Wherever possible, try to control your surroundings when filming, to minimise any unwanted noise. Avoid locations with a lot of reverberation.

Make sure that each source tape is given a unique and easily identifiable name on both the tape case and the tape itself. Use this same unique name when entering the tape or reel name in your NLE.

Instead of using the mode buttons on the timeline, set up workspaces customized for how you like each interface to look. Then use the command palette to map the workspace menus to the timeline or composer windows.

When capturing HDV, try using the HDV to ProRes through firewire settings as these will cause much less problems later on with the Media Manager and integration with other applications in Final Cut Studio 2. The footage becomes frames based rather than GOP based; basically it plays a lot better.

The pixel dimensions of a DVD frame are only 720 x 576. Therefore, displaying small text and detailed diagrams can be problematic. Use a resolution of 72dpi and keep your text point size above 16ppt. Text below 16ppt will be illegible.

Shooting video to look good on the web is more demanding than shooting video for television. The video will be heavily compressed before it is streamed and then viewed on the Internet. Any picture content that gives the codecs more work results in image quality deterioration.

If you shoot video with the camera in your hands, every slight move you make is translated into change between frames. This makes the compression process very difficult and often results in blocky pixel movements on the streamed product. Try to shoot on a tripod.