This guide is intended for anyone who wishes to use a video
camera for news gathering or documentary work. Although it is written
for the complete novice there should also be something here for the more
experienced. It should be read in conjunction with the manual for your
video camera (which should be read cover to cover at least twice).
Camera Technique
The general rule is slow and simple. Position yourself, compose a
shot and record keeping everything as still as possible till you the
finish shot.
- The most reliable way of getting good shots is to turn the
lens to as wide an angle as possible and get as close to the
subject/action as possible.
- Treat the camera as if it were a stills camera.
Stay still and avoid panning(left/right), tilting(up/down) and zooming
unless it is absolutely necessary. Simple shots are best and they are
easier to pull off.
If you do want some movement each shot should generally have a maximum of one zoom or pan or tilt,
generally if you need a second it is better to stop camera and make it a
new shot. Experienced camera people can do multiple movements during a
shot but for the less experienced you will just reduce the usefulness of
your footage.
- If you have to change the camera angle do it as slowly (and smoothly) as possible.
It is much better to have something briefly out of shot than to be
continually/rapidly changing the camera angle. Ideally it should be done
so slowly that the audience does not notice. Bear in mind long pans are
of limited use as they will have to be spread up and this will look
jerky. Doing a faster pan is easier to do smoothly an slowing it down
slightly later works well.
- Use a tripod wherever possible and if not try to
find something to lean against. When shooting without a tripod bear in
mind the wider the angle you are shooting the steadier the shot.
Zoom/Pan/Tilt shots really need one.
- Practice Zoom/Tilt/Pan shot a few (2+) times; then when you film it do a few takes.
You will be surprised how you can program you mussel memory by doing a
couple of practice runs. You will find it a lot easier to hit your final
mark.
- If possible move in closer rather than zooming in. To help steady the camera push the eyepiece to your eye and press your elbows against the bottom of your ribs.
- If the camera or action is moving things should be in shot for at least 5 seconds.
- Leave at least 5 seconds before and after each shot. This will make editing easier and stop roll-back (some camcorders briefly record over the end of the previous shot).
- Shots should generally be between 10 and 40 seconds
unless you are doing an interview/following action. Making the shots
too short will make editing difficult as you do not know exactly how the
footage is going to be edited. Making the shots too long makes logging
and finding footage very difficult. Inexperienced camera people often
just keep the camera running as modern solid state camcorders can record
hours. This is a good way of making enemies of editors!.
Interviewing
- Why and What are probably the most important questions to ask (i.e. Why are you here today? What happened Here?). How and Where are also useful.
- Suss out who will be a good interviewee(s) by sauntering around and
chatting without the camera. People with a positive attitude and/or who
are articulate are probably the ones to choose rather than just the most
outspoken. This saves a hell of a lot of time in editing! Try talking
to a group of people rather than just one if they seem to work well
together.
- It’s a good idea not to talk at any length to a potential interviewee beforehand.
If you do, the interview will probably come across as forced and
unnatural. However if the people are used to being interviewed for
radio/TV this may not be a problem.
- Playing devils advocate is a good way of making a point sound convincing. Explaining this to the interviewee beforehand can be a good idea.
- Spend time thinking where the person should stand (background) and the angle you want to shoot them from.
Try to find an appropriate background to shoot against that says
something relevent. As a rule of thumb the interviewee should be to one
side of the centre of the frame and facing in slightly toward the
middle.
- Try to make sure there are no distracting background visuals or noises,
e.g. if a plane goes over or someone pulls a face in the background it
might well be best to stop recording and ask the last question again. It
is better not to have people walking around in the background unless
this adds to the atmosphere of the piece. Be careful if there is a
mirror in shot it is not getting your reflection or something
problematic.
- Interviewees may need to know where to look. A good technique is to ask them to talk straight into the camera lens, to the audience in there! Getting the interviewer to stand behind the camera is a good idea to insure this.
- During the piece assess if shot needs to be changed
(i.e. person making important hand gestures). This should be avoided
and it may be necessary to re-ask the question after this. If it is
being done during the interview either zoom slowly (in which case this
could be kept when editing) or do it fast (if a cutaway could be
inserted).
- It is useful if answers will ‘stand alone’ as complete sentences
so that questions can be edited out without the meaning being lost. If
you have time talk to the interviewee beforehand explaining this would
be useful but for them not to worry if it is a problem. Asking open
questions can help like 'why are you here?' or 'What happened today?'.
If they do not answer in a stand alone fashion polity interrupt, you may
be able to suggest how they could start there answer, e.g. 'We came
down here to day because…'. This works with some people better than
others, if it is not working out don’t worry as it is not absolutely
necessary.
- It is a good idea to get the person to say their name and phone number/address at the beginning/end of an interview.
This will ensure they can be contacted later and help when creating
captions. It their name is an unusual one get them to spell it.
- When doing interviews using manual focus is a good idea.
Even if the person does not move much auto-focus sometimes tries to
refocus which can pushing the picture out of focus for a moment. Bear in
bind that if shooting outside in good light (not necessarily full
sunlight) the depth of field is fairly large so re-focusing is less
necessary. Push Focus/Focus Assist is very useful (this is where the
camera is set on manual and there is a button which kicks in auto focus
when it is pressed). This enables quick focus but reduces the problem of
over shooting.
- As a good ‘voice of the people’ type technique for snappy interviews
just set up the camera and sound, press record and ask the person to
introduce themselves and tell the camera why they are there.
- At the end of the interview ask the person if there is anything else
they would like to say, you will be surprised at how useful this can
be.
Sound
Do not underestimate the importance of sound in your piece, treat it
with as much care as you give to the picture. If you cannot hear an
interviewee clearly it is as bad as a very wobbly picture. Basic rules
are get a decent microphone, get it as close as possible and always use
headphones to monitor.
- Camcorder built-in mikes are generally inadequate except for getting background noise (wildtrack), and then only in windless conditions.
- A windsock is essential and easy to cut out of foam packing.
- Get the best mike you can afford. if you have spent
£1000 on a camcorder to complement the picture spending £100 on a mike
would be a good balance. Shotgun microphones mounted on the camera are
the best all round solution.
- Always monitor the sound with headphones, not doing
this is like shooting with your eyes shut. At least it will worn you if
you forgot to turn on the mike! It is best to use headphones which are
'full cup' and go all round the ears as this cuts out background sound.
- The closer the mic. is to the sound the better the sound will be (twice as near will improve the sound more than twice!).
- On modern camcorders generally the safest thing to do is use auto levels.
There are often settings for reducing wind noise and stopping the
microphone being overloaded with loud noise (read the manual). If you do
use manual levels the most important thing is for the microphone not to
be overloaded so set the level low (you can amplify in the edit later).
Use headphones to check you can here the interviewee.
- If possible get someone else to hold the microphone.
They need to point it at the mouth and get it as close as possible
without being in shot. If you are doing a head and shoulders shot
getting close and coming in from underneath works well. This requires a
certain amount of team work/practice. It is all to easy to get
yourselves tangled up, especially if you are following action.
- If it is just one person you could 'lock off' the camera on the tripod, leave it running and hold the microphone yourself.
- Tie-clip microphones, either wireless or wired, are great for interviews..
You still need to use headphones to ensure you are not picking up
cloths rustle. If wireless make sure you have fresh batteries. You may
also want to record with a shotgun microphone on the camera for belt and
braces.
- Recording the sound separately can be the best solution.
This can either be on a DAT/MiniDisk recorder or on a high quality tape
recorder. This will give you greater flexibility and can increase the
sound quality by allowing the microphone to be closer to the sound. This
is essential if you are doing long shots and want to pick up someone
talking. You will have to sync the sound and picture later. Having
camera sound is usefull for this as you can look at the shape of the
audio waves. Using a clapper-board or clapping on shot (moving your
hands away from eatch other quickly) helps. Also remember the more shots
the more times you have to sync so in this case keeping the camera
running is good. Lastly remember the sync can drift after about 20
minutes.
- Another solution is to use a 2nd camcorder to record the sound only.
- If the person is speaking through a PA get the mike as close to this
as possible. If you are pointing away from the PA to film a speaker
even though the sound seems loud you will almost certainly pick up an
annoying echo. (this is inside, outside is less of a problem).
For interviews and general use there are a few simple alternatives:
- A cardioid (directional) mike with a good windsock can be used
hand-held. Decide whether you want the mic. in or out of shot, never let
it dither on the edge of the screen. Bear in mind that you can easily
get ‘handling noise’ especially if the mic. was not designed to be hand
held. The mic. should be held at chest height and pointed at the person
talking. A boom is ideal for keeping the sound person out of shot and
can be easily botched together using a broom stick.
- Alternatively the mic. could be put on a mike stand and feature in
the composition of the shot, but again this can produce unreliable
results as the speaker must be roughly the correct distance from it,
this also takes practice.
- A rifle (super-directional) mic. is a relatively reliable
alternative. This can be clipped to the top of the camera. Better still
use a sound assistant but be sure the mic. is pointed in the right
direction. Headphones will be more important the more directional the
mic.
- Another good alternative is the tie mic. which clips unobtrusively to the interviewee's chest.
- Mics can be radio mic. or simple mics on leads. With the hand-held
mic turn it a couple of times around the interviewer’s hand before
trailing it off towards the camera or on a boom wrap it around the boom.
This stops rattle and strain of the plug at the bottom of the mic.
- Radio mikes are much more expensive and have the additional problems
associated with transmitting/receiving radio signals (i.e.
Interference) so it is even more important to get a good one.
Cutaways
Cutaways are used during interviews, they Cutaway to what the person
is talking about or simply make editing a interview easier (it is
possible to take an interview and remove anything you do not want if you
have cutaways to hide the edits).
- Establishing Shots are often used at the
beginning/end of films and also to break film into sections. These are
often wide shots showing a building (Venue, Courtroom) or location
(Place where film is set). They should be used to illustrate something
relevant.
- Action Shots. If people are engaged in some type of
activity getting this will make the film more interesting. Doing is
generally more interesting than talking.
- Detail/Illustration Shots. It may be necessary to
show something in detail that is being talked about. If an item is being
held and talked about it is normally best to wait until after the
interview to get close ups. Similarly if the person is talking about
something or somewhere (even it is could be paned to) it is almost
always better to get the shot of it later. If someone mentions something
and you feel the urge to move shot to include it think twice. It is
almost always necessary to get it later.
- Always listen out during an interview for possible cutaways
that you don’t already have, such as the smouldering digger that the
interviewee has been talking about but that you haven’t seen. Make a
list (maybe a mental list) of these and go get them before your next
interview if time allows.
- Always get shots of action or just general scenes that are unique or particular to the story you are telling.
- Get people in the shot whenever you can if relevant.
This normally makes the shot more interesting. If subjects get paranoid
about being filmed remind them that there are lots of CCTV cameras
around. If they are engaged in some type of protest others will have
plenty of film of them from long distance helicopters etc. Paranoia
breeds paranoia. However respect peoples feelings. If it is a group of
people asking first is one approach. You could have somewhere that
people should stand if they want to be out of shot.
- As a rule of thumb never take shots of less than 20 seconds. The shot you need may be longer than you originally think.
- If the cutaway contains no action itself, such as an immobilised
digger that no longer works, you may want to use gentle zooming and
panning to make the clip more interesting and put it in perspective.
Wildtrack
- Wildtrack (general/ambient noise) is very useful in adding to the
mood of a piece and can be collected from all manner of places.
- You should record several minutes at once as the film may want a fairly long clip.
- One technique is to put a single piece of wildtrack under the whole film or section of a film. This will create a single consistent background ambience and smooth over sound edits.
- It does not necessarily need to come from the location you are
filming, indeed if you can carry around a good quality recorder all of
the time this is useful; you never know when the opportunity will
present itself.
- When collecting Wildtrack 'on location' move away from distracting
noises to get a 'purer' sound, unless it is crowd commotion etc. you are
trying to capture.
- Build up a library and make sure you log it.
- It goes without saying that a good quality mike is essential. Where
with interviews a mono mike is ideal, to get proper 'depth' in wildtrack
a stereo mike should be used. Some modern camcorders have stereo
microphones that are suitable.
Lighting
Lighting is not only in the domain of the professional. And it also is not only a consideration indoors.
- Lighting is for 4 basic purposes
- To give the cameras CCD sensor chip enough light to get a good image.
Generally the more light the better. Although modern camcorders can
shoot as very low light levels the picture is better when there is a
decent amount of light (Normal indoor lighting is not normally
sufficient). As light levels go up the picture clarity, colour and even
defenestration increases.
- To reduce contrast. Camcorders can only handle a
fraction of the contrast to the human eye. A face lit by full sunlight
viewed with the naked eye may look fine but when filmed the light areas
will normally have no details (blown whites). A portable light fixed to
the top of the camera can fix this by acting as a fill light.
- To create mood This is the use of lighting most
people think off and also the one that takes the most skill. Blues and
Greens can be calming and reds and oranges warming. Practice and a lot
of further reeding is required here.
- To make the image look less two dimensional. The
screen two dimensional but the eye sees in three. Adding shadow can make
the flat image look more 3D. This is why wham you watch interviews on
TV they are often side lit to create shadow on the face. Strong diffused
light works well.
- It helps to think in terms of soft (fill) light and hard (direct) light. To get the best picture a mixture of both is necessary.
- Avoid strong direct sunlight, especially overhead noon sunlight as
the sharp shadows this causes can look artificial and noon overhead sun
can cause strong black shadows. In general subjects eye's should not be
in shadow. Move yourself and the interviewee around to get something
that works best. Shooting in shade on a sunny day is the simple solution
but be careful with exposure if you have a mixture of shade and light
in your composition. When it is overcast a subject can seem flat but
this is difficult to avoid, unless you wait for the sun to come out.
- Morning sun tends to have a cold pastel blue hue while evening sun
is warm and beautiful, improving skin tones and ideal for landscapes.
Known as the 'golden hour' in California, it comes in a variety of
shades in the UK.
- There are a few bits of kit which make things easier.
- A reflector. These can be brought from photographic/video shops or
home made. If it is overcast the reflector can be used to through ‘hard’
light on the persons face, improving contrast. If it is bright use the
reflector to ‘fill in’ the shadows. You can easily mock up reflectors
using large sheets of white card, polystyrene board, etc. White is
better than silver unless you have a stand for the reflector. With
silver the slightest movement shows up.
- A sun gun. This is a light attached to the top of
the camera and either run off the camera's batteries or a separate
battery pack. It is used as a fill light on overcast days, to fill hard shadows caused by hard sunlight or in the dark
for essential footage. Traditionally these were small halogen bulbs but more recently LED versions have become very popular. The Z96, which can be got from eBay for under £45 is a great little light and can use standard Sony batteries or AA cells.
- A Softbox. This is a portable/collapsible box that surrounds the
whole light. It is possible to clip gells to the front. A Softbox with
high powered (65-150 watt) daylight balanced photo fluorescent bulbs
make a great budget rig. Softbox (£25), 150watt bulb (£15) and stand
(£10) = £50. Not only is this a fraction of the price many spend but it
is portable and low power consumption (compared to the 800 watt red
heads that many use).
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