Tonight was supposed to result in a rather fun video of me being yoghurted, custarded and then topped with rather cold ice cream while fellating a cucumber. Sadly, the camera went a bit wrong.... and I'm left with some very blurry footage. Tonight was very last minute so I'm not overly disappointed but it would have been nice to get some decent video.

I know I need better lighting and I've an idea what I need, but what kind of camera would people recommend I use? Any suggestions gratefully received!

Camera: the best you can afford, basically.

Lots of light and a good lens.

What camera were you using there? There could have been a number of things that went wrong: a lens fault (stuck lens?); dirty lens, near foreground object fouling the auto focus. The answer is to shoot a few seconds of test beforehand to make sure the camera is behaving. We always used to shoot a back up on a laptop webcam and we always now have a monitor (or turn the viewfinder back on ourselves) so we can see what the cameras are doing at all times, even if were both on screen.

Just for a fun capture, most HD video cameras in the low hundred£ s will provide perfectly acceptable results and can be left running on a tripod whilst you have fun, but the more you pay, the better the results, of course. For lighting, a softbox kit is ideal although they take up space they are very affordable.

Autofocus performance is based VERY heavily on available light. Find the manual for your camera online, and figure out how to use its manual controls. Experiment until you find something that works with your lighting situation.

You don't need a new camera unless that one has an actual problem (read: electrical/mechanical fault) focusing.

iPhone 7
The camera records in 4k and is water resistent.

Yep. Just get a small tripod with a phone holder attachment.

What do you have?

Not only does this apply to the camera, but do you process the video? What video editing software do you use?

I use a JVC camcorder, which ran about 160 when I purchased it. It's pretty good to get the job done, but it should not be confused with a Black Magic, which runs in the neighborhood a couple of thousand dollars.

Some other things to consider are your setup. How good is your lighting? How far away from the talent is your camera? While there's no one solution to fix every problem, cameras seem to have a preferred distance to their focus that they work best at.

If you process the video afterwards, then you can do some pretty brilliant stuff. But this takes a lot of training.

Take it from a video professional: More light PLUS manual focus (not either of them separately). The still shows some way-too-dark lighting. And some autofocus mechanisms, when they lose focus lock due to too-low light levels, will drift to some default setting that is more likely than not to produce unwatchable video. No common post-production processing, such as that available in the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite, can do anything to re-focus out-of-focus material.

Thank you for the various suggestions and tips.

Last night was shot on a Fujifilm F800EXR camera which is a few years old and, as I couldn't find my tripod, was positioned on the most appropriate bit of bathroom furniture I could find. Lighting was provided by a solitary 12w fluorescent lamp and while I didn't get around to any editing (so terrible was the footage) I intended to use my old copy of Corel VideoStudio Ultimate X6. In short, it was never going to be fabulous.

I did try a test shot with the camera and it worked well; well enough until I moved, that is, then it set its focus at some entirely unhelpful point and left it there for most of the rest of the video, occasionally going back to focus on me but usually at a less than interesting bit.

So priorities seem to be lighting, more lighting, a tripod (so I can set my shots up properly) and learning to use the video mode on that camera properly. Or perhaps trying to obtain a mount for my iPad Air 2 and using that.

I think I shall have to invest in a reflector or two and some lamps, either find my old tripod or buy a new one and see how I get on. I hope to have some better video to share soon.

Thank you again for your kind assistance.

More tips about video focusing:

If you are doing a solo scene then do not simply point the camera and focus on the general area you are going to be in. Focusing on something behind your play area will probably not work once you step (or dive, as the case may be) in front of the camera.

Instead, MANUALLY focus on a substitute focus target located PRECISELY WHERE YOU WILL BE (such as in the middle of your slop pool). The target need not be anything fancy, just something that you can easily tell is in focus, such as the printing on a cake-batter box or on the side of a shaving-cream can. DO NOT USE AUTOFOCUS IF YOU ARE DOING A SOLO SCENE. Why not? Because accidentally swinging a slop coated arm or leg or other body part toward the camera may shift the focus permanently for the rest of the session. Try to keep your activities centered on where the focus target was. .

If you are using a real video camera (not a phone or tablet etc), if it has a flip-forward viewing screen, use it so you can keep track of your focus and framing (assuming you can see it through the cake batter dripping down your face). If you are using a phone or other device with a rear-only viewing screen, prop a mirror behind the camera that you can glance at occasionally, before you plunge your head in the bucket (I just LOVE face plants and bucket dunks, both watching and doing).

Anybody else need advice for getting great messy videos? Just HMU here. I work with video every day. Unfortunately I don't get slopped up nearly as often.

you need way more light

your camera will focus easier if it can detect all your edges properly