Chapter 6, “Lighting on Location,” covers lighting, from available natural light to full-on professional lights and lighting setups. Check out best practices and things that will help you achieve a better image.
Chapter 7, “Sound on Location,” provides suggestions for working with DSLR cameras, which is totally different from working with traditional video cameras. DSLR cameras should be treated much more like film cameras, where the best option is to record audio on a separate device for maximum quality.
Chapter 8, “Organizing and Storing Data in the Field,” covers how to handle your data. With a little forethought and planning, you will save tons of time and headaches later in post-production. Don’t skip what might seem like a boring chapter.
Chapter 9, “Troubleshooting,” helps you be aware of the common issues when shooting DSLR video and that there are problems and limitations (but nothing that you can’t work around). Knowledge is power in this sense, and the more you know, the easier it will be to craft the way you shoot your film so you can be successful.
Chapter 10, “Converting and Editing Your Footage,” shows you how (and when) you need to convert your original footage, best practices for backing up your footage, and how to get organized for the edit. If you are unfamiliar with editing, this will get you started (but is not a comprehensive how-to on editing).
Chapter 11, “Audio Crash Course,” covers everything from syncing audio and video all the way to how to ADR lines that you didn’t get or didn’t turn out in post.
Chapter 12, “Color Correction and Grading,” covers not just the look of the movie but also correcting color problems and creating a seamless image that is technically satisfactory and ready for you to show to an audience.
Chapter 13, “Compressing Your Film,” looks at how you can compress your film so it looks as close as possible to the uncompressed version you edited and so it can be viewed in the best-quality compressed version no matter whether you show it online, on a DVD, or in a theater.
Chapter 14, “Post-Production Looks,” covers many common problems that come up during shooting that need to be fixed in post. We look at the top issues both for DSLR video shooters and for video in general.
Chapter 15, “Workshops,” covers some tips and tricks for shooting underwater, for shooting in or at a moving vehicle, and for changing your video speed to achieve the cinematic look you want.
How to Contact the Author
I welcome feedback from you about this book or for suggestions about books you’d like to see from me in the future. You can reach me by writing to [email protected]. For more information about our equipment rentals, for consulting inquiries, or for questions regarding hiring me for work, please visit www.MophoRentals.com and/or www.barryandersson.com.
Sybex strives to keep you supplied with the latest tools and information you need for your work. Please check the book’s web page at www.sybex.com/go/dslrfilmmaker, where we will post updates to the book’s content should the need arise.
Chapter One
Fundamentals of DSLR Filmmaking
When choosing to shoot with DSLR cameras, you need to know some of the basics. Whether your background is with a traditional video camera, as a still photographer, or as a filmmaker, you’ll see some overlap in equipment and terms you are familiar with. However, some unique processes, gear, and workflows apply specifically to shooting video on DSLR cameras, so don’t just skip ahead and assume you know everything.
Features of DSLR Cameras
Until Nikon released the D90 in 2008, buyers had to choose between a digital still camera and a digital video camera. Filmmakers were using film or traditional video cameras for production. When the D90 and, quickly afterward, the Canon 5D Mark II were released, you finally had the ability to shoot digital stills and HD video on the same device. Since then, every major camera manufacturer has added DSLR cameras that can shoot video.
At the time, HD video on a still camera was controversial. A lot of photographers worried that improvements to the still camera would be limited because it seemed all the attention was being placed on the video side of the camera. Independent filmmakers took one look at the early footage and realized the vast potential of this new technology. HD video has been around since the 1990s but was practically available only on traditional video cameras. The design and function of traditional video cameras prevented a lot of the cinematic qualities that traditional film cameras provided.
DSLR cameras allowed filmmakers to easily and inexpensively use interchangeable lenses to craft the look of their film more like traditional filmmaking. These factors, along with an available shallow depth of field and low-light capabilities, were not available on most traditional video cameras. These issues, coupled with the price and quality of the video image, helped supersize the growth of the DSLR market.
As stated previously, since the launch of the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II, manufacturers have released an endless string of DSLR cameras that shoot video. The still/HD video hybrid has become the norm for capturing video. You can now just compare models and find the right functions and price point for your project and start shooting.
Sensor Size
If you are not a photographer and not accustomed to dealing with sensor sizes, let’s put it in motion-picture film terms. Sensor size is a bit like choosing whether to shoot on 8 mm, 16 mm, Super 16 mm, 35 mm, Super 35 mm, or 70 mm film. Just as you would with motion-picture film stock, you choose your sensor size based on your budget, the depth of field, and the aesthetic look for your film. In general, the bigger the sensor, the more expensive the camera (just like 35 mm or 70 mm film); the smaller the sensor, the cheaper the camera. This is a generalization, because some higher-end cameras have smaller than full-frame sensors.
A full-frame sensor is approximately the same size as a single frame of 35 mm film from a traditional still film camera (Figure 1-1).
Any non-full-frame sensor is referred to as a crop sensor (Figure 1-2). These sensors vary in size but are smaller than a single frame of 35 mm film from a traditional still film camera.
Figure 1-1: A full-frame sensor and 35 mm still film are the same size; the sensor area is 36×24 mm, or 864 mm2.
Figure 1-2: A crop sensor is smaller than 35 mm film. The Canon APS-C sensor area is 22.2×14.8 mm, or 329 mm2.
The sensor size affects the “grain” in your image, the light sensitivity, and the depth of field aesthetic for that camera. At the time of this writing, there are two dominant sensor sizes: full-frame sensors and APS-C crop sensors.
Figure 1-3: Nikon APS-C (left) vs. Canon APS-C sensor (right). The Nikon sensor is also used by Pentax and Sony. Notice that the Canon APS-C sensor is slightly smaller than the Nikon APS-C sensor.
APS-C is currently in all non-full-frame Nikon cameras and the Canon 7D Mark II, EOS 70D, and Rebel T5i. To make things slightly more confusing, there is a slight difference between the Canon APS-C and Nikon APS-C sensors (Figure 1-3): specifically, the Nikon APS-C sensor (22.2×14.8 mm, or 329 mm2) is slightly larger than the Canon version (~23.6×15.7 mm, or about 370 mm2).