1. Manual Camera Controls

2. Goals for Today
 Understand why having manual control
is important in Videography
 Understand different formats that
cameras can shoot in

3. Importance of Manual
Control
 Who camcorders are built for:
 Consumer level cameras are built for
someone who knows little about
videography
 They usually have little by way of manual
controls
 Full control is important in order to be
professional
 Caveat: The problem with Camera fan-
boys

4. Understanding Format
 You need to be aware
of the format you are
shooting your project in
 SD vs. HD: what does
this mean?
 What’s the deal with all
these new cameras?
 The quest for RAW

5. Camera Research Exercise
 Look for One or Two of the following
cameras. What are the different
specifications of them
 Red Scarlet-X
 Phantom HD
 Sony FS-700
 Arri Alexa
 Canon C500
 Blackmagic Cinema
 Compare and Contrast

6. Understanding Format
(cont.)
 Other things that you need to consider:
 Interlaced vs. Progressive shooting
○ Videopia
 The frame rate of the camera
○ 60i – Good for shooting broadcast
○ 30p – Good for web delivery
○ 24p – The film look
 The pixel aspect ratio of the camera
○ Use if you want to shoot in a widescreen format
○ Some cameras do not have the ability to do a true
widescreen format
 Compression
○ Office Max vs. B & H
 Demonstration of how to set up the video signal

7. Setting Aperture
 What is aperture?
 Tools for Setting Aperture
 Zebras
 Light Meters
 What to expose for?

8. The Exposure Triangle

9. Focus and Depth of Field
 What is depth of field?
How do we control Depth
of Field?
 F-stop or Iris: the amount of
light that we let into the lens.
 Focal Length: What effect
does focal length have on
depth of field?
 ND Filter: cuts the light level
allowing us to get a wider
aperture outside

10. Determining Depth of Field
Greater Depth of Field Shallow Depth of Field
Wide angle lens Telephoto Lens
High f-stop (small aperture) Low f-stop (large aperture)
Subject far away from camera Subject close to camera
Smaller Sensor or Frame Size Larger Sensor or Frame Size

11. What should DOF be?
 What should you have it be for:
 Landscapes
 Interviews
 Narrative films
 Evaluate Depth of Field
 Gangs of Ballet

12. White Balance
 Why do we need to
white balance?
 From
LightsandCameras.co
m
 The best way to
White Balance a Shot

13. Tripod Usage
Demonstration
 Advantages and Disadvantages of using
a tripod for your project
 Differences between types of tripods
 Using the base plate on your tripod
 How to set-up/break-down

14. Other Camera Controls
 Focus
 The best method for focusing on a subject
 Gain

15. Exercise: Getting to Know your
Camera
 Activity: Get into a group and locate the
following from 4 different cameras
 Focus Control
 White Balance
 Iris or F-Stop
 ND Filter
 Gain
 Sound Control

16. The Sound Department
Sound Mixer:
Responsible for getting
correct and usable levels
from various sources of
dialogue
Boom Operator:
Responsible for holding the
boom above actors heads to
capture production dialogue.
Also responsible for placing
wireless microphones on
actors bodies
Cable Puller: Back up boom
operator. Cable wrangler.

17. Sound Considerations
 The recording medium: Film
vs. Video
 When working with film you need
to record sound onto a separate
medium such as DAT or a Hard
Drive. You will also be in charge
of keeping the slate in sync with
the audio.
 When working with video sound
is usually recorded only to the
video tape. Your job is to ensure
that the levels that the camera is
receiving are well mixed.
 A short film I mixed: Milton
Glaser Draws and Lectures

18. Working with an External Mixer
 Know the basics of Sound
Routing
 Sound Starts with a Microphone of
some kind >
 Travels into the Mixer >
 Mixer sends signal to the camera
 To ensure that you are getting the
same levels on your camera as
you are through your mixer, you
will want to send a reference tone
from the mixer to the camera to
set the levels
 Once set, be sure that the controls
on the camera are not touched by
the cameraman

19. Boom Mics
 Shotgun mics are the preferred
method of gathering sound on set
 Most shotgun microphones require
some sort of power – Field mixers
and professional level cameras can
provide this power
 Tips for handling the boom

20. Lavaliers
 Two Main types of Lavaliers: Wired and
Wireless
 Wired: Good for sit down interviews – no
worries about radio interference
 Wireless: Good because of portability. Allows
you to follow characters around as well as get
clear sound from wide shots
 Watch out for:
 Clothing Noise
 Improper Placement
 Radio Interference

21. Overall Sound Advice
 Pay Attention to it!
 Avoid using the on-camera microphone
 If you use an external microphone, be
sure and monitor your sound at all times
 The last thing you want is to realize that you
have no audio!

22. Class Exercise
 Get into your group of 4
 Take a camera, tripod, and audio setup
 Make up an idea for a documentary
 Capture at least 3 20-second interviews
in locations around the school
 Return to review the footage

23. Narrative Shot Sequencing
 Plan ahead
 Spend a few moments planning out a
storyboard for your sequence. This will
ensure that you have story that will make
sense once you edit it together
 Think about video sequencing: From the
Storyguide

24. Narrative Shot Sequencing
(cont.)
 Shoot for the edit
 Try to vary the framing and composition of the shots
that you are trying to edit together
 It is easier to edit with locked off shots – avoid
handheld shots
 When a character is moving, have them leave frame
– this enables you to cut to wherever you like
 Obey the 30° rule – two shots should be at least 30°
apart from each other to avoid jump cuts
 The more shots that you use, the more visually
interesting the story will be
 Shoot a given action from a couple of different
angles, this will give you more options in the edit.

25. Discuss Project 1
 Pre-production discussion
 Parameters of Assignment