few questions
how many angles should i get of one flourish?
is there any software to help with filming or editing and what software should i use to be able to use my computer as a monitor for the camera?
which is better more lighting or less lighting?
what sort of location should iuse?
I don't really shoot too much cardistry but I like to think I know a bit about video production.
"How many angles should I get of one flourish?"
I think the more impressive the flourish is, you could get 2 or 3. But if its a simple charlier (I hope thats how it's spelled) cut, its probably useless. While shooting, I would try to get 2 different angles of each flourish. Maybe get a whole routine down and shoot that a couple times from a different angle. Its always better to have footage and not need it than it is to need footage and not have it. So as long as you have space on your camera, shoot as much as you want.
"Is there any software to help with filming or editing and what software should i use to be able to use my computer as a monitor for the camera?"
A good cheap software to use is Sony Vegas Movie Studio (if you use a PC). You can do cool resizing, coloring, and custom texts, its only about $40 and you get a lot more than what you pay for. But, if you aren't really looking into buying a software, you can get the free trial.
And you should be able to use your computer monitor if you have the right cables. Most professional cameras and DSLRs have mini HDMI outputs that you could get an adapter to thunderbolt or VGA depending on what kind of computer you have. If your camera doesn't have an HDMI output, it probably cam with an RCA cable that goes into the camera, get an RCA adapter to fit your computer monitor and you should be fine. If you're not going to be shooting wherever your computer is though, I suggest you get a small LCD monitor that hooks up to your camera if you need that extra screen-space.
"which is better more lighting or less lighting?"
It really depends on what you're going for. Sometimes you could have the whole room dark and have just your body lit, or you might want nice wide lighting. This is mainly something you're going to have to mess with and find out what you want.
"what sort of location should i use?"
Again, this is something you're going to have to figure out on your own. What do you want the feel of the video to be? What locations around you do you think are cool? Cardistry looks pretty good just about anywhere, from a desert to a rooftop to a bedroom to a basement. It's all about what you want the video to look like and when you find out your location, you can then find out what kind of lighting you want.
Hopefully I was helpful to you, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.
