To pan or not to pan

Yes Ralph. One thing that fioished me making video films was I couldn't compete with those who would go on one trip and use everything they had filmed. Good, indifferent , bad and out and out rubbish. I remember one 5 day trip to Eastern Germany where I came back with 3 minutes of usuable footage. A mild February. Grey skies. No foliage on the trees. No steam effect. I sat in the car and sulked waiting for rain. At least with rain you get steam effect and everything gets sharpened up a bit. I used to have an umbrella stuck down my back to cover me and camera. Hilarous to look at, but it worked.

Back to panning. Don't pan away from a superb glint or superb background sunrise/sunset sky! Unless by some miracle you've got superb lighting to pan on to. If not you go from wonderful glint lighting etc, to something flat and 'orrible. Ruins the shot IMHO.

One example of mine I can think of is the sequence I shot for the start of The Magic Goes On. Way before dawn with superb S African pre-dawn sky silhouettting then part glinting down the train as a 4-8-4 on long good strain tops Enslin Summit.

Shot before I got pro gear, but OK. Would love to put it on to youtube but haven't the faintest idea how to do that from VHS, (or better still from the master tape which is on High Band SP U Matic).