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Archive 2013 · 5DII video suggestions

  
 
Michael Gordon
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 5DII video suggestions


Got roped into making a horse video. Though I have taken many horse shots for
sales images, am a total video newbie. I had planned to download MagicLantern and try the raw video thing but no time for that as have to do it tomorrow.
It must be HD and I vaguely recall here that shutter speed should be a multiple of the frame rate? I will be there at crack of dawn but afraid if stuck with sunny 16 is 1/60 OK and not too choppy? I suppose my default will be 1/30 in shutter priority. Oh well, I have confidence the usual still images will be fine.
Any suggestions appreciated.



Jun 01, 2013 at 02:56 PM
24Peter
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 5DII video suggestions


Hmmm... a lot to know by tomorrow morning. But generally, yes your shutter should be a multiple of the frame rate. I use 1/50th or 1/60th as my default (I shoot mostly 24p) but will go as high as 1/125th to get a "crispier" look. You have identified your main issue shooting at those shutter speeds outdoors in bright sunlight, so if you're starting out early in the AM good, but prepared to do your math based on what aperture you want to use. Then bring some ND filters - you'll need them pretty quickly on a bright day. You don't want to shoot at F16 for the reasons mentioned in the next sentence.

Also, consider your focal length - Canon DSLR have some aliasing issues so I generally avoid wide angle lenses and deep DOF. Slow pans are your friend in this regard but I imagine there will be a lot of fencing around the animals which can make this issue even worse. Which leads to the next point which is to think about your shooting platform: nothing is worse than bouncy/shakey video, esp. if you are trying to impress/satisfy a paying client.



Jun 01, 2013 at 03:08 PM
PhotoMaximum
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 5DII video suggestions


Shooting video is very different.

Try to keep it simple but think about making a shot list beforehand. All videos work best when they tell a story with an intro, middle and an end.

Avoid really long or short focal lengths. A 35 and 85 will do. IS helps. Use the 24-105 IS L if you have it.

Try for a mix of different angles from different viewpoints. For example have the horse walk out of the barn into sunlight: shoot it from behind while in the barn and then shoot the exact same movement from outside. Repeat the two shots of the same repeated action with different focal lengths. So what you will have is four very different views of the same action. You can then make cuts when you edit the film. Doing this creates great visual eye candy. Long continuous shots are boring.

Don't forget wide and closeup shots. Shoot longer and earlier than the real action might dictate.

You will be focussing manually. Plan your focus points. Watch for camera shake which is the most annoying thing ever. A solid tripod with a real fluid head will be your friend. If you have a shoulder rig or some kind of stabilizer then try that. Don't be afraid of getting static shots where the camera is not moving, but remember you will need to keep such clips short.

Not sure if your are capturing sound as well? That is a whole other ballgame. Its very hard to get good footage and good sound at the same time if you are working alone. The onboard 5D microphone sucks. Most guys will use special mics, mixers, filters and sound capture hardware. Bad audio is more annoying than bad video. If you are capturing some audio then be sure to record the sound of stillness, the barn, the fields, birds, etc. You can easily add these sounds to dress up your production.

Good luck and have fun!



Jun 01, 2013 at 04:12 PM
PhotoMaximum
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 5DII video suggestions


One other thing...

The 5D II will add unwanted moire so make sure not have too much brick buildings in the shot. Avoid clothes and horse blankets with lots of stripes as they will introduce unwanted affects in the footage as well...



Jun 01, 2013 at 04:20 PM
Michael Gordon
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 5DII video suggestions


Yikes, trial by fire. I have the 24-105 and will use it. I have the usual expert "ear person" to help with the horse. So shutter priority is the way to go? Thanks much for the advice.


Jun 01, 2013 at 05:30 PM
PhotoMaximum
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 5DII video suggestions


Use manual settings on everything: ISO, shutter, aperture, white balance, focus, the works. Go into the camera settings and use a flater neutral color space with minimal sharpening. Try to use ISO 160 or 320 as these look better for video. While the minimal depth of field look is cool on these cameras don't overdo it as your focus will suffer. Try to be around f4 or f5.6. Using f16 will make your footage look like a basic video camera. If you have bright conditions then f4 might be tough to use at ISO 160 so you might need a ND filter. A lot of the video kids wil use an expensive variable ND filter. Your shutter should be as close as you can get to doubling your film rate. For example, use 1/50th for 24 FPS film rate.

The biggest issue for still shooters is not realizing how much shooting at slow shutter speeds at 24 or 30 FMS can make your footage look jumpy, sloppy and totally annoying. Moving the camera smoothly is an art form all to its self. The other biggie is not using shots that are too long. Look at any movie or TV commercial and you will notice how short each shot is when you count the seconds. To create a better product you will be using a lot of short shots creatively. It's sort of like making a slide show with stills. You control the number of images and how long each image will be on the screen. A good slideshow presentation will vary the length of time an image is projected. Some images need to linger while some need a brief glimpse. Same thing for video or film production. This opens up all kinds of creative options...

You can also shoot stills and integrate them into your production...



Jun 01, 2013 at 06:06 PM
skibum5
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 5DII video suggestions


Michael Gordon wrote:
Got roped into making a horse video. Though I have taken many horse shots for
sales images, am a total video newbie. I had planned to download MagicLantern and try the raw video thing but no time for that as have to do it tomorrow.
It must be HD and I vaguely recall here that shutter speed should be a multiple of the frame rate? I will be there at crack of dawn but afraid if stuck with sunny 16 is 1/60 OK and not too choppy? I suppose my default will be 1/30 in shutter priority. Oh well,
...Show more

Usual is shutter speed at twice the frame rate so if you shoot 24fps then try 1/50th shutter not 1/30th.
If you want a more smeary look you could try 1/30th I guess, although you are still getting only 24fps so it's a bit different than expected. If you want a more intense being chased by a monster OMG I"m freaking out noooooo sort of thing sometimes going to a faster shutter works and you could bump shutter speed up.





Jun 02, 2013 at 01:22 PM
24Peter
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 5DII video suggestions


Michael Gordon wrote:
Yikes, trial by fire. I have the 24-105 and will use it. I have the usual expert "ear person" to help with the horse. So shutter priority is the way to go? Thanks much for the advice.


I manually set my shutter speed and aperture when shooting video. But for informal work I do use auto ISO on the 5DII to get proper exposure (unlike still images, auto ISO in M mode works the way it's supposed to when shooting video on the 5DII).

The 24-105 is a good choice because of the IS but bring a tripod with a video head.



Jun 02, 2013 at 06:13 PM
justruss
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 5DII video suggestions


I hope this isn't paid work-- and isn't important free work either.

Video may be comprised of still shots shown rapidly in succession, but it's a totally different medium than its component parts. Everything from mechanics (how to pan) to setup (what ss) to theory (how to edit/shoot) require extensive experience to become competent with.



Jun 03, 2013 at 03:44 AM
Michael Gordon
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 5DII video suggestions


Well, not too bad. Appreciated the help. Glad I moved it up to 7:30 AM as the light was getting harsh already. Most of my ND stuff is 67mm for my CZ 35-70 used for landscape or for a Cokin holder which looked too clumsy. Just put a pol on and had to stop down to F8 or 11. Set up to keep the background less cluttered, ease of panning,and not get dust in the way. The variables kept my head swimming and following focus consistent smooth panning was difficult. The clips will not look professional but have enough at all gates/directions/transitions/shoulder-in at times to get it done w/o the video inexperience calling attention to itself very often. It would have been much worse w/o the suggestions here--thank you. DOF was my friend this time.
I have seen external gear gizmos for smoothly following focus--?d-focus for not too much $$ ?? Does that work OK?

Not sure how it is done with a small LV image w/o magnification? I think Magic lantern will enable focus peaking.
I don't think PS CS6 will let me rotate the clips at all, AFAIK but I need to trim the highlight a tad. The default sharpening might be overdone, but need to take a closer look.
At least some of the stills were very nice, IMHO.



Jun 04, 2013 at 06:21 PM
jimmy462
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 5DII video suggestions


Hi Michael,

Well, I've give you points for courage under fire, going out to shoot cold with no experience takes some gumption. Didn't see your post until it was too late to offer my own two-bits, though you certainly got some great late-in-the-day advice here! I, for one, would love to see your final product, so if you can post a link to the final edit along the way I'm sure it would add to this post!

And, now that you've got more than 24-hours to get it all together for the next one I'll toss in a few more suggestions...

The 5d2 24-105 combo is certainly more than enough to get you going. Trust your photographer's eye. Shoot lots of coverage so that you'll have plenty to play with to create a visual storyline during the edit. Resist the temptation at using the zoom ring while the camera is rolling at all costs. It's your first time out so choose 3 or 4 focal lengths (more if you'd like) to work in and, again, get plenty of coverage. Lock that baby down on some sticks, frame your shots, let action move through your frame. If you'd like some handheld, moving-with-the-subject shots, stay wide to reduce shaking effects. Pay attention to your horizons, keep them level. Feel free to ignore your horizons for extreme-closeup POV shots. And finally, film-making is fun, relax, shake it out, go have a ball!

Best to you,
Jimmy G

P.S. Oops, almost forgot...Audio is as important as the images, next time consider grabbing something like a small, lightweight one of these and slapping it on a hot shoe mount...

Portable Digital Recorders | B&H Photo Video:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Max+Sampling+Rate_24+Bit%2f96kHz&ci=14934&N=4291085915+4294956138+4160106880

(I am not affiliated with this reseller, link provided as an example.)



Jun 04, 2013 at 11:39 PM
PhotoMaximum
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · 5DII video suggestions


Glad it worked out Michael.

Shooting video can be fun. The video capable 5D (and other bodies) can deliver great moving images.
The demands on delivering a solid product are considerable and way different than shooting stills though.

If you go to any film or video set you will find that film making is not a solo event: there is always a crew working together. A director, a director of photography and a focus puller will be collaborating on getting the right images. Being a one man band can offer freedom but its hard to do really. It really becomes very difficult if you have to record audio at the same time. As I said earlier you have to use extra equipment to capture decent audio. You have to monitor (listen) the audio as its been recorded and make sure the levels don't peak. Doing all this while operating the camera and focusing at the same time gets very distracting until you have a lot of experience.

After the 5D became a hit with film makers there was an explosion of new equipment that helps stabilize the camera, focus lenses and mount audio gear etc. All of this can be a slippery slope once you start getting into this, so be warned.

The number one factor is camera stability. I think too much focus is placed on shoulder rigs. Most shots would be better with the camera locked down on a tripod. Tripods for film making are different beasts than stills tripods though. They cost more too. A good tripod for video will have solid support legs, a leveling bowl system, and a smooth video head. Cheap video heads pretend to get the job done, but they don't.

A follow focus system really does help. Again, you get what you pay for. Options and prices are more attractive nowadays though. Most follow focus systems mount onto a 15mm rails system, commonly called a "rig". These rigs can be found from a zillion manufacturers now and be configured in any way that suits the individual user. You can spend hundreds or thousands on this stuff.

In camera settings that are common for still photography are going to be too sharp, too contrasty and too saturated for video. Its best to to turn down all these settings as its easier to edit these factors in post with your editing program. Grading color, etc, with Final Cut Pro, Premier or Avid, etc, is an art form all on its own.

There are some solid websites devoted to all this of course. I have spent several years writing for and moderating a major DSLR film making site/forum...



Jun 05, 2013 at 08:25 AM
Gunzorro
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · 5DII video suggestions


Michael -- Cool!

Any chance to see your first effort?



Jun 05, 2013 at 10:23 AM
Michael Gordon
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · 5DII video suggestions


It is only a horse sales project fortunately. Have only looked at the images and clips
on my TV and took notes as to what segments to use and what portions of each. They need it by end of next weekend and should be able to get to it on Saturday. I like the the sound of the birds and the horse going by, but most people dub in some music. The wind noise and me fussing with the cam won't do anyway. It is a fine line between courage and stupidity.

I would have changed the in cam defaults etc-always shoot RAW with a med sized JPEG just for reference but have the luxury of having enough time never to use the latter.
Thanks again.



Jun 05, 2013 at 04:16 PM
PhotoMaximum
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · 5DII video suggestions


Creating little short pieces like this is a great way to get started - or it will solidify that you want nothing to do with video...


Jun 05, 2013 at 05:11 PM





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