Your suggestions for mastering my camera?
 

I still haven 't really mastered it - have focused more on other skills for some time. Now I"m sitting down to really concentrate on camera skills for hte next few weeks and trying to come up with a plan to get started. Some key areas I want to master are manual exposure, manual focus, steady shooting, lighting and whatever else you guys recommend. (I had an earlier thread on manual exposure and will review that as well). The goal is to master the technical aspects of my camera and to be as prepared as possible to handle different types of events with one camera. Would welcome suggestions about what worked for you in teaching yourself to be a better shooter. Thanks =)

One thing that I found very useful was to study the fundamentals of photography. Exposure, depth of field, and other elements that come from photography have direct application to videography. I'd also recommend just shooting a TON with your camera. Find out how to achieve the shots you want by practicing them. Practice is essential. Getting your hands used to doing what you're thinking comes with time. So get out there and shoot. =)

Yes, I don't even know where to start. Just even trying to come up with events that are happening, things to go shoot.
Maybe I'll go to my local outside mall and just practice.
I do have a photography background but I've forgotten most of it. After reading a posting in another thread, I pulled out my old Ansel Adams zone system notes and am still reviewing the chapter.
I need to learn to expose under different lighting conditions, but being in some settings might require getting permission to be there with a camera. People wonder what you are doing.

Definitely practice makes perfect. Nothing teaches you faster than getting back to the edit bay and seeing your mistakes. The trick is to do it with un-important projects first.

I've invested a lot of money in learning, but it's the time I spent that really paid off.

I'm in the same boat, but find I can't get motivated to 'practice' for the sake of it, except for real small things. I find I need a real project, rather than make believe one, so have initiated various shooting situations. Actually, all the weddings I have done so far are 'real event projects' I'm using to get experience - experience in shooting, camera placement, audio, camera control, photo composition, video editing, case and dvd cover making, etc etc, the whole nine yards.

A couple of days ago I initiated a situation where I'm going to film a speaker at a conference who is going to use PowerPoint - which needs to be incorporated into the editing. I just got home from work and there is an email from one of the conference organisers saying they would like me to film all the speakers!!! And what was I expecting as a recompence???

Well, that is not what I was expecting, and now I have a load of 'real project' stuff directly connected to content I am passionate about, to learn on and get some pay for - the latter maybe.

I'd get to the business end quickly, and let them know you can shoot, but not for "free", not to mention editing... maybe there's a budget or a longer term plan that they are willing to cut you in on!

Hey Kell,
I was in your shoes about a year or so ago, and decided I needed to finally learn all of this stuff I've been winging for so long. I decided to go here...
www.tulsaweddingfilms.com
If you click on Videographers, and then look in the top right corner there is some info on their upcoming workshops. That experienced changed the way I shoot. It is expensive, but it is totally owrht it. Very small groups usually, and these guys are the best teachers. What I couldn't get from training DVDs, forums, etc. I got from them. Awesome experience. I am a full time videographer today because of that class. Practice is so important as well, but I needed a foundation to start from which I did not have. I have that now, and can build on that foundatin. Anyway my two cents. Good luck. Also try to find a videogeapher in your area and get them to use you as a second shooter. This is also invaluable experience.
Bill
Grant Photo & Video

Two things a former film school teacher taught me...

- Recreate lighting scenes from magazine photos - this is mostly practise with light set-ups. We did a weekend workshop on this, which was great.

- Go to a local airport and shoot planes landing and taking off - obviously trying to maintain framing and keep the cam steady. Even with a good tripod/head, it can be tricky (esp. a tight shot)

You want to LEarn? Then put tape in the camera and shoot anything and everything that moves...BUT write down EVERYTHING that you do. IE Shutter,Iris, gain, ND filters anything. Shoot the same scene at various shutter speeds, f/stops, gain...what happens if I use an ND filter here rather than not...EVERYTHING! Then load up your computer and look at the footage on a production monitor or TV to see what it looks like and soon you'll know the camera as well as the back of your hand. THEN you can concentrate on THE SHOT not the camera.

Don

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Keep them coming!
I went through the local online event calendars and put the dates into Entourage of things that are happening. I guess I should just pick one and go.
It would really be great though to find events that I could get paid for, even a little bit and offer them something in return.
It seems like with a lot of things you have to get permission, also. For instance the suggestion about filming planes taking off - it's a good suggestion in terms of something that moves away from you, so you have to figure out how to work with the focus, maintain framing etc. But I'm sure Homeland Security would have some reservations about people hanging out at airports with cameras! However I could take that suggestion and apply it to something similar, like maybe a car race which would apply the same principle.

And I do have some reservations about showing up places with a camera these days so perhaps I am a bit self conscious. People wonder what you are doing for instance, filming their planes or their buildings or kids on the playground. So it might make sense to have permission to get past that.

I need to get in place situations where I can learn to expose for dfferent lighting situations, and practice different audio situations.

I'd like to be more confident in my skils before putting myself out there for events and would like to spend the next few weeks really making myself ready, just don't know where to start.

The trick to it is to find the people who are interested in what you have to offer. You can wait forever for someone to come along - especially on the internet, or you can just go out and start talking to people. Go out, make friends, listen to what they have to say, and where they are coming from and you'll find all kinds of projects to do.

Funny thing about permission, you just never know until you try or ask. I once needed video of a large busy train station, security at Penn Station, NYC booted me out within 10 minutes. Just on the off chance, we headed over to Grand Central, and they didn't mind at all, we got better footage to boot.

i have found that if you act as though you are supposed to be where you are, doing whatever you are doing, few people question it. While in film class, my teacher asked me to go across the street and shoot some footage of an auditorium that was being renovated. She said they wouldn't allow us inside due to safety concerns, but to shoot as much as i could so that we could eventually put together a before during after kind of thing. I went over and got lots of shots of the outside but that got very boring. So i made my way up to a loading dock, then a few feet inside, then down the hall, etc. I passed several construction workers and a foreman (sp?) and they asked if i was making a documentary about the building. Of course i said yes! and they bent over backwards to help me out. my teacher was beyond thrilled.

Just remember, it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. ;)

Don's right - get out there and shootshootshoot. But no need to write everything down as he says, simply tell those microphones what you're doing.

''This shot taken with auto focus, auto audio level, but locked shutter, iris and gain. Steadyshot off, full wide-angle, no triipod.'' That sort of thing.

When you come to replay your footage have 'display' turned on and all sorts of info about every exposed frame will be revealed. Watch the footage on your best TV, and wind and rewind as many times as it takes.

Video is such a great teacher. The best. It's cheap, fast, faithful, patient, accurate - and can be replayed thousands of times without complaining. Would that all teachers were like that.

And every minute you're out there shooting the camera's becoming more and more familliar to you Kell. There'll come a point when you'll look at the scene to be filmed, reach down for the camera and on it way up you'll be turning it on, checking the ND switch, making sure the w/bal and shutter speed are correct and going smoothly and confidently into the record mode.

tom.

I've been teaching video production for 15 years and shooting weddings (just one or two per year for friends) for about 20 years. I think Don's advice is very good. I also agree with Tom's advice that you don't need to take the time to write things down, just say what the setting are outloud (and record it with the footage) :).

I have many "main concepts" that I have passed on to my students over the years. One of them that is relevant to this thread is that our goal as videographers/producers/directors/editors is to make everything we do look better and more interesting than they are in reality. I mean any "Uncle Bob" (I've used that name so much in my classes that one student actually drew a caricature of the mythical man that was pretty funny) can take a camera to an event and tape it. Our job (as I see it at least) is to make things look prettier, more interesting and more exciting than they are in reality. This is the case whether you're doing a commercial for a local restaurant, a promotional video for a university, or a wedding video. This is done through all phases of production, but starts with the shooting.

I'd take all the advice offered in this thread and also add to really concentrate on learning to control depth of field, getting the best exposure in challenging lighting situations (ex: B&G in the shade with a bright sunny background can be a problem), camera stability and getting great audio.

Even though I've worked in commercial production for years before getting into teaching, I still didn't feel 100% confident doing the weddings once I established my company last year. After buying cams from a member of this board ( iad been doing single cam with my XL-1 for years) I felt I needed to get out and really get familiar with them (as well as audio set-up) before I started charging my desired rate. I did 3 weddings for friends for $500 each. This gave me the experience with my new gear. It also took the pressure off because I knew that I'd give them something they'd like but I had more room for slip ups should they occur. Fortunately, all went well. My friends got great videos for little cost, I got experience with my new gear and I even made a few $$$ at the same time.

It's not just the technical setting you need to consider but also composition. Never underestimate the dramatic power of a good close-up. In addition to weddings you can also try an excercise I used to have Intro students try. Take a mundane scene (like someone working at a computer perhaps) and make it more interesting/beautiful/exciting that it is in reality. Another thing I'll add is that most of us generally see the world from somewhere be 5 and 6.5 feet from the ground. Get shots from different perspectives (low/high).

I believe I may be telling you things you already know. If so, this board and the folks on here have been very helpful to me as I've launched my business. I'm just adding to the thread to offer my .02.

-Don B.


"Only those that dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly"
- Robert F. Kennedy

Excellently put Don. Just a few paragraphs, but you sew it up nicely.

tom.

go to the zoo. you can practice making all kinds of adjustments in relation to the subjects. you can practice tracking random motion of subjects of all shapes, sizes, and speed. and no one will look at you funny. or if you don't have a zoo, a botanical garden. or any public place where people already shoot the spectacle with a camera. sports events like marathons, triathlons, and bike rides are good for learning how to handle focus and motion tracking.

sign up for one of the zillion contests here--as the DV Challenge notes, it's "cheaper than film school"--you'll learn a lot from the feedback and acquaint yourself with how some of the good shooters do it. watch what they do, and then try to do those things yourself.

the ONLY way to master your camera is to use your camera, as others have already stated.

i have to comment on one thing--if you're not already highly motivated to get out there and shoot something on your own, or you're looking for excuses not to, such as your own self-consciousness, then this may not be the right profession. i think to be any good at this, you have to be enthralled by the alchemy of shooting. it's hard to learn passion from an instructional DVD, and if you have the passion, then the DVD or book or website or conversation with others is an accessory to what already is....

sorry if it sounds a little harsh, i'm not aiming this at you personally, just calling it as i see it.

Thanks everyone
THe more I read about the subject, the more I realize I don't know about the technical aspects of the camera and their practical application in getting the image you want, control over your shot.
I"m going to re-read this thread, then sit down and make a list of where to start. I've attempted tackling the camera a number of times, and always learn a little, get caught up in different aspects of what I"m doing (i.e. editing or something), and forget what I learned. This time it's D-day. I'm going to get to it and stay on this thing all week until I have a better foundation.

Frustrated!
 

I"ve been reading up on focal length, depth of field, etcetera. It seems like I understand it when I'm reading it, but when I start asking practical application questions I really don't.
For instance I was reading the specs on my camera and realized I really had still no idea what they were talking about.
It gets confusing when you try to tie it all together and start asking questions. For instance: what if you are in the back of a room, zoomed in on a stage and you want to get a particular depth of field effect - such as everything in focus, or a background out of focus?
It would depend what focal length you were at on your zoom, right? (And since i can't make heads or tails of my camera specs I guess I don't really know what the starting length is anyway). And also what your fstop is at, where you focus, and even whether you were using the wide angle adapter or not? Then, if you move closer to the stage, the whole equation changes, right?
Can anyone recommend any specific exercises I could do that would help bring all these elements together into one cohesive understanding? (Training resources will have to wait until I have a budget for them).
Thanks

You do sound as if you're in deep water Kell, but the life raft is the 'Auto' setting. It sounds to me as if you shouldn't be trying to run before you can walk, so if I were you I'd let the camera decide for now.

Of course as your experience grows you'll be able to take command and control of the situation. You'll come beck with footage where the auto focus has decided the picket fence is more important than the person standing in front of it. OK - time to use manual focus.

You'll also notice that when you film a street scene a white van passing in front of your camera will fool the light meter into thinking it had 'got brighter'. Of course that's not true, and the resulting exposure fluctuation can be contained next time you shoot such a scene by locking the iris, gain and shutter speed. You generally have to lock all three BTW.

You may film a stage play and wonder why all the spot-lit actors are bleached out in your footage, and you'll soon find out about the camera's 'spotlight' mode. You'll also realise that you can never get differential focus unless you're using long focal lengths and wide apertures.

And so on. You don't say where you're located, but I run a one day's training course for people exactly like you.

tom.

Yes England is just a bit far...
I've already had the autofocus "experience." I'm ready to get control over this thing. I've set aside tomorrow to work on bringing these some of these technical skills together and welcome any input or suggestions for specific exercises.

Lots of good advice here but there is one thing very important to good video. That would be audio. People are somewhat forgiving of a less than perfect visual, but bad audio will send them for the exits every time. Get the best headphones you can afford, and plug them in to your camera. You have to learn that the mic doesn't hear the world the way you do. What seems like a quiet room or environment will shock you when you don the headset. Suddenly, you'll clearly hear the ceiling fan, the air conditioner, the refrigerator, etc. All those sounds don't seem to interfere with our natural hearing, but they can drown out the dialog when a mic picks up on them.

Manual focus drill: Find a basketball goal, and suspend a sizable object such as a ball from it with a rope. Set up the camera and have a friend pull straight back so that it swings directly to and away from you. Practice keeping the ball in sharp focus on a tight shot. I use my Labrador Retriever, having an assistant throw things for her to fetch. She runs away and towards the camera, forcing me to follow focus and use the zoom to maintain framing at the same time.

Okay, that's my input for now.

-gb-

oh, you know I live near a dog park. Maybe people would be cool with me practicing while they play with their dogs. That's something I could do today even though not much is going on in the area.

You're right about the audio. I did a wedding and was shocked at some of the problems iwth the audio, particularly on the dance floor. Fortunately I was able to plug in the CD versions on the songs, but was not so lucky with some of the interviews. It was a very noisy room and you have to strain to hear them.