when to overdo it)

Well, I mean this:
Don't go about it badly. You (and anyone, really, don't take it personally) are more likely to make it cheesy. Its kind of like, "Oh, you just so happen to watch vlogs about Slenderman. How convenient."
Personally, if I were to make my characters slender-aware, I would go about it by the character saying something like, "Wait a second... I remember this. I watched a couple vlogs that had this guy in there..." as opposed to, "This is the first time seeing this tall, slender guy... I totally know who it is already."
TL;DR version of this post: If the character is going to be slender-aware, make it seem as if they kind of forgot about watching prior vlogs for a little bit.
But that's just my opinion. This is your project and you do what you feel would be best.