New to video...advice needed

[Beastiedawg]

By trade I am a wedding and portrait photographer but I just would like to use the video on the 5d2 & 3 that I have sometime just for fun stuff. Nothing really business related. I have just used it a few times around the house, but I would like to learn more about it from a beginners point of view.

Are there any tutorials, books, websites, etc that are good to get some basics?

Thanks

 

[bluegreenturtle]

Philip Bloom's website. He also has some instructional DVD's. StillMotion has some good info on their website and they come from the wedding world, they also do a tour that you can buy tickets to and it's got a lot of information hands on. There's really a wealth of stuff out there if all you want to do is to learn the basics, the technical aspects. If you move on and decide to start trying to make some stuff (for work or well done personal stuff) then after you master the technical aspects there's a whole world out there of things to learn.

 

[chops411]

www.learningdslrvideo.com is a Great site. Dave really explains everything very good for a normal person.

 

[DrDeano]

Philip Bloom's website.

+1 on this. Philip Bloom is a fantastic resource. As someone mentioned, he has a DVD set (you can buy then DL them) which are awesome for beginners.

Another great resource is: http://nofilmschool.com/dslr/

DSLR video is a fun world to play in.

 

[Axilrod]

Here are a few basics in terms of settings:
Turn Highlight tone priority and noise reduction off.
Use ISO's in multiples of 160 when possible
If you're shooting 24fps, your shutter speed should be 1/50, and 1/60 if shooting 30fps.
Turn sharpness as low as possible (0 on Mark II and 1 on Mark III)
Turn Contrast and Saturation down a couple notches.

 

[cayenne]

Here are a few basics in terms of settings:
Turn Highlight tone priority and noise reduction off.
Use ISO's in multiples of 160 when possible
If you're shooting 24fps, your shutter speed should be 1/50, and 1/60 if shooting 30fps.
Turn sharpness as low as possible (0 on Mark II and 1 on Mark III)
Turn Contrast and Saturation down a couple notches.

And be ready to do color correction and grading in post.

;D

 

[Badger]

Great info. here. Thanks.

 

[Beastiedawg]

Thank you all for the great info. I look forward to trying to learn about all this.

Another quick question, I have most all of the basic L series glass and figure something in a short or standard length is probably best is the 35 1.4, 50 1.4 and 24-70 good places to start ?

 

[Policar]

Buy this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Bones-Camera-Course-Video/dp/0960371818

Just trust me! It's simple to read but the information is super advanced. Ignore the stuff on film camera mechanics, but pay attention to the stuff on stops, fov, etc. The composition chapter is amazing. Even gets into basic lighting. You can find some of the same info online, but this book is sooooo much better.

A normal kit for cinema production is 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm (sometimes 14mm for on location or 135mm for some stuff), but that's for Super35. The focal lengths you'll need to cover for a "normal" kit are about 28-135mm.

So you're there. A 70-200mm zoom or 135mm f2 would complete things if you like that look, but you can shoot with the 35mm and 50mm alone or the zoom alone or whatever.

You WILL however need ND filters (.3., .6, .9, 1.2, etc.) and a polarizer. You want to keep your shutter speed as 1/50 and your f-stop no deeper than maybe f8 or f11 outside (usually) so for bright day exteriors those NDs are crucial. Most frequently ignored part of a complete kit, maybe. And get a nice fluid tripod, too.

 

[westr70]

Buy this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Bones-Camera-Course-Video/dp/0960371818

Just trust me! It's simple to read but the information is super advanced. Ignore the stuff on film camera mechanics, but pay attention to the stuff on stops, fov, etc. The composition chapter is amazing. Even gets into basic lighting. You can find some of the same info online, but this book is sooooo much better.

A normal kit for cinema production is 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm (sometimes 14mm for on location or 135mm for some stuff), but that's for Super35. The focal lengths you'll need to cover for a "normal" kit are about 28-135mm.

So you're there. A 70-200mm zoom or 135mm f2 would complete things if you like that look, but you can shoot with the 35mm and 50mm alone or the zoom alone or whatever.

You WILL however need ND filters (.3., .6, .9, 1.2, etc.) and a polarizer. You want to keep your shutter speed as 1/50 and your f-stop no deeper than maybe f8 or f11 outside (usually) so for bright day exteriors those NDs are crucial. Most frequently ignored part of a complete kit, maybe. And get a nice fluid tripod, too.

+ 1 I have the same book and it is great. Love the illustrations.

 

[paul13walnut5]

I'll take it as read that you can work the camera already and can handle depth of field etc.

Basic stuff beyond that:

Use the 180 rule for the shutter (shutter should be approx double the frame rate, typically 1/50th for PAL, or 1/60th for NTSC)

Switch off AF

Support the camera

Use the WB presets. If in doubt manually WB off of a grey card.

Try and get it right in camera. It's not so easy to fix video in post. Not impossible, just not easy.

Not so basic stuff beyond that:

Think of how shots will link up. Cutting on motivation points is good. 3 shots (different FL different POV each time) make a sequence.

Individual shot composition is still important, but flow and pace are also important. Sometimes the movement will be primary to the composition.

Lean what the line is, and how not to cross it.

Sound is important, bad sound will ruin a video, and it's expensive to get right. Don't buy cheap just now, buy good now. Look at Rode NTG-2 or Sennheiser MKE600. Mic off camera where possible, close to the subject. A $30 mic stand is worth it's weight in gold.

Plug it into a beachtek or a zoom or a tascam. Wear good headphones.

 

[DanThePhotoMan]

+1 to everyone that mentioned Philip Bloom. Anything you can so many useful techniques from him.

For beginners though, I am a huge advocate for not turning down contrast, saturation, or sharpness. Unless you have the correct software for color correcting, you're really taking a risk of hurting your footage. DSLR footage holds up terribly if you push it too far in color correction, and unless you're dealing with RED or some other uncompressed footage you absolutely MUST make sure it's exposed properly as well as everything else.

A lot of people discredit youtube, but there are some phenomenal tutorial videos on there. Once you have the rule of thirds down (which I'm sure you do as a wedding photographer), get a basic understanding of the 180 and how to work around it.

And just to reiterate, keep your shutter speed half of your frame rate: 1/50 for 24fps, etc. Also, if you can get your hands on cinema tools or some other frame rate conforming software, play around with 60fps. Even if you're not a fan of slow motion, it can still be pretty fun to play around with.

And definitely make sure to have either a preset WB or custom WB setting, simply because Auto WB will adjust itself automatically during shooting if you're light source changes.

Hope this helps!

 

[Axilrod]

+1 to everyone that mentioned Philip Bloom. Anything you can so many useful techniques from him.

For beginners though, I am a huge advocate for not turning down contrast, saturation, or sharpness. Unless you have the correct software for color correcting, you're really taking a risk of hurting your footage. DSLR footage holds up terribly if you push it too far in color correction, and unless you're dealing with RED or some other uncompressed footage you absolutely MUST make sure it's exposed properly as well as everything else.

+1, this is very critical. You want to get everything as close as possible in-camera, especially the white balance. Pretend the amount of color correction/grading you can do is a tank of gas. There is a limited amount of stuff you can do before the image starts to fall apart, so you don't want to waste "a half a tank" fixing the white balance and exposure when you could have gotten it right beforehand.

 

[Axilrod]

Thank you all for the great info. I look forward to trying to learn about all this.

Another quick question, I have most all of the basic L series glass and figure something in a short or standard length is probably best is the 35 1.4, 50 1.4 and 24-70 good places to start ?

I would try and think about lenses in the same ways you would think about photography for the most part, same rules apply. But yes, any of the lenses you mentioned are just fine for shooting video.

 

[samhodde]

Also check out Shane Hurlbut at hurlbutvisuals.com/blog.

A lot of his stuff is geared toward much higher budgets, but there is definitely some good info that you can pick out.

 

[Cosk]

I'm only a couple months ahead of you... but here's what I learned:

-Use Manual mode
-Set your frame rate to 24/s
-Always set your shutter speed to 2x that (1/50th is closest)
-Get your exposure correct by setting the ISO and/or aperture - but don't use auto... Auto doesn't look right when you transition from bright to dark to bright.
-Get a good external mic (I chose the Rhode VideoMic Pro), and don't use auto level - set it manually
-set your focus to Quick mode... focus before your shot, and don't autofocus when you're shooting. It's better to plan your shots so you don't need to refocus.
-Set your metering timer to 30 minutes so you can see your meter.
- I end us shooting with my 35/1.4L most of the time - at 1.8. Occasionally the 50mm is better, but the 35 is becoming my go to.

good luck!

 

[Videoshooter]

One of the most important things is camera stabilisation.

A good, fluid head tripod is a necessity for any form of semi-serious video. For less 'locked down' requirements there are a range of solutions from monopods (my favorite for weddings) to shoulder mounts & steadycam rigs. All have their good and bad points so if you can borrow any of this gear from someone else to try out it might really help you figure out your shooting style and gear preferences.

Once you have figured out how to keep the camera stable, you can then start to think more about utilising motion effectively - not just superficially. Things like motivated pans (eg panning along a landscape in the direction traffic is flowing) & reveals (panning/moving the camera to reveal more information in a shot, such as another person or object) go a long way towards making the content more engaging, rather than just waving the camera round at anything that moves.

Also try to think about sequencing - eg starting with a wide shot, to show location, then a mid shot to shot the character, then CU to show what they are doing/feeling etc. You'll also need reaction shots (if you're shooting a footaball game and somebody gets a touchdown, show us the crowds reaction) B-roll (overlay which shows vision of what someone is talking about) and cut-aways (shots of detail in a scene can be useful to reveal more info and to cover awkward edits later on - for example if you accidentally "crossed the line" while shooting. The important thing to remember with sequencing is that you don't have to shoot it in order - but think about it the whole time and keep a mental not of what you do and don't have.

 

[Don Haines]

Sound is important, bad sound will ruin a video, and it's expensive to get right. Don't buy cheap just now, buy good now. Look at Rode NTG-2 or Sennheiser MKE600. Mic off camera where possible, close to the subject. A $30 mic stand is worth it's weight in gold.

+1 on the mic.... The built in mic on the cameras I have used, 60D and 5D II, pick up sounds from the camera... You can hear it focusing.... You have to use external on those bodies to get decent sound

 

[Axilrod]

+1 on stabilization, stable video is one of the things that separates pros from amateurs (lighting and sound are also critical). You don't have to go out and spend $3k on a rig, but I wouldn't count on shooting handheld and being happy with the results. Also, the LCD screen on the back can be deceiving, I can't tell you how many times I've seen people think they "got the shot" and then they open it up on the computer and it looks like hell.

 

[Videoshooter]

Oh, one more thing...

Remember that you can only shoot video in landscape orientation!

Sometimes I worry that, with the technology becoming available to the masses and the massive amount of convergence happening within the industry, My services as a videographer will soon become redundant. Then I'll see a tourist shooting video with their camera sideways, and I realise that everything is going to be fine!