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Deciding on the camera to useThere are three types of cameras available designed to take moving pictures.Film CamerasFilm cameras are generally used for Hollywood movies and some advertising. They produce extremely high quality results. There are a number of different gauges (widths) available. Mainstream choices are Super 8mm, 16mm & Super 16mm, 35mm and Super 35mm. Larger film gauges mean greater resolution, larger bulkier cameras and greater expense in purchasing the equipment and processing the film. 35mm film cameras are mostly the domain of Hollywood, 16mm varieties are used for documentaries and Super 8 is used for amateur filming and for special effects mainly in advertising.Analogue Video CamerasAnalogue video cameras are used mainly by consumers. Analogue video formats include Betamax, VHS, Video 8mm and Hi8 which are all consumer varieties and Beta SP, which is an older professional format, still widely used. Analogue video is usually a lower resolution than its digital counterpart and is fast becoming obsolete. High end analogue video cameras are used when cost is important and sometimes produce a smoother look that digital video cameras.Digital Video CamerasDigital Cameras include miniDV, Digital8, hard disk drive, microMV and DVDcam which are consumer formats, and DVCam and DigiBetacam which are professional formats. In choosing a video camera you should aim for 3CCD if you can afford it. If not try to find one with the largest CCD and the highest number of megamixels. MicroMV, Hard disk drive and DVDCam are low quality compared to others as they are highly compressed formats. Digital cameras are generally more complex than their analog counterparts, with controls accessible through an internal menu, rather than an extrenal control on the camera itself. Hence, you need to read the technical manuals that come with the camera and understand them thoroughly. These days it is possible to buy Hi Definition HDV video cameras that can produce some stunning results in good light. SP vs LP modeAlways shoot in SP mode. LP mode degrades the quality. It records the same amount of footage in less space at the expense of quality.PlanningThink about the story that you want to capture. Check the camera is working. Ensure you have enough spare batteries & tape or memory cards. Charge your batteries before shooting. Find the best vantage points that will look good on video. Shoot with the sun behind you. If you are interviewing people, consider preparing your subject beforehand. Work out where you want the subject to be in your shot. Do you want a head shot, an upper body shot, a full body shot or a distance shot? Is the subject going to appear in the left hand, right hand or centre of the image? Do you need backlight set on or off? Other there other settings that need to be adjusted?Date/Time ImprintIn order to get a professional look, ensure that the date/time stamp remains off. Once it is there, it cannot be removed later. If you must have a date/time stamp, then just shoot a few seconds at the beginning of the day. Just take a few seconds and then turn it off if necessary at the beginning of the day. It can always be added in the post production stage so that it looks like it should be there, for example as a title page. Label the outside of the tape or memory card and set the tape or card to lock to stop you recording over the work that you have just created.Framing, Zooming and PanningZooming and panning is used to reframe from one image to another and should be used sparingly. Always zoom or pan very slowly and steadily. Failure to do so will make your footage appear amateur and difficult to follow. Also hold the shot for a few seconds before and after the pan or zoom. Keep the camera steady. The camera is designed to watch moving pictures not move. Hold the shot. Movements should be very slow. A tripod, minitripod or monopod can make life much easier in steadying the shot. This is often the thing that more than anything else defines the work as amateur or professional.Focus, Iris and White BalanceManual FocusAlways use manual focus over auto focus to avoid the constant refocusing. Manually you can concentrate your focusing on the subject you want the viewers to see not always what is in the centre of the picture.Manual IrisYour video can suddenly turn dark when something bright goes through the scene. This is because the auto iris is set to a certain amount of light. If you override the auto iris this will never happen again. Learn the proper light level allowed to enter your lens by shooting near your television, ride the iris up and down and look at your TV, if the iris is up to high your TV will show an over modulated picture. Turn down the iris until the picture is just slightly over modulated, then look in your viewfinder, you will notice that the picture is slightly washed out, turn down the iris until the picture in the viewfinder no longer looks washed out. Look at your TV. Next turn down the iris until the picture is slightly too dark and look in the viewfinder, turn up the iris to the point before it starts to wash out. When you start shooting with manual iris and something bright passes through the picture leave the iris alone, it looks more natural that way, unless the bright object stays in the picture, in that case slowly turn down the iris to compensate.Manual White BalanceColours sometimes look good and sometimes look bad This is because the auto white balance has not had a chance to adjust to the lighting conditions. If you set the white balance manually this will never happen again. To set the white balance manually, simply point your camera at a white card and hit the white balance control. Repeat the process at every light level change, moving from indoor to outdoor (& vice versa).ViewfinderThe viewfinder can sometimes appear fuzzy and hard to see through. The diopter control on your viewfinder lets you adjust the viewfinder to your own eyesight. Other controls give important information such as if there is no tape in the camera, no battery, how much recording time is left on your tape, and whether there is adequate light for shooting.SoundUse an external microphone and headphones and have the microphone as close as possible to the sound you are recording. The closer the microphone, the less background noise to cause a noticeable distraction. Use the manual gain control rather than the automatic gain. The AGC will increase its sensitivity until it picks up some audio even when there is nothing you want to hear. This can result in noise from air conditioning, wind or even the tape mechanism from your camera. Instead use the manual gain control. Perform a sound check to ensure that levels are correct and then ride times when the speaker speaks softer or louder. If in a very windy area consider using foam rubber or other protection around the mike to stop the noise.LightingAlways try and have the light source coming from behind you. Avoid backlight as a strong light source behind your subject will place it in silhouette. Fortunately, most modern camcorders can correct this problem. Shooting in low light will make your pictures look grainy, out of focus and without colour.Use a TripodA tripod, minitripod or monopod will aid you to Always keep your camera level and steady. Too much hand-held camerawork tends to make viewers dizzy. Placing the camera on a tripod allows for smooth operation and visual relief. When shooting for a long time or when shooting distance shots, a tripod will reduce the amount of shake, making the footage much more viewable. When selecting a tripod make sure it has a fluid head for smooth tilts and pans and make sure it has a bubble level.Vary Your ShotsMove the camera to different positions to capture your subject from different angles. Don't stay wide or close the entire time. Capturing a larger portion of the event will give a better perspective.Special effectsUse them sparingly. These can be added post production and will always look better. The rule is less is more. |
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