Those of us with video cameras know how exciting a model train can look when we photograph it from trackside. Or, for that matter, how real trackside may look when we put a camera on the train. Still photos are fine for "portraits" of engines, people, scenery, and trains snaking across a vista. But the essence of any train, real or model, is motion, and there the video camera excels.

For those among us without video equipment, a suggestion: Talk a friend into shooting movies of your layout. Looking at a model railroad from the perspective of a three inch tall man will open your eyes. You'll come up with creative new ideas. You'll notice what plants seem most realistic. You'll pay more attention to the subtleties of color on your layout. You'll become more sensitive to running trains at scale speeds. As your favorite Mogul jerks abruptly into a four foot radius curve, you may even realize why some people are so insistent on transition curves and wide radii. But most of all, you'll probably get as big a kick out of the video of your railroad as you did the first time your ran an electric train.

If the video demonstrates a little photographic skill and artistry, you'll be that much more delighted.

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

As some of you may know, my background is in television news. I was a reporter and worked hand-in-glove with some excellent photographers. Along the way I absorbed a few very basic rules about how they shot video. As best as I remember, here they are:

1. Always use a tripod or, if you are on the ground, a beanbag rest-unless it is impossible. The biggest difference between the casual amateur and the more experienced shooter is a shaky picture. It distracts from the action and the subject matter and usually is unnecessary, especially if you are "staging" action shots.
2. Avoid "jump cuts". Here is an example of a jump cut: Shot A is of your caboose from fifteen feet away. Shot B is of the caboose from four feet away. When one shot follows the other, the size of the caboose suddenly "jumps", becoming larger or smaller, and that tends to be jarring. To avoid a jump cut...
3. Use "cutaways". A cutaway is usually a generic shot, and usually related to what comes before or after. Example: You videotape an engineer talking. Shot A is a long shot. Shot B is a close-up. Between them, insert Shot C, a close-up of the engineer's fingers drumming on a grab iron as he speaks. You have cut away to a different but related subject for a couple of seconds to prevent the occurrence of a jump cut. Another example: You are trying to create the illusion of distance on your layout. Shot A is of the locomotive rounding a curve adjacent to a rock. Shot B is of the caboose disappearing around the opposite side of the same rock. It may be possible to disguise the fact the shots are related if you insert a cutaway between them. The cutaway could be a tight shot of the freight car trucks passing in front of a nondescript background. And it may suggest the train has traveled a long distance between shots A and B instead of only five inches.
4. Minimize the use of the "zoom". It is a special effect and its best use is to draw attention to a small spot in a bigger scene (zoom in) or to show the subject's relationship to its larger surroundings (zoom out).
5. Hold shots for at least three seconds unless you specifically want a choppy effect. But also avoid holding a shot so long the viewers' attention wanders. For instance, it is unnecessary to hold a shot until every car in the train has passed in front of the lens unless the train is short.
6. Avoid distracting backgrounds. A full size house or person or tree behind your miniature train will look both out of scale and inappropriate. Either try the shot from a different angle or focus tightly on the subject so the background will be out of focus and unrecognizable. If nothing else works, you might try using a backdrop of sky blue cardboard, but be careful no shadows appear on the backdrop.
7. Use "autofocus" carefully. The automatic focusing feature on most camcorders tends continually to "seek" the image. That means the picture may keep going in and out of focus. If you disable the autofocus and, instead, set your focus for a specific point, the train will come into focus when it arrives at that point. Notice how often camera operators use that technique in television shows and movies.
8. Fill the viewfinder with the subject unless you specifically want a wide shot. Many inexperienced photographers tend to stand too far away from the subject. The resulting image may show a lot of territory but too little of what is really important. Closer shots do more than emphasize the subject; they disguise the fact that our trains are models. Besides, close-ups are dramatic.
9. Vary the point of view. Take some shots from below track level, some from above, and others from the height of a scale size man. Take wide shots, close-ups, shots from the train, and shots from trackside. Shoot from behind trees, beneath bridges, or through the tunnel. A train is a train, after all; it's up to us to keep it interesting.
10. Remember the basic rule of composition: Divide every scene into thirds. You may find your shots more pleasing if you keep the subject in the right or left third or on the top or bottom third of the viewfinder. In other words, avoid placing the subject in the center of every shot. When it does appear there, it will have much more impact.

    FEATURES

    In everyday shooting you have to grab shots as you can. So raw footage is often full of jump cuts, zooms and, if there was no time to set up the tripod, shaky images. That is why professionals spend so much time in the editing booth. A good editor may turn chicken grit into chicken salad.

    For many of us, proper editing facilities are a luxury. But most cameras now have "edit search" buttons you push to advance or reverse tape. They show the recorded image in the viewfinder so you may edit as you shoot.

    When we "stage" events on our layouts for video photography, we have the luxury of "scripting" things beforehand. With judicious use of the edit search feature, we may record exactly what we want in the order we want it, cutaways and all. In theory, it is possible to go from the backyard to the television in the living room with a perfect videotape.

    Finally, the fade-in, fade-out feature. Think of it as a way to create "chapters" in your videotape: You fade into a shot of the switcher making up a train in the yard. All other cuts in the tape are normal until the last shot in your backyard where the caboose disappears into a tunnel. Then you fade out. When you fade in again, the same train is on somebody else's layout. You have closed the chapter on your own trackage and opened the next chapter on a friend's.

    And now a small admission: I know the title promised sex and lies. Well, there will be no sex; I lied.