Art Vandelay
30-04-2012, 11:29am
I have to say video on dslr or video in general is a whole new ball game with regard to how much to learn..
Have recently started mucking around with it with a view to documenting a few fishing trips & a bit of family stuff.
So here's a couple of tips from an absolute newbie perspective using both my weeks of experience to draw on :p
Shutter speed. Ignore your shutter speed in the conventional sense. For fluid video use double the frame rate of the video. ie 24fps use 1/50, for 30fps use 1/60. google 180 degree shutter rule. It takes a while to get your head around this. (like anything, rules can be broken.. but that's a common technique for fluid video that pleases the eye, and also what you're used to seeing on TV & cinemas).
Aperture & ISO are the same.
Correct exposure can be a problem. You basically have to shut out a fair bit of light. Particularly if using wider apertures. You can't just up your shutter speed to get the correct exposure. (see above).
ie a regular sunny day exposure of f/16, ISO 100 & 1/100 (or 1/125) is difficult. To get that shutter speed down to 1/50 or 1/60 you need a smaller aperture. You can see then the problem of wanting to use a wider aperture, you need an ND filter to shut some light out.
Correct video is all about nice smooth controlled camera movements. Making people seasick isn't the aim. Besides a tripod, there's a bunch of other gizmos for stabilizing and allowing smooth camera movement. Also, Don't zoom while filming. Move the camera.
Video is done in live view. In harsh sunlight it is a bitch to see it properly. Those viewfinder extension thingos would make good sense.
Focusing is also an art.
Software & rendering your film: A collection of small interesting clips is more interesting than one long session. The whole art of story telling in a film is a huuuge technique to try and learn too.
Windows movie maker seems to work ok for basic stuff. Without spending a fortune I've found this one pretty good for my use in boats etc as the stabiliser after effect works pretty well to sttle some camera motion problems.
http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/use_en_AU.html
If for anything other than your own use, you need to use royalty free music or have the permission off the artist..even for youtube.. try this one http://www.freestockmusic.com/login/
Here's a little practice clip knocked up the other day, it was an excersise to start learning how to control the camera, mainly to keep the horizon still in the moving boat, and then learning the software and rendering in different file types to see how it all works.
A couple of things learnt. A CPL was used to shut down some light. Not very sucessfully. You can see as panning across the sky the angle to the cpl changed & the sky colour doesn't remain consistant. Also the horizons are crooked. Focusing in this situation is relatively easy. Wide lens, Small aperture
17-40 on a 5dmkiii. 1920 30fps IPB
Shutter speed 1/60, ISO 100, around f/11, f/13 or so. (can't remember exactly)
Used a cpl to shut out some light. Have just ordered a ND filter to use instead (or as well).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjJGUIedCzI&feature=g-upl
Any tips from you more experienced souls would be greatly appreciated.
Have recently started mucking around with it with a view to documenting a few fishing trips & a bit of family stuff.
So here's a couple of tips from an absolute newbie perspective using both my weeks of experience to draw on :p
Shutter speed. Ignore your shutter speed in the conventional sense. For fluid video use double the frame rate of the video. ie 24fps use 1/50, for 30fps use 1/60. google 180 degree shutter rule. It takes a while to get your head around this. (like anything, rules can be broken.. but that's a common technique for fluid video that pleases the eye, and also what you're used to seeing on TV & cinemas).
Aperture & ISO are the same.
Correct exposure can be a problem. You basically have to shut out a fair bit of light. Particularly if using wider apertures. You can't just up your shutter speed to get the correct exposure. (see above).
ie a regular sunny day exposure of f/16, ISO 100 & 1/100 (or 1/125) is difficult. To get that shutter speed down to 1/50 or 1/60 you need a smaller aperture. You can see then the problem of wanting to use a wider aperture, you need an ND filter to shut some light out.
Correct video is all about nice smooth controlled camera movements. Making people seasick isn't the aim. Besides a tripod, there's a bunch of other gizmos for stabilizing and allowing smooth camera movement. Also, Don't zoom while filming. Move the camera.
Video is done in live view. In harsh sunlight it is a bitch to see it properly. Those viewfinder extension thingos would make good sense.
Focusing is also an art.
Software & rendering your film: A collection of small interesting clips is more interesting than one long session. The whole art of story telling in a film is a huuuge technique to try and learn too.
Windows movie maker seems to work ok for basic stuff. Without spending a fortune I've found this one pretty good for my use in boats etc as the stabiliser after effect works pretty well to sttle some camera motion problems.
http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/use_en_AU.html
If for anything other than your own use, you need to use royalty free music or have the permission off the artist..even for youtube.. try this one http://www.freestockmusic.com/login/
Here's a little practice clip knocked up the other day, it was an excersise to start learning how to control the camera, mainly to keep the horizon still in the moving boat, and then learning the software and rendering in different file types to see how it all works.
A couple of things learnt. A CPL was used to shut down some light. Not very sucessfully. You can see as panning across the sky the angle to the cpl changed & the sky colour doesn't remain consistant. Also the horizons are crooked. Focusing in this situation is relatively easy. Wide lens, Small aperture
17-40 on a 5dmkiii. 1920 30fps IPB
Shutter speed 1/60, ISO 100, around f/11, f/13 or so. (can't remember exactly)
Used a cpl to shut out some light. Have just ordered a ND filter to use instead (or as well).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjJGUIedCzI&feature=g-upl
Any tips from you more experienced souls would be greatly appreciated.