These are the things you'll need to shoot video for a Rosetime.
1. A camcorder with a microphone input jack. Microphone input jacks are small and red in color. About half of the camcorders sold have them and half do not.
If yours doesn't, you might check around to see if you can borrow a friend's camcorder. While it's best to use a digital camcorder, analog camcorders can also work okay for this kind of thing. Someone will have to convert the analog video to digital, though. That can take some time and effort. We need more public institutions that can perform that kind of service for a reasonable fee.
2. You'll need a tripod. Consumer camcorders fit on the same tripods as still camera tripods. Be wary of the lowest price tripods -- those selling for under $20. I recently discovered that a low-priced Vivitar tripod was no fun to use at all.
3. You'll need a clip-on (lavalier) microphone. These sell for about $30 to $35 via various mail-order companies or in video supply stores. Azden is a good brand, as is Audio Technica. Radio Shack also sells clip on microphones that work pretty well. Here is one mail-order source.
4. You'll need some lighting. One affordable way to do lighting is to get some aluminum clasp reflector lights at Home Depot. These sell for about $7 to $12. Buy some bulbs with the highest wattage that the clasp lamp allows. (i.e. 100 watts or brighter.)
The best lighting for the human face is lighting that comes from above, at various angles. (Such lighting avoids shadows on the face.) Rigging up clasp lights is not always easy. Use your creativity. You might try attaching your clasp light to the top of a standing halogen light stand -- making sure the halogen light is not turned on. Clasp lights tend to spontaneously fall off whatever they are attached to. You might want to use duct tape to avoid that from happening.
You might need one or more extension cords to position the lights where you want them.
Here are some ideas for how to do lighting on the cheap --
1. Mount your clasp light at the top of a cheap tripod (as in the Vivitar tripod mentioned above.) Raise the tripod to its highest level. Place the tripod on a bed or on 3 chairs, so that the light falls down on your face when you're sitting in front of the camcorder.
2. Ask a friend or family member to hold the bottom of the tripod such that the clasp light is high in the air. Ask them if they need to go to the bathroom before the video shoot starts. Try to get the lights as close as possible to you while keeping them outside of the view of the camcorder. 3. Read up about lighting principles on the Internet. Search for 3-point lighting.
5. You'll need a dark background, preferably solid in color. A bookcase works okay, as long as it is not covered in glass. Standing pianos can also make for a good video backdrop.
You might also want to use a dark colored sheet or piece of plastic. A dark blue tableroll plastic (available at party supply stores for under $15) can work well. These tablerolls are usually 40 inches wide and 100 feet long. You can create 5 (or more) backdrops with that much plastic.
The worst backgrounds you can use are a white-colored wall or a window with sunlight coming thru it. Camcorders are looking for light. If the majority of light they see is coming from the background, they won't see you.
6. You'll need a dark, solid color shirt. Actually, any shirt that doesn't have narrow stripes, intricate patterns or isn't white, will probably work. You should probably avoid red shirts.
Tips on Getting Ready for Your Video Shoot
Load your videotape into your camcorder. Try out your clip on microphone to make sure it works. Most camcorders have a built-in speaker. Don't worry if you don't sound loud from your camcorder's speakers. Some camcorder speakers are very small.
Switch off the clip on microphone's battery so that it doesn't run down before your video shoot.