Story-telling unit: Camera workshop 28/09/2016

Camera workshop with Sam and Fergus

In today's session we went through the basics of using the sony SDX cameras, this workshop means that we will be able to book kit out when we need it for filming. 

We went through how to do white balance, and about the kelvin scale (a colour temperature scale) this meant that the colours on the viewfinder were true to the colours in real life. After we found our white balance we were encouraged o experiment with the cine settings on the camera for experimentation.

We also looked at pulling focus from one subject to another (I initially found this hard but after a few attempts go the hang of it). 

We then combined keeping a subject in focus while they were moving (this was a lot harder as it required your hands to do two similar things but in the opposite way, after we were shown how to change the zoom control to the rocker on the side of the camera it became easier)

Ferg also gave us an acronym to help us remember everything before we start shooting:

S= sound

(The sound makes up the vast majority of a shoot, it's important that it's crisp and the there isn't any white noise that can detract from the audio of the shoot. We learnt about setting up boom mics and when it is and isn't necessary to use the cover over it, we were also told to double check everything is set to an external audio instead of internal so that the sound actually records.)

W= white balance

(If the white balance of a shot is off it can make skin tones and other things look off, we were shown how using a white piece of paper can be used in the lighting you're filiming in to give a true white colour for the camera to work from.)

E= exposure

(Exposure is the amount of light let in by the camera, the higher the exposure the more light is in the image this can cause them to become bleached out)

Example from the internet

F= focus

(Focus works with framing to help draw the eye of the audience watching, however focus means that you can have 2 or more characters framed and by focusing on one of them means the audience is more likely to be looking at them. This can go towards showing the importance of the character within that scene or draw attention to them in something like a conversation.)

F= framing 

(framing the shot is an important part in filming, the framing of a character can determine their status, emotion or help establish their character. Within a setting it can help establish that scene, if the framing if off even a little the audience's eye can be taken away from what you want them to focus on.)

Over all from this workshop I got a basic understanding of how the cameras work and how I can use them to my advantage when shooting. I found it to be a fun and informative afternoon.