- We're seeing a lot more "junk" too, from people who haven't studied their craft

Award-winning video producer Ron Dawson at daredreamer.net shares his thoughts on the "DSLR-revolution", and gives us some good advice on the windy road of video storytelling.

- To me it's all about the story. I think that's my strongest skillset as a filmmaker. Taking disparate selection of audio, music, video, and/or stills, then combining and juxtaposing them in a way to tell a compelling story. I'm always looking and listening for that shot or soundbite that will pack the most emotional punch, tells Dawson.

When shooting, I keep most of it in my head. I'll just remember which parts of an interview, or part of a shoot had a particular moment I know I want to use. It's kind of like that game with the cards where you turn them all over then take turns lifting them up one by one, looking for the match. Or the iPhone game "Jirbo Match." You have to remember where you've seen a certain card and animal, then match it with its pair. When editing a piece, that's what it's like for me. As I scrub through footage, I'm looking for that match of audio and video from the day that go together perfectly.

I'm also a rather sensitive person at heart. Probably due to being raised by a single mom for most of my formative years as a child. So that plays a large role in my attraction to and ability to tell emotional stories. It's just a part of who I am. I will always pick emotion over visual flash or flare. It a piece is technically perfect visually, but lack emotion, who cares.

But even a relative poorly shot film that touches you in some way, will be timeless. (There's a reason the highest watched video on YouTube are funny ones, even when the video quality is horrible.)

The original "Lens and Learn" from director Don Rawson

I think a lot of photographers were slow to adopt the video capabilities of the new DSLRs. Many saw it as a "fad." But as I thought would be the case, more and more are adopting it into their repertoire. Particularly as high profile photogs like Chase Jarvis and Vincent Laforet pave the way. They don't even really considering themselves "photographers" any more. Chase will say he's a photographer and director (but it seems like he blogs way more about his video work). And Vincent refers to himself as a cinematographer and now uses the company name Laforet Visuals. We'll see more and more of a "trickle down effect" as high profile photos lead the way.

"Lens and Learn" with video commentary from director Don Rawson Before HD DSLRs came out, I was getting bored with shooting. I was too crazy about getting behind the camera. I work with shooters all over the country, so unless a project really appealed to me, or was for a big client, I would assign someone else. But, shooting with the HD DSLRs has made shooting fun again. I feel like I did when I was back in film and video school. I love the visual capabilities and results you get. I love the challenge and deciding which lens to pick and why.

At the same time, I don't want to over-do it. I see a lot of DSLR videos that are overbaked. Too much shallow DoF. Too many rack focus shots. Tilt shift shots thrown in for now apparent reason. It was what prompted me to write one of my most popular blog articles, "You Might Be Watching a DSLR Film If..." The shallow DoF and other capabilities of the DSLR is no different than any other tool.

They need to be used to serve the story. Throwing in too many overbaked shallow DoF shots just because you can, is just like when a studio throws in a bunch of unnecessary special effects. As filmmakers were need to be intentional about every shot, audio bite, and editing decision we make. That includes how, why, and when you color correct a piece too.

Honestly, I don't even think of it as a "revolution" any more. It's a natural part of the filmmaking world. They've proven themselves and they are here to stay. We're just going to see more and more advances to the camera that will address specific filmmaker issues (e.g. firmware updates, etc.)

Because the of low price threshold hold. we're seeing a lot more filmmakers coming into the biz. As Magic Bullet co-creator and filmmaker Stu Maschuwitz proclaimed, there's no excuse any more for us not to be out there doing great work. That's the good. But it's also the bad. Now we're seeing a lot more "junk" too from people who haven't studied their craft. It will make it harder for the gems to stand out.

So we all need to step up our game if we want to get noticed and make it in this biz. But, that's what keeps films evolving and stories improving. So all in all, it's all good!

Ron is an accomplished screenwriter, director, award-winning video producer, speaker, business coach, and author. For two consecutive years he was named to the EventDV 25, one of the top 25 event videographers in the industry as voted by his peers. Ron is also producer and host of the popular photography industry podcast F-Stop Beyond and the filmmakers podcast "Crossing the 180."

He writes a weekly blog about business, branding and the visual arts at bladeronner.com. Ron is co-author of the PeachPit Press book "ReFocus: Cutting Edge Strategies to Evolve Your Video Business."