Review of filming equipment in our media studio.

1. FILMING
EQUIPMENT-REVIEW
AND
JUSTIFICATION
By Hannah Hopgood

2. Lighting equipment
From my personal studio session with friends I found that the lighting in
the studio was too synthetic and would make the music video look
unrealistic and therefore unrelabablt to audiences. Also this lighting would
be more appealable to a performance based narrative as it would pinpoint
the band as well as this lighting is a common convention fro performance
aspects.

3. Camera Lighting Equipment
For filming outside I feel this type of lighting would be the best as the lighting
can be fixed directly onto the camera so there is less things to carry around as
well as for a follow shot the lighting wouldn’t have to be moved all the time as
it already follows the camera as it is connected to it. For filming at night I can
softness the brightness of the camera by applying frosted sheets to cover the
lighting, dimming the overall brightness to make the lighting more realistic
rather than synthetic.

4. Shoulder Rig
The shoulder rig is part of the equipment that would be
used in industry for location filming and movement
filming. The shoulder rig acts a support structure,
holding the camera in a comfortable position on the
camera operator, it allows shots to be more steady and
positioned well rather than canted angles and distorted
handheld shots. As these shots wouldn’t fit with the
genre I am representing as they are a convention of the
horror, rock genre. The images to the side are ones I
have taken of my friend holding the shoulder rig how
you would use it professional. For this one of the safety
features is a padded shoulder press as when holding
the camera using this equipment is can put pressure
downwards and to the front of the camera operator so
this feature helps to make filming more comfortable,
there is also a mini tracking dolly on this shoulder rig to
help the distance of the camera, allowing movement to
be steady. The camera can create unlimited movement
it can come in handle when filming as the camera
operator has total control.

5. Shoulder Rig Diagram of support structure
Pink showing the field of view of the camera operator
Green arrow showing the distance from
camera to the camera operator to make
sure that the camera’s screen when
recording can be seen so see what the
footage is being taken of.
Blue arrow showing the
pressure point of the
shoulder rig on the
shoulder, the pressure
will be coming from
downwards and left, to
help keep the
positioning of the
camera in a secure
position
Yellow circle
showing were to
grab the
shoulder rig,
using two
handle bars.

6. Tracking Dolly
A tracking dolly is used within the film and media
industry on a regular basis, used mostly for TV shows
but could come in helpfully when filming on location.
This equipment helps to create professional panning
shots, which can help when creating establishing shots
and smooth transitions from each scene. The images
to the side were taken by a friend of me using the
tracking dolly in the studio, experimenting with height
that it can be set to as, movement and shots types it
can link with. Although the tracking dolly has limit
movement, restricted to a basic movement of left to
right.

7. Rotational Dolly
A rotational dolly is much like a tracking dolly but with
more access for movement which has less restrictions.
The tripod of a camera is put onto a stand which have
wheels on, the wheels help the camera to make smooth
movement when filming. This is helpful as it has less
restrictions so the camera movement can be changed
easily, helps to steady and smooth the cinematography
increasing he quality of filming.

8. Tripod
A tripod is a basic camera equipment used in photography, film and media
both in industry and by consumers. This will help me to steady shots
therefore improving the quality of filming and photographs. The structure is
a three point pyramid base on which the camera is screwed onto to secure it
and make sure that it is safe to use. The tripod is adjustable in height through
the extension sections. The top section can also move in a 360 degrees
rotation fro it’s axis.
Pictures from left to right; Mount for camera showing the securing screw which links to
the camera, movemnet of camera when fitted to the mount, basic tripod

9. Jib Arm
The jib arm is used mainly for high angled shots as
to bring the focus down to a subject within the
scene, it also helps to establishing the location. I
used this when in the studio and found it to be very
useful in the shots it can create but I feel this would
not be needed for my music video as the majority
of my shots are close ups and mid shots to bring
the attention to the protagonist whereas I feel if I
were to use this it would make the shots unreal as
its an unrealistic viewpoint. This is mainly used in
action films and drama, to show the location and
character within the location.

10. Testing Out Cameras

11. Professional Industry Camera
I chose to do a comparison, looking into the industry cameras
and the DSLR pro camera we have at college. I found that the
industry camera was hard to use as there was a lot to
understand and learn about it in order to create perfect shots
and sound. I felt some of the features we good such as the
microphone as positioned on top of the camera has a feature
which allows you to see how high the volume in, which can help
in control diegetic noise when filming. I also thought the focus
rings helped to create professional shots such as deep and
selective focus within a composition, which could help the
positioning of the audience by pinpoint items within the frame.

12. DSLR Nikon Pro Camera
Over the last couple of weeks I have learnt more about
the DSLR camera as I have been using it on a regular basis
for my media. I feel from already having pre-exsisiting
knowledge of the camera it will save me time in learning
it’s features I also know the quality of photographs and
shots I can create from this. I aim to use this when filming
and taking photographs as I am use to it and am
comfortable with it. I feel the filming quality is a little less
than the industry cameras but I feel I could improve upon
this by taking my time to learn more about the camera
and how to use it professional. I also found this camera
less complex as the mic is an internal feature which
records when filming which will allow me less room for
error. The images to the side and below are shots I took
when photographing my friend in the studio, to show the
quality of shots it can create.