Introduction | Video Basics | Pre-Production | Production | Post-Production

Assignments: Assignment #9 - Soundtrack | Assignment #10 - Freeze Frame Action | Assignment #11 - Action matching dialogue | Assignment #12 - Green Screen Jedi | Assignment #13 - Animating the lightsaber

Production (shooting the footage)

Production is the process of shooting your video. In the "real world", the costs of equipment, technicians, actors and sets can make this incredibly expensive. In your student productions, TIME and OPPORTUNITY are the "expense" - it's important not to waste either! A good director/production crew ensures things move smoothly to make sure there is a minimal cost in both actors, equipment and location rental it costs $3500 to film in NY City - not including anything other than being there, insurance in an ADDITIONAL $1 MILLION)

There are 3 main components to production:

• • cinematography

  • lighting

  • sound

Cinematography

Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography. Many additional issues arise when both the camera and elements of the scene may be in motion, though this also greatly increases the creative possibilities of the process.

source: Wikipedia

Every Cinematographer is going to ask their Director for the storyboard and create a shot list from it. This is a list of all possible shots from any (set of) camera(s) that will be needed to provide the raw footage for the shoot. The cinematographer is responsible for the technical aspects of the images (lighting, lens choices, composition, exposure, filtration, film selection), but works closely with the director to ensure that the artistic aesthetics are supporting the director's vision of the story being told. The cinematographers are the heads of the camera, grip and lighting crew on a set, and for this reason they are often called directors of photography or DPs. Here is a summary of all lists that a DP will want to take out into the field with them:

1. Shot List (a list of all shots to be taken and from what cameras)

2. Prop List (a list of all possible items needed for a set of shots, for a particular location)

Lighting

In small productions (like you're doing now) lighting is managed by the the director, who likely is also the cinematographer, the producer, the screenwriter and actor. In reality, the 'lighting folk' are known as gaffers and grips (depending on their job) Lighting plays a critical role in any film production. Without proper lighting the production can come off as amateurish and leave the viewer feeling like they're watching home-movies.

When plotting out lighting, remember - 3point key lighting is a golden rule for most conditions. All it takes is a principal light source (often the sun, or a light fixture), an alternative (a reflective object to redirect light if you can't afford a 2nd light source) and the backfill to give the target of the shot a way of standing out from the background.

The Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. It is a simple but versatile system which forms the basis of most lighting. Once you understand three point lighting you are well on the way to understanding all lighting.

The technique uses three lights called the key light, fill light and back light. Naturally you will need three lights to utilize the technique fully, but the principles are still important even if you only use one or two lights. As a rule:

• If you only have one light, it becomes the key.

• If you have 2 lights, one is the key and the other is either the fill or the backlight.

Key Light

This is the main light. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

Fill Light

This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To acheive this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.

Back Light

The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.

source: MediaCollege.com

Sound

Though we might think of film as an essentially visual experience, we really cannot afford to underestimate the importance of film sound. A meaningful sound track is often as complicated as the

image on the screen. The entire sound track is comprised of three essential ingredients:

• the human voice (production sound manager and boom operators on-set)

• sound effects (can be both in studio and on-set)

• music (usually all in the studio)

These three tracks must be mixed and balanced so as to produce the necessary emphases which in turn create desired effects.

PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING

Why planning is important - for the "day of" stuff.

Effects in the age of silent film: http://imgur.com/gallery/wUAcl

Tips Before Heading Into the Field

1. Camera Preparation

• Check the Batteries & Date

• Ensure your SD card is empty

• Check the Camera Settings

  • Set recording mode to 720p normal quality

2. Shooting

• Camera Mount

  • Use a Tripod whenever possible

  • Use a "Steadicam" or "Dolly" for traveling camera shots

  • Use Handheld only if necessary

• Frame your subject with the appropriate shot type. Give them the right room in the frame (e.g. nose-room, head-room etc...)

3. B-roll

"B-Roll" footage is supporting, secondary video footage (or still images) that ILLUSTRATES what your interview subjects or narration are talking about. For instance - if an interviewee is talking about participants in the Terry Fox run, the B-Roll can actually show the people being talked about. The editing can "cut away" from the interview to show the B-Roll. An advanced technique is to allow the AUDIO of the A-Roll to continue overtop the video of the B-Roll, and then allow the video to return to the A-Roll again.

Use of B-Roll has the following advantages:

• It can break a LONG clip up into smaller, more interesting segments

• It can help ILLUSTRATE what's being talked about

• It can disguise "Jump Cuts"

Steadycams, shoulder rigs and handhelds

The steadycam combines the stabilized steady footage of a conventional tripod mount with the fluid motion of a dolly shot and the flexibility of hand-held camera work. While not completely replacing the role of the dolly shot. While smoothly following the operator's broad movements, the Steadicam's armature absorbs jerks, bumps, and shakes and yields professional quality footage.

Setting up the AllSteady balanced gimbal: Youtube Video

Using the AllSteady gimbal settings: Youtube Video

Final Tips

• Composition and Framing

  • Use your storyboards to remind yourself what it is you want the shot to look like

  • Provide about 5 seconds of LEAD IN and leave 5 seconds of LEAD OUT before calling "action"

  • Basic Photography

    • Fill the Frame

    • Keep the Background Simple

    • Arrange proper Lighting

      • Don't shoot with a light source in frame

      • Think of what mood you want and have a light source that reflects that style

• Sound

  • You can edit OUT camera sound and replace it with voice-overs or captions

  • The mic MUST be within a few feet to capture dialogue

  • all our DSLR's should have external mics to capture audio (preferably into the ZOOM).