Monday, July 22, 2013

dSLR Video Tips

Exposure
  • Use Manual exposure
  • Set the Shutter Speed according to the fps (1/2x fps)  A fast shutter speed makes the video appear choppy
  • Set the Aperture for the proper exposure.  Use  ND filters to maintain small apertures

Frames Per Second
24fps - cinematic look, best results with 1/50s shutter speed
30fps - video (tv) look,  shoot up to 1/60s
60fps - best for action and slow motion

ISO
160, 320, 640 and 1250 offer the least amount of noise (on Canon cameras)

Picture Styles
  • Turn sharpening off
  • Set contrast and sharpening down a bit
  • Be careful of too much saturation
  • Video is like shooting jpegs, you have to get it right at the time of shooting.  You don’t have a RAW file to work with.

White Balance
  • set the proper white balance, not AWB
  • Some cameras allow you to set the WB in 100 deg. Kelvin increments

Focus
  • Manual focus is the best, you don’t have autofocus when shooting.
  • zoom in on the live view screen to better see the focus


  • Use a Tripod - without a tripod, the video will look sloppy and amateurish.  Use a fluid head for panning
  • Use some sort of stabilization rig.  The dSLR is small and lightweight and not easy to hand hold for video
  • Use Motion - gives the viewer more info as the frame changes.  Attach to a car, set on a skateboard
  • Planning the movie before you shoot will help you get the shots you need.  Remember to include an overall scene, as well as medium shots and close ups.
  • Always get more footage than you think you'll need.  You will soon realize this in editing.
  • Microphones - external microphones add to the quality.  Slides into the hot-shoe of your camera
  • Shoot Wide-Open - this takes advantage of the large sensor and fast lenses in the dSLR system.  You may need to use a ND filter in bright daylight.
  • Leave room at the beginning and ending - start recording early and keep recording a few seconds after you think you are done.  Easy to edit out.
  • Keep the camera horizontal.  For vertical subjects, pan up and down.
  • You will need a high speed memory card to record video.  Get one with lots of capacity because video uses up a lot of memory.
  • Avoid shooting clips continuously.  Long clips can heat up the camera to dangerous levels.
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