Inspiration

I got a digital camcorder in 1999 and began shooting TONS of video from that moment on. My son was born in 2000 and then things got really intense: there is just this sense that you don't want to miss a thing. But unlike most folks shooting video, I decided i was going to take an active role and really EDIT this footage into short little movies. Not movies exactly, I decided to call them "sketches." I cut dozens and dozens. And in 2002 I wrote a book about this process. The Little Digital Video Book.

The idea was: I don't have time to make videos. My wife would kill me if I sat all day on the computer and messed around with this stuff. On the other hand, she loves it when we HAVE videos. After a decade in Hollywood as a filmmaker, I decided to apply what I knew about how professionals make movies, and see if it would allow me to make VERY SHORT home videos VERY QUICKLY, that looked pretty good.

Not perfect. Just pretty good. Fast was key.

The book was a best-seller, and now, almost 8 years later, it is not only still in print (a remarkable feat for a book involving technology), but continues to sell well. My two kids have grown up around the camcorder, and I have an even more mature relationship with how little time I have for this stuff, but what can be done with it. Technology has improved. Ways to share have exploded. But still, it comes down to just a little bit of information that separates you from having a pile of unwatchable unlabeled cassettes to you having a bunch of cool short videos that you can put on the web or on DVDs and share with friends and family.

I'm updating the classic and you should look for it this summer. In the meantime, this blog will be a locale where we can discuss the book, look at examples, and share ideas. Welcome.

"Rainy Day" (Example)

Rainy Day (Video Sketch Example) from m.h. rubin on Vimeo.

Notice:
-Cuts between wide and close on the same subject
-cutaway shots for texture (no kids, just rain details)
-letting subjects exit frame without following them
-no production sound - except for special tag at end


(Music "A thousand beautiful things" copyright by Annie Lennox)

Here it is on YouTube: