Video Production
Video Production has come a long way in the past 25 years. I still remember the
days of lugging a 16mm projector around to show my work to clients. Even with
all the technological advances in video cameras and editing software, the basics
of how to shoot are still with us.
In the early days we started out with 2” quad tape format, then 1”, then Beta
cam, Beta cam Sp, Digital Beta cam and now High Definition. Even with all these
improvements without the knowledge of such basics as how to write a screenplay,
or frame composition or exposure or editing techniques and a host other
additional production know how’s, you still wind up with a second rate show.
Today you can find a host of good High Def. Cameras that are designed so that
the consumer doesn’t have to worry about exposure of focus or many other
creative tools. The problem here is that often these (auto this and auto that)
functions will let you down in crucial situations and also deprive you of
creativity in your shooting.
In professional videography we want to control such things as focus, depth of
field, camera aperture, zoom speed and other camera functions. To do this we
need cameras that can at the very least let us creatively override auto
functions.
Camera control is only half the battle to successful video production. Another
extremely important element is the lighting. I’ve been shooting for 25 years and
I can tell you without a doubt that additional lighting and accurate control of
the extra lighting can make a huge difference in the way the audience perceives
the show. Video’s biggest problem is still the highlights in any given scene and
control of the highlight range is critical in video.
When I am shooting video (and I shoot in both video and film) I am always very
conscious of the highlights in the scene knowing that the range from highlights
to shadows in video shooting is not as wide as when shooting film. In addition,
the bigger your light sources, and the softer the light and the better the video
will look. This is isn’t always an easy fix if you don’t have a lighting package
with big soft lights.
Camera manufactures have spent a lot of energy, a lot of time and a lot of money
trying to make video look like film. Curious that practically no money has been
spent trying to make film look like video. This is because we all agree that the
look of film, with its higher than video contrast range and its softer more
subtle gradation between colours and tones is the look we like. Few of us would
spend money in the theatre to watch a show that looked like the 6 p.m. news.
Camera filters are often employed by cinematographers to give their video a film
style look. These can be net filters, fog filters, diffusion filters and many
other different kinds. If you would like to experiment a bit try putting a shear
mesh type of material over your camera lens. Put it on with an elastic band
around the lens and pull it tight. Note the different, less sharp image of your
video. Put a really bright highlight in the shot such as a flashlight or light
from a candle and note what the filter does to the highlight.
I believe eventually video will overtake film. But I also believe that day will
come only when a video production cannot be distinguished from the look of film.
You can learn lots more about creative video techniques from my book “The Video Bible” available in book form and on CD from on this site.
Click here for more info
Cheers, Barry
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