Now this all depends on your money situation and how serious you take your career as a Camera man. Do you really want to spend your life savings to make a few home movies? This is my opinion on the format situation, to me it's either MiniDV or HD.
MiniDV is likely to be the first choice, if you intention is merely to learn the craft of movie making, filming documentaries, entering short film competitions or broadcasting a mini series over the Internet then the DV format is flawless, it has the ability to maintain the quality of the original no matter how many times it is copied. But...
If your deciding to form a business of film making group with a bunch of friends then I would advise for all of you to chip in for for a Pro-level HD camera. most professionals are using it now and it will give the projects your shooting clear footage. can be a bit messy in editing but overall results compared to MiniDV are at a higher standard.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Friday, 25 July 2008
The Basics
Now I believe that any one can become a good camera man/woman and that the basics can be taught to anyone in a day, all they would have to do is practise the basics on a regular basis until it's implanted in the brain.
A camera takes a series of pictures per second which we call frames. There are 24 frames in a second and when played back this gives us a moving image. When looking through the lens of a camera just imagine your taking a picture and the best pictures are framed in a certain way by using the Grid System.
Grid System:
Now take a look at the picture below, you have to admit it's a great picture of the evening sky.
Now lets take a look at the same picture but with the Grid System over it.
You can see the top three squares are filled with negative space, the middle three squares are filled with the clouds, the bottom left is filled with the sea leaving the remaining two squares filled with the dock, thus showing a perfectly framed picture.
This is a great technique that once drilled into the brain you will never forget and you will notice yourself doing it subconsciously when looking through the lens. Here's another picture but with a change of the depth of field.
Because the background is blurred your eyes are Immediately drawn towards the centre square. This is one of the many tools used in film when the director wants the audience to focus on a particular person or item. The best way to practice Focus Pulling is with a tripod first before moving on to tracking shots, pans etc.
A camera takes a series of pictures per second which we call frames. There are 24 frames in a second and when played back this gives us a moving image. When looking through the lens of a camera just imagine your taking a picture and the best pictures are framed in a certain way by using the Grid System.
Grid System:
Now take a look at the picture below, you have to admit it's a great picture of the evening sky.
Now lets take a look at the same picture but with the Grid System over it.
You can see the top three squares are filled with negative space, the middle three squares are filled with the clouds, the bottom left is filled with the sea leaving the remaining two squares filled with the dock, thus showing a perfectly framed picture.
This is a great technique that once drilled into the brain you will never forget and you will notice yourself doing it subconsciously when looking through the lens. Here's another picture but with a change of the depth of field.
Because the background is blurred your eyes are Immediately drawn towards the centre square. This is one of the many tools used in film when the director wants the audience to focus on a particular person or item. The best way to practice Focus Pulling is with a tripod first before moving on to tracking shots, pans etc.
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