Ghost Riding the Whip is something that just happens. I mean you might just happen to be there somewhere with some friends and do some ghost riding and someone just might be there with something that records video and then what ever it looks like, you post it for people over the world to see. That is cool I admit.
On the other hand if you plan your video production it will turn out much more polished and be even more interesting to watch. I have had video on my web sites for years so I like the idea.
I guess the worse idea is Cell Phone Video. You can spot that video immediately. They are very fuzzy, especially at night, and the sound in unclear.
The best video comes from a DVR or digital video recorder. These record either on tape or on disk. I have a Sony and it takes beautiful video. If you don't have one then borrow one from someone that does. They hook up with a firewire to the computer with a bit of software of 1000 different varieties.
These cameras have a steadiness filter built in but it does not help a heck of a lot. So what next? A tripod. I have to admit they are a tremendous help when it comes to steadying the camera. Instead of looking like an earthquake it is more TV production like. The better ones come with an oil damped head. Makes moving the camera smooth and non jerky.
So what else helps? That's easy. I have found that rehearsal is great. I record everything the first time and then look at it in the camera video screen and say to myself "What can I do that would look better and more interesting to the people out there" Then I do it over again. I usually have to do that 4 times to get it pretty close to what I want the finished product to look like. Pretty hard thing to do While Ghost Riding the Whip I suppose. Especially if everyone is in a good mood.
Last but not the least is the editing department. There are a lot of editing programs out there to make your finished video stand out from the crowd . I use Sony Screen Blast Movie Studio. You can piece together all of your video bits. Add Titles and THE END frames. Quiet down the video and add music and sound effects. You can also shrink the size to get the video down to something that won't take 20 minuets to download.
Remember safety is a must. No matter what, be safe. Falling off the hood and getting run over won't feel cool. And I don't want to see it on the internet.
