Interview with Karen Heyson
email: pulseap@bluesunshine.tv
Interview by Jessie Riley and
Kathryn Gordon
Kathryn: You directed, edited and produced the video
to promote our book, Les Petits Macarons. Everyone loves it! Within a month of its
release, the video was featured in Texas at the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) conference as an example
of how to promote your own cookbook with a food video.
How did you start in video production?
Karen: I attribute my interest in all of this to
when I was about 10 and my parents bought me a small reel-to-reel tape
recorder. My friends and I used to spend hours making up characters, playing
with our voices, and conducting mock interviews. It blew me away that you could
have an instant recording like that. I
thought it was the coolest thing in the world, but I didn’t do anything about
it for a long time.
After college I had a job I hated and was desperate to find
another career. I decided to take a night class in video editing. I was immediately reminded of how much fun
recording was. It took a while, but after a variety of transitional jobs I
became an assistant editor at a post-production house called Post Perfect. In 1989, Post Perfect was one of the top post
houses in town. They had all the latest
bells and whistles and specialized in what’s referred to as “online”
editing. Online editing is the final
phase of editing where you rebuild the original edit in full resolution, and
then add all the finishing touches, like transitions and graphics. In those days it was very technical and
involved a lot of button pushing.
Of course, the business has changed dramatically since
then. With the advance of more
affordable equipment and software, those big fat post houses were replaced by
much smaller editing “boutiques,” and a lot of that purely technical work
disappeared. When I saw the writing on
the wall, I started learning how to offline edit using an Avid system. It turned out to be blessing in disguise,
because offline editing – the actual story telling - is much more creative and
fun.
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| Karen with some of her camera equipment |
Jessie: In addition to editing, you are now doing
more of your own video production as well, from the planning phase through
directing and shooting.
Karen: Yes. Maybe I’ve come full circle back to my
recording roots and I’m still somewhat in awe of the fact that you can go out,
record something, and then zip on home and start editing that same afternoon.
My pet project right now is something I call “PulseAP,” based
right here in Asbury Park, NJ. I’m working with local teenagers and teaching
them how to be broadcast journalists. It
seemed like a natural fit, because Asbury Park is chock full of activity, the
kids have a blast, and I get to run around, meet lots of people, and have fun
making short videos.
Jessie: What do you think about when you go out to
shoot?
Karen: I’ve always felt that a really good camera
person should have at least some editing experience. It’s a tremendous advantage. When I go out
into the field I already know what I need to get. The whole time I’m shooting I’m thinking
about editing.
Each situation, in terms of a live video shoot, is
different. For instance, if you’re
shooting someone cooking in real time, you can’t ask them to repeat every step
5 times so it helps to have at least one additional camera. In that situation,
I always have one camera shooting a medium shot of the head, with the person
talking, and the second camera shooting all the close ups of the process. It’s
common sense really. The trickier and
more creative aspect of shooting is to shoot things in an interesting way (whether
it be angles, lighting or camera moves) so the footage brings life to the final
product.
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| Making pizzas at Porta for a PulseAP shoot |
Kathryn: When we made the video for Les Petits Macaron we didn’t do a whole
lot of pre-production. Would you say a
script helps the director plan out the shots and be able to think ahead to the
final, edited version?
Karen: Absolutely.
If you can, plan EVERYTHING in advance.
Think about what you want to accomplish. Who is your target audience? Think about how you’re opening, how you’re
closing, and how you’re going to flow from one scene to the next. If you’re well prepared, the shooting and
editing can be done much more efficiently and you will end up with a better
product that is cheaper overall to produce.
Jessie: What are the best types of shots to try to
capture?
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| Example of medium and close up food shots |
Kathryn: I know from my experience working on our
video that voiceovers can help with the transitions when you edit the finished
tape.
Karen: If you’re shooting some kind of process that
ultimately needs to be sped up, voiceovers will help. A sentence or two, along with a sequenced
collage can work really well, especially if you add in some decent music.
Kathryn: You have the coolest software on your
computer to edit with. I’ve just sat
there and watched you zip through it.
 |
| Video editing software |
Karen: Most decent editing programs allow for
multiple layers of video and audio tracks. After you lay in the initial video
and natural sound into a timeline, you can add all kinds of things to spice it
up - animation, titles, visual effects, sound effects, music, etc. I especially
like to play with music, so I subscribe to an online stock music library. There are lots of stock houses out
there. You just have to find one you
like, and can afford. In addition to the
editing system, I also use a variety of external programs to create graphics
and animations.
Jessie: Can someone get away with using a smartphone?
Karen: If you’re even remotely serious, I would not
recommend using your phone.
Decent HD camcorders come in all price ranges and lots of
people are also using the video feature on SLR’s (single lens reflex cameras)
and getting some amazing results.
The thing to take into consideration is whether the camera
output will be compatible with your editing system. These days most cameras use hard drives as
opposed to tape, so you need to make sure that the video file being created by
the camera will be compatible with your editing system.
Kathryn: If someone can afford a professional, how
would they find one like you to help with their project?
Karen: Pretty much everyone can be found on the
internet, these days. It’s probably best
to select someone who has previous experience with the type of video you’re
planning to make. Definitely ask to see
samples of their work and if possible, get some references. There’s a very wide range of price and
ability. You don’t want to spend a lot
of money and end up with a really bad video.
Kathryn: When you’re shooting food, in particular,
what hints would you give to someone trying to organize their own project?
Karen: 1. You need to realize that the camera is not the star of
the video.
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| Kathryn tilting the macaron batter bowl for a close-up shot |
A common mistake is not realizing that the food has to be
the star of a food video. You don’t need
to do a lot of fancy moves and fly all over the place. Focus on the food. Show the person talking when they’re talking,
and show the person demonstrating when they’re demonstrating but keep returning
to the food.
2. Make the shots long enough.
Amateurs tend to be all over the place and their shots
aren’t long enough. Try to relax and pay
attention to what you’re doing. Look at your framing and what’s in the shot.
Stay in one place. I know this sounds obvious, but make sure you are recording
BEFORE the action starts. It’s really
important to get both cameras rolling for 10 to 15 seconds before you start
shooting. Make sure both cameras start and stop around the same time. Otherwise syncing the 2 cameras later will be
a nightmare. Keep the cameras focused and
rolling for 5 - 10 seconds AFTER the action stops and have your talent stay
more or less in place.
3. Lighting is key.
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| Portable and inexpensive light box will help you light your food videos |
Video needs evenly distributed light. The darker the image, the more pixilated
(grainy) it will be. As much as possible
I try to work with natural light. For an
inexpensive, multipurpose lighting solution I always bring along two soft boxes
with diffusion screens. They do a pretty decent job of providing general
lighting with minimal shadows.
Remember that if you’re shooting in natural light, the light
will shift during the day and you may need to compensate for changing hot spots
and shadows. Most editing programs have color and lighting correction filters,
but you still need to get the best initial image possible.
The Macaron Video
If you want to learn how to make French-style macarons, Karen produced 2 versions, the short version on our
website, lespetitsmacarons.com and
a slightly longer version which you can view on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1Vl4LzYx4
If you want to see some of Karen’s work with Asbury Park, NJ
teenagers go to:
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