Shoot a Better Railroad Video

I don't follow all of these rules all of the time but I try. Most of this also applies to still photography.

1. Use a Tripod - the more telephoto you're using the more important this gets. My 9 year old Sony Digital-8 camera zooms up to 25x optically and up to 450x digitally. I think digital zoom is practically useless since the image "pixalates" more and more as you increase digital zoom. I would avoid digital zoom unless it's a once-in-a-lifetime shot. Having your camcorder on a tripod also leaves your hands free for shooting with your still camera. I shoot a lot more stills than video.
   
2. Edit your shots severely. I use Pinnacle Studio software for editing. I also use Windows Movie Maker that come with Windows XP and Vista if I just want a Windows Movie (wmv) file. If you have an analog digital camcorder you can find adapters like Pinnacle's "MovieBox" that will take analog video and audio and convert it for input to one of your computer's USB ports. Digital camcorders connect to your computer with USB or Firewire ports. Adapters are also good for digitizing your old VHS tapes. The severity of editing becomes more important if you're shooting for the web. You can lengthen the time of the finished video for home viewing.
   
3. Use The Sun - Good illumination comes from your position relative to the train you're shooting. That means have the sun behind you so the train is not in the shadows. This is not always possible due to terrain or property restrictions or a number of other things but try. On East-West tracks this means shooting from the South side of the tracks (if you are in the Northern hemisphere - down under, reverse all this). On North-South tracks shoot fro the East side in the morning and the West side in the afternoon. I find this rule the hardest of all to follow.
4. Shoot Low, Shoot High - Camera positions looking up at the subject will make it look larger. Camera positions looking down at the subject will enhance speed. Mix it up, don't make every shot look like it was shot from the same position and height. I often forget this in my photography.
   
5. Wave - A wave for the train crew will get you a horn toot in response more times than not. I almost always get a toot from the engineer when I'm on a passenger platform or I'm easily visible on a road overpass bridge above the tracks. If you're at a grade crossing you are going to get horns anyway where permitted.
   
6. Prepare - Have the camcorder and tripod in the car with you as much as possible. You just don't know when a unique photo opportunity is going to present itself.