You’re out and about and all of a sudden you get a great idea or you see something amazing, or both, and you want to send that video to your tribe.

What do you do?

You’ve probably see the result of this kind of spontaneous inspiration. The results are usually not anywhere near the value of the original idea. Oh, but they can be. They can be much, much, much better.

Not sure about that? You be the judge, OK? Watch as Jaeny and I fend off an attack from an unusually, um… assertive seagull…and get a lesson in how little tweaks can make ALL the difference in how your video comes out.

I won’t tell you about the one little tweak in the settings I forgot about, butย that would have made this video so much better.ย The first person who spots it gets $50 in Brainy Bux. ๐Ÿ™‚

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    35 replies to "How to Shoot Great Video in a Car"

    • Cathy Nagle-Ervin

      Cute video! Makes me hungry and it’s only 9:30 A.M.! I would have suggested filming the eating establishment’s background more than the brick wall that you saw in the background for the majority of the video. You had some of the business in the b-roll. Nothing like free advertising for this business.

      • Steven Washer

        That would be great if that’s what we were trying to do. The idea of burying the ad in the teaching makes perfect sense! It flies right under the radar and creates a better feeling about the business.

    • Shama Kern

      Wow, that looks pretty darn good for a cell phone video. I think I need to upgrade to a new phone!

      • Steven Washer

        The iPhone 4S or 5 are pretty great. This one was shot with Jaeny’s 5. But some of the Android phones like the Galaxy have pretty amazing specs, though I haven’t used them personally.

        • Shama Kern

          I have a Samsung Galaxy 2S which takes decent video but has been upstaged by newer models. Unlike in the US where you can get cell phones cheap as long as you sign a contract, here in Thailand they are only sold unlocked and the latest iPhone will set you back close to $1000.
          That’s a steep price for a phone, considering that I just purchased a Nikon P7700 which is Nikon’s flagship compact camera for about $420. Of course I don’t always have it with me…

    • BJ Rosenfeld

      What fun! Can’t wait to try it.

    • Andy McClure

      Great video. I’m always up for a quiz too. Is the setting you’re talking about related to audio? I’m thinking the sound could have been a little better if you applied noise removal upon editing(?)

      • Steven Washer

        Hi Andy! No, it’s not the audio, but thanks for playing.
        Actually I’m a bit relieved that no one has spotted it yet, but it’s definitely there. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Sheryl Kurland

      Man that burger looks juicy, Steve! Very clever & memorable video. (Reminded me to go clean the bird doo off my car.)

      • Steven Washer

        Be real careful about chewing and talking. I nearly blew this one entirely because of one French fry!

    • John Charbonneau

      Great video, could you have added a clickable annotation in your video to have viewers be taken to a landing page to register for the booklet you offered?

      • Steven Washer

        Now I’m scratching my head. What booklet? But anyway, that wasn’t it.
        Ed. Note: Oh my gosh, you’re right! You found something I actually did forget!

        Oddly, though, that wasn’t it and now it’s fixed. Thanks!

    • Bill G.

      Hi Steve,

      Your video was good, but it could have been a little more entertaining. For example, instead of drinking soda, the 2 of you should have been slammin’ a few beers. And maybe you and Jaeny could have gotten a little more friendly – not X rated, but in that general direction.

      In regards to what you left out of the video, it could be an active link to your download offer. The link in the video is not clickable and a link on this page isn’t apparent.

      • Steven Washer

        Yep, you’re right. I did forget the link, but that wasn’t it.

        As for your other note, well, maybe for a different kind of website. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • Eran Malloch

      Great idea guys. I just did a test drive using my own mobile front facing camera and it works fine!

      Very cool…. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Any tips for a safe way to mount the camera in the car facing me so I can talk while driving???

      As for the tweak you asked about, was it to get Jaeny to remove her sunglasses so people could see her eyes? ๐Ÿ˜‰

      Thanks for the fun, informative video.

      Eran

      • Steven Washer

        Hi Eran, it’s Jaeny here!
        Great observation about my sunglasses, and I agree you can make a better connection when you show your eyes. Those are actually prescription sunglasses, so I just went with them in the moment. Sometimes I forget to bring my regular glasses along, and if it gets dark out, I feel like Corey Hart singing “I wear my sunglasses at night…”

        As for a safe way to mount the camera while driving, Steve and I don’t recommend driving and recording video. I feel it’s too risky and it puts you and others in danger. In a moment of inspiration, it’s best to simply pull over and capture your thoughts.

        Glad you enjoyed our video! We had a blast recording it!

        -Jaeny

    • Rudolf

      Great video & audio. Perfect proof that you don’t need more than an iPhone and maybe a gorilla pod 80% of the time. Using the sun roof as kind of a “head light”…amazing. Simple things often work best.

      • Steven Washer

        Right! And the best part is that you can have a huge amount of control over how it all works.

    • Art Rothafel

      Oh my… you guys have fantastic chemistry together. Jaeny, you have a contagious laugh. So genuine.

      And, Steve, you make the perfect “straight man” especially with the hat.

      I would tune in to your videos just to see what kind of fun things you guys are up to. The video tips are a bonus.

      Keep up the outstanding work / fun!!!

      • Steve

        Thank you for the kind words, Art! We do have lots more ideas to share, so I see more of these videos in our near future!

    • Tom Taylor

      I thoroughly enjoyed this, Steve! The only thing that jumped out at me was your cup with the straw almost smack in the middle of the frame. Honestly, I didn’t see it until my second view. The other entirely minor distraction was the bottom of the rear view mirror in the upper center frame. Impressive, fun video — and a great music track that totally compliments the setting, message and informality of the whole thing. Do some more – kinda like “Steve and Jenny in cars getting fries.”

      • Steve

        While those compositional things are notable, they aren’t the major problem. Interesting that no one has spotted it yet.

        But when you do, you won’t be able to look at videos in quite the same way again. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Dianne Crampton

      Ok. That was good. Loved it. Hi Jaeny – good to see you again. No chicken?

      The video tips were great. I did like the reminder you gave with regard to overhead lighting.

      I am following up on Steve’s other video on how to make video with a cell phone. With travels scheduled for this year I do have a traveling idea for our channel.

      Loved it.

      • Jaeny Baik

        Hi Dianne, great to connect again!
        When traveling, I find recording with my cell phone or ipad is the only way to go. I also find I’m much more inspired when I’m working or vacationing somewhere out of town, so follow your gut instinct.

        I’ve eaten enough fried chicken to last a lifetime so these days I’m eating more kale and raw veggies than fast food. AND it’s always worth the indulgence when you see a great video recording opportunity!

        Can’t wait to see what you end up recording while on the road!
        -Jaeny

    • Walter Psotka

      Hi Steve
      It’s interesting how good a video from a cellphone can be.
      I think that the flaw in the video is the cut-away to the seagull. It’s not colour corrected ( Too Blue ).
      The cutaway does not balance with the rest of the video.

    • Tom Taylor

      Is it me or are there fluctuations in white balance going on? Maybe it’s clouds passing overhead and changing the lighting, but it seems to go on throughout. How’m I doin’?

    • Sylvina Rollins

      You two make me laugh ! Thanks

    • Zack

      Neat video and you gave me an idea! More on that later. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Would that have been the AE/Autofocus lock setting? I notice the WB was migrating back and forth a bit (pink and green) as you flashed the white hat around. Pretty subtle so not like a game stopper or anything, but there ya go!

    • Zack

      Oh great, I guess I should reload the page more often! I see the answer was posted above so please disregard. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Scotty

      You guys are great together good team she
      Makes you laugh.

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