BLOG QUESTION: LENS COMPOSITION AND CAMERA ANGLES

What do long shots, medium shots and close up shots mean in relation to each other?

Long shots can be used to establish location and context for a scene. It usually includes the entire body of a subject, and a large portion of the surrounding area. A Medium shot reduces the amount of background shown, but it enhances the details of a subject. Usually, the subject is shown from above the knees and up. A close up focuses more on the subject, emphasizing their acting and emotions. They can be used to show particular details of a character, especially facial expressions.

BLOG QUESTION: SHOT FRAMING

What are the key differences between full, medium and close up shots?  How does this apply to over the shoulder shots?  Two shots?  How do different lenses affect these shots?

A full shot includes the entire subject's body in frame, from head to toe. A medium shot cuts in a bit closer, cutting off the subject somewhere between the knees and the waist in the frame. Close shots cut the subject off from the chest and up. Lastly, a close-up cuts off a subject from their neckline and up to the top of the head, and zooming in to cut off part of the forehead and neck can be referred to as an extreme close-up. You can do all of these for over the shoulder shots, depending on how far you want your subjects to be from each other in frame. For two shots, you can also use all of these shots, without having to move your subjects too far from each other. Different lenses can affect the depth of field/perspective of the shot, a. For example, if you were to shoot a full body shot of a subject with a 16mm lens, you would only need to go a couple of feet away from them to get their full body in frame. With a 300mm lens, you would have to go very far from the subject, and the objects in the background would appear closer than they actually are if you were to film with the 16mm lens, because the DOF would change.

BLOG QUESTION: BENRO TRIPOD REVIEW

What are three key things to remember after watching this video when using the Benro tripod?

Always make sure that your counterbalance is set correctly. There are 4 settings (1= 5.5 lb, 2= 9.9 lb, 3= 14.3 lb, 4=17.6 lb). Set it to the first page to start off, and adjust it accordingly.You can move the plate forward/backwards to find the center of balance of the camera. You can lock it, and turn the dampening of the fluid head all the way up. This will allow you to tilt your camera into different positions, and when you let go, it will freeze its movement, allowing for a smooth tilt. It's also important to keep the weight of your camera in mind in order to set the correct counterbalance. Some camera weights might be in between two settings, so you’ll have to adjust the plate forwards/backwards accordingly. If your camera still tilts slightly down after you let go, you might want to not let go of it at all when panning.

BLOG QUESTION: LEAD ROOM

What is look room? What is lead room? What are they important to the video you are shooting?

Look room is the amount of space in front of a subjects gaze. You should follow the rule of thirds  and position the subjects eyes on the top third line on an intersect point, leaving a space of 2/3 in front of their face (unless you want to use short-siding to emphasize tension in your film). This is important because it mimics social interactions in real life. Your gaze follows the space between two people having a conversation (the look room space) and ignores the space behind them. Lead room is the space in front of a moving subject. This is important because it gives the viewer a sense of direction and allows them to see where the subject is heading. You can also break this rule to create a feeling of claustrophobia for your audience.

BLOG QUESTION: HEADROOM

 

What is headroom? Why is it important to the videos you are making?

Headroom is the space between the top of the subjects head and the frame. It's important to have the right amount of headroom, because if you have too little of it, the shot will crop the subjects head and make the shot feel claustrophobic. If theres too much headroom, it can make the shot feel unbalanced. If you follow the rule of thirds when filming, you can have the right amount of headroom by placing the subjects eyes on the top line. This will work in most circumstances, but not always, but its still a helpful guide. The rule of thirds wouldn't work for wide shots or close ups of someones face. However, you can also break/bend this rule depending on what kind of shot you’re trying to film. For example, if you wanted to film a character thats going through grief, having a wide shot with a lot of headroom can make the audience feel like theres a weight on the characters shoulders.

BLOG QUESTION: HAND HOLDING CAMERA

 What are three key tips to hand-holding your camcorder?  How can you implement these starting today?

It’s important to hold the camera close to your body, with your elbows close to your sides. Relax your shoulders so you won’t tense up. This way you keep the camera more stable and it won’t be as tiring. You also don’t want to zoom in too much. When you zoom in, it’s harder to keep the subject in focus, and it also emphasizes small movements, making your footage more shaky. You can also try mounting the camera on your shoulder to put less stress on your arms. All of these tips are helpful, and I can implement them during the scavenger hunt assignment while filming my partner, and I can keep the zoom tip in mind when I'm filming the flower.

BLOG QUESTION: FRAMING GOOD SHOTS

What is headroom? What is look room? What lead room? Why are each of these important for your composition?

Headroom is the space between the top of someone's head and the top of the frame. It is important to have just the right amount of headroom so your subject doesn't look like they're about to pop out or sink out of frame (position the subject’s eyes on the top third imaginary line). Look room is the space that you leave in front of someone’s face on the screen. If you don’t leave enough look room, your subject will appear to be boxed-in, and if you want to give the impression that the person is looking/talking to someone off screen, it won't be communicated well. Moving objects require "lead room.", which allows extra space in front of a moving subject so that the viewer can see that it has someplace to go.

BLOG QUESTION: GAIN IN VIDEOGRAPHY

What is gain in video? What is it used for? What are some risks using it?

Gain controls the light sensitivity of the camera. It is mainly used to brighten the low lit or dark videos. You want to use the least amount of gain when filming, because it creates noise (static) in your video. Lower gain results in less noise and a sharper image, while higher gain creates more noise, softening your image. Having a high grain can lessen your video quality, so you only want to use it at night (you should always try to adjust exposure through organic ways before turning up the gain).

BLOG QUESTION: THE ND FILTER

What is an ND filter? Why should you use an ND filter while shooting video?

The ND filter is like sunglasses for your camera. It allows you to keep your ISO, shutter, and F-Stop the same while fixing the exposure of a video. You can use them anytime, but they really good for outside environments in daylight that are overexposed. You will want to use an ND filter if you want to adjust your exposure up and down if you’re shooting different subjects, or if you want to shoot at a wider aperture to maintain a shallow DOF.

BLOG QUESTION: CONTROLLING EXPOSURE

What are the key principles needed to control the exposure of your image? What does each of them do?

The key principals needed to control the exposure are adjusting the shutter speed, aperture, gain/ISO control, and ND filters. Shutter speed controls how long the light falls on the sensor,  affecting the motion blur of a video. A higher shutter speed reduces the amount of light and motion blur, and a lower shutter speed does vice versa. Aperture controls how much light falls on the sensor, through adjusting the iris. The wider the iris is, the more light gets in. The aperture also controls the DOF (depth of field) which is the area that is in focus. Large apertures give a shallow depth of field, which can be enough to have a person’s head in focus and the area behind them blurry, and Small apertures give a deep depth of field, which can keep both the person and the background in focus. Lastly, the gain/ISO controls the light sensitivity of the camera. Lower gain results in less noise and a sharper image, and higher gain creates more noise and a softer image. Lastly, you can block the amount of light getting into a camera by using ND filters, which almost act as "sunglasses" for your camera. These can be very useful if you want to have a wide aperture in bright sunlight.

 

BLOG QUESTION: FOCUS & EXPOSURE

What do focus and exposure do? How do you check to see if your subject is in focus when shooting? How do you check to make sure your subject is exposed correctly?

Focus allows your camera to focus on a certain object of your video, making the main subject sharper and everything else softer which enhances the look of your video. To check if your video is in focus, you can either look at the digital display (not always recommended as it can be deceptive) or you can go into the menu and turn on “Peaking” which will outline the objects that are in focus. Exposure controls the amount of light that comes through the camera, allowing you to make your image brighter/darker. To make sure your subject is exposed correctly, you can set your camera to auto-iris and then manual-iris and adjust it from there while looking at the image in the viewfinder/display screen. You can also use a feature called zebra stripes, which can help you judge the exposure.

BLOG QUESTION: FOCUSING

Why is focusing important? What is the best way to focus a video camera?

focusing is important because it is important to have a clear and sharp image in order to be considered a professional videographer. The best way to focus a video camera is to have your focus set to manual. If you’re trying to focus onto a subject, you should start off by being fully zoomed into your subjects eyes. Next, adjust your focus (wheel/ring) and zoom out. This way will ensure that your camera will always stay focused on the subject, even if u choose to zoom or adjust your shot again.

BLOG QUESTION: WHITE BALANCE

What is white balance? What color is outside lighting vs. inside lighting? Why is it important to white-balance your camera?

White balance is the color balance of an image, or the temperature. Outside lighting at daylight is 5600k while inside lighting is 3200K. It’s important to white balance your camera anytime the lighting condition changes (indoors & outdoors, change in sunlight/lighting) because it adjusts the temperature/colors of an image depending on what kind of lighting you’re shooting in.

BLOG QUESTION: HORROR FILM CHALLENGE STATUS

How did your Horror Filmmaking Challenge go over the week? What were some of the challenges that you encountered? How did you overcome them? What do you still have left to do?

My group's horror film-making went pretty well. We got most of our filming done on Tuesday, and we only had to film the plot twist the following day. We didn't really encounter any challenges while filming, but we did have to "wing" some of our shots and add last minute shots to our shot-list. That didn't really add any complications to our project, as they fit into our story pretty well. Our video is edited and uploaded to Youtube, so we don't really have anything else to do.

BLOG QUESTION: SONY FS5 WALKTHROUGH

What are some key features of the Sony FS5 camcorder? What are three things you'd like to learn more about it in detail?

The Sony FS5 has both an auto (will automatically adjust the shutter speed, focus, iris) and manual mode. In manual mode, there is also an option to choose auto mode for the focus and iris, and ND, and all of those features also have their own manual buttons that you can adjust accordingly. If you adjust the ND, you can adjust the lighting levels without having to adjust anything else. On the bottom of the camera, you can also adjust your white balance, ISO/Gain, and shutter speed (one press for auto, 2 presses for manual, and then you can switch modes through the different knobs. Modes are customizable in the menu). The Sony FS5 can also record audio and it has many features that allow you to adjust the settings of it. It also has two viewfinders, one that is a screen that you’re able to pull out and one that you can look through with your eye. I would like to learn more about how the different features (Shutter speed, focus,iris, ND, and white balance) affect the quality and lighting levels of your video, and what settings are best for what kind of video you’re trying to film (ex. videos at night, in a sunny environment, cloudy environment, etc.)

BLOG QUESTION: CAMERA UNIT GOALS

Take some time and type up three goals that you have to complete during this unit. How do you plan on accomplishing these?

Three goals that I have this unit are to learn all the functions of a camera and how to operate one, how to set up camera tracks, and to learn about the different camera angles/perspectives used in film. To accomplish these things, I plan to participate in lecture and ask clarifying questions to keep up with the new information. I also want to do well on my technical skills tests so I can move on and learn how to do the next camera skill. Lastly, I want to do some of my own studying and watch movies that are known for it's unique camera angles/perspectives. 

BLOG QUESTION: THE RULE OF SIX

Summarize each of the six when to make a cut. Why do you think cutting on emotion and story is so much more important than the other four?

The first rule is Emotion (51%). How do you want to make the audience, and does the cut add or subtract to that emotion. The second rule is Story (23%). Does the edit move the story in a meaningful way? Each cut you make must move the story forward or else it'll be confusing/boring to the audience. The third rule is Rhythm. Is the cut at a place that makes rhythmic sense? A bad cut can be “jarring” to your audience. The 4th rule is Eye Trace. Always be aware of where in the frame you want your audience to look, and how the cut affects location & movement of the audience's focus? The 5th rule is 2D Plane of Screen. Make sure your cuts follow the 180 degree line and that it follows the axis. The final rule is 3D Space of Action. Consider if the cut is true to established physical and spatial relationships. Cutting on emotion and story is more important than the other four because these are the most noticeable to the audience and they also help drive the story forward. Audiences are willing to watch a badly edited program as long as it's emotionally interesting to them and the story makes sense.

BLOG QUESTION: TIME REMAPPING

Summarize the three techniques that he taught in this lesson? What is a way you could use each of these individual techniques going forward with your video's that you create?

You can create keyframes by placing your playhead at the in and out frames of where you want to adjust the speed, and by dragging the band up and down, you can change the speed of the clip (up = faster, down = slower). You can also hold shift to adjust the speed by 5% increments. By dragging the sides of a keyframe, you can see the ramp of the speed and adjust it to make the ramp smoother. You can also split the keyframes and drag the in and out frames and there's also a way to make a clip go backwards then forwards by holding ctrl or command and dragging an un-split frame to the right. These techniques are useful as they can help make the time remapping smoother and it also saves you time while editing.