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Owning a camcorder does not a visual storyteller make. A 30-second visit to youtube.com or any other user-generated-content video website confirms this truth. Of course, we've been aware of this ever since America's Funniest Home Videos hit the broadcast airwaves. So it's not exactly a news flash to say there is a lot of bad video being recorded on planet earth.

Most of the irritating video recording habits listed in this article are developed during the early stages of learning to use a camcorder, but sadly persist in many cases. Be assured that I am guilty on all counts, as well. But unless these habits can be overcome, your video story will be "lost in translation." Continue to practice these nasty habits and you'll annoy your audience from opening title to ending credits.

Buy and use a tripod. Unless you're a camera operator filming Earthquake 3, do not touch that record button until you've stabilized your shot. In short, if it's shakin' it ain't worth tapin'. I can't think of a faster way to render video footage unwatchable and even unusable (meaning you can not "fix it in post") than moving the camera around like the flight path of a bumblebee. Nauseating.

Think you're footage is "not that bad"? Ok, do this: Watch your raw footage with a small group of others. Painful, isn't it? And the larger the audience the greater your pain. I rest my case. Now, rest your camera on a tripod. A cheap tripod is far better than no tripod, and a great tripod is even better.

Lousy audio is almost standard in amateur video. But if we can't hear what is being said, then why are we watching this video? We won't get the message—so don't bother playing inaudible video clips. An inexpensive solution is a $25 wired lapel connected to your camcorder's mic input. A wireless microphone system in the $99 to $299 range is even better and will do wonders for your sound quality.

When learning video, everyone—and I do mean everyone—needs to shoot more close ups. The common mistake is to videotape like our eyes see—wide angle. Video is a close-up medium. The most powerful scenes and segments fill the screen with only the subject's head or head and shoulders. Yes, use the wide shot at the beginning to establish the context of the scene. But then get up-close and personal (and powerful).

I know what you're thinking: "He just said shoot close-ups, and now he's telling us zooming in is bad!" This is not a contradiction to point number three. You might need to zoom in to shoot that close-up, but don't show us that zoom on screen. Ninety percent of the time we don't need to see it. Leave the zooming on the editing room floor where no one will see it. We only need to see the result of that zooming (the close-up or wide angle shot).

Shorten those scenes! I wish I could re-edit almost all the videos I shot and edited in the 80s. They would be far better today. Alas, I thought people actually wanted to view 21-second scenes of whatever it was I was showing for 21 seconds! Watch any TV show tonight (especially any show targeting the 30-and-under crowd) and use a stopwatch to time the length of random shots throughout the show. Notice how rarely the second hand reaches five seconds. Go and do likewise.

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