My Videos - Learng and Making Them

[daniyal]

20 July 2012

[youtubehd]vPrKvzqyvxo[/youtubehd]

After months of self study and video tests, I braved myself to cover a wedding event, with the help of couple of newbies I met during my learning journey. Without them, I may not be able to pull this off.

Overall, it was a good exposure and very very valuable experience. I learned a lot from just this one event. No matter how much I have read, learned, experimenting, Nothing beats this wedding shoot or the REAL THING. I would like to share my experiences and my mistakes. Hopefully, it would help you guys in any way.

PRIME LENS / FAST LENS
- You need them. You really really need them for videography. It really helps in your footage in terms of composition, colours, highlights, shadows, details and many more.
- There is a huge difference between my Samyang 35mm F1.4 and Canon 17-85mm F3.5/F5.6. I prefer all my footages shot with Samyang. I can shoot in biggest aperture which will allow more light to be capture, thus it will give you better footages.
- If you need to shoot with zoom lens, get them at the highest aperture. It would really make your job easier when editing.

SPARE BATTERIES
- Always carried them with you. In your pocket. I brought 4 spares but I kept them at my equipment bag. So I experienced a moment of low in battery and I need to rush back to my car to get them. During this moment, I believe I could have missed out couple of moments. So always keep them with you.

EXPOSURE
- During this wedding, I tried out 2 approach. A little bit of Underexposed and Dun Clip Your Highlights. Whatever it is, go for the latter approach. Dun Clip Your Highlights. It produced better quality images.
- Both approach will help you retain details in your footages but the Underexposed footages doesn't work 100% for me.
- Use the histogram to gauge your composition and not to clip your highlights.

PLANNING
- Luckily, I planned out my shots, organising my logistics movement and my timings. Still, it was never enough. Least, I have planned out my strategy and it keeps me calm.
- You have to really learn on anticipating the moments, study the crowd, understand the situation. With these in mind, you have to make decision that may affect the way you work to get the footages that you want.
- You have to adapt to the situation that arises that can dampen the way you shoot.
- I brought my crane along. I did not manage to fully utilize the crane due to the location and space constraint. On the spot, I made the decision to dump the crane. I really want to use the crane to add more value in the final product but the situation did not permit.

COMPETENCY / 2 VIDEO-SHOOTERS
- Seriously, in any video shoot, you need more than 1 video shooter. For my case, I have 2 different assistant video-shooter for the solemnization(Saturday) and wedding reception(Sunday).
- No matter how good or bad you are, you need to be competent in handling the equipment and understand the basic 3 rule in video shooting which is Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO settings.
- I had the challenge of having 2 different level of competency in my 2 assistant video-shooters.
- It always good and best to have someone to help you out. In that way, you can bounce off a lot of ideas from one another.

LIGHTS
- In videography, I believe that lighting is very important and crucial in getting a good footages.
- I already predicted that the solemnization is going to be held in quite low lighting environment. Brought along my LED lighting. It saved my day.

CAMERA-WORKS
- Always records 2-3seconds of still video before you move your camera. Once you done recording, record another 2-3 seconds of still video.
- Before you stop recording, always ensure that whatever you are capturing, the actions are complete. For example, like singing - complete the verse, passing the gifts, etc. Least, your footages do not end abruptly.
- All these small details, you will appreciate them when editing. TRUST ME ON THIS.
- Always use monopods or tripods to assist you in video shoot. I personally don't like the footages captured by DSLR rig. It doesn't provide the stability like the monopod or tripod does.
- If you guys, still want to use DSLR rig, you can try this. While shooting, try to move your camera in SQUARE shape. Slowly. It helps in dampening the shakiness. You can see in the video at 05:50. That is the best example.

SD CARD
- SanDisk is the best. My Silicon Power gave me 2 corrupted footages. So go for SanDisk.

AUDIO RECORDING
- Good audio is as important to good video footages.
- As for me, I have used the past couple of months to experimenting my audio recorder settings. It may not be the best quality but I am impressed with the quality that I have recorded with the settings that I have plan.
- General guide, bring down your recording level to zero. And slowly increase it until it start capturing and stop. Then, you tried to increase the level +5 or +10. Lock them down. That's it. I believe if you go any higher, you will be capturing all the unwanted ambient noise which can be irritating.
- Have a spare. My camera is recording. I have another audio linked up to the DJ system. I have another audio recorder placed near the speaker. During the solemnization, I have 3 audio recordings.

That's it. I am just sharing my experiences and mistakes. I hope in any way I have helped you guys in any possible way.

At the same time, Comments and Scrutinizations are greatly welcomed and encouraged.

Thank you people!!!

 

[frozentomtom]

Daniyal,

Excellent job, though I've attended a Malay wedding long time ago, for your video, can feel the wedding mood there.

- If you need to shoot with zoom lens, get them at the highest aperture. It would really make your job easier when editing.

What do you mean by highest aperture? do you mean shoot at f/11 so that everything is in focus?

- Use the histogram to gauge your composition and not to clip your highlights.

How do you ensure that the highlight is not clip? Do you check that all the tones of a scene to fall within the boundaries of the histogram itself.

General guide, bring down your recording level to zero. And slowly increase it until it start capturing and stop. Then, you tried to increase the level +5 or +10. Lock them down. That's it. I believe if you go any higher, you will be capturing all the unwanted ambient noise which can be irritating.

Are these settings refer to the 60D built-in mic?

 

[daniyal]

Daniyal,

Excellent job, though I've attended a Malay wedding long time ago, for your video, can feel the wedding mood there.




What do you mean by highest aperture? do you mean shoot at f/11 so that everything is in focus?

How do you ensure that the highlight is not clip? Do you check that all the tones of a scene to fall within the boundaries of the histogram itself.





Are these settings refer to the 60D built-in mic?

Bro frozentomtom>>> I love you Man!!

What do you mean by highest aperture? do you mean shoot at f/11 so that everything is in focus?
- Again, my mistake. I was refering to smallest F-stops. Hehehhe.
- Depending on what lens and distance, generally, between F/8 to F/16, pretty much you get everything in focus.
- With my 35mm and 14mm, I was playing with my infinity range. This way, for my 35mm, at F/2.8 I can achieve a fairly good results. For my 14mm, at F/3.5 I can achieve the same results.
- Seriously with 14mm at infinity and 3 metres, the focusing is negligable.
- Close up shots, I tried to play with bokeh. Usually, irregardless of my focusing distance, I shot with smaller F-stops.

How do you ensure that the highlight is not clip? Do you check that all the tones of a scene to fall within the boundaries of the histogram itself.
- The attached picture is a very good example. As time goes along throughout the wedding, I was pushing my histogram as the attached picture. I was trying the Dave Dugdale methods, the one that you posted recently about the snow highlights.
- There are times that you cannot really rely on the histogram because what you see on your LCD screen does not tally with the histogram. Got to trust your eyes then.
- Another thing to take note, NEVER NEVER ever follow the bride and groom from outdoor to indoor or vice versa. There goes your white balance, settings and composition. Always wait for them in the next environment. I only realised it halfway through the wedding.

Are these settings refer to the 60D built-in mic?
- I applied these settings for my 60D, 550D and 2 Zoom H4N.
- The 550D already had the Magic Lattern installed with the AGC function can be turned off at -20db. So I leave the recording leve at 75% mark.
- For the 60D as mentioned with +5 and Zoom H4N at +10. I pretty much like the results. So it is up to you Bro.
- The audio at the beginning of the video and at 01:36, I took the source from the DJ console.

 

[frozentomtom]

Daniyal,

Would you know where I can get these type of thumb screws for my Wei Feng 717 plate?

 

[frozentomtom]

Bro frozentomtom>>>

- The attached picture is a very good example. As time goes along throughout the wedding, I was pushing my histogram as the attached picture. I was trying the Dave Dugdale methods, the one that you posted recently about the snow highlights.

Bro,

Thanks for the detail reply.

I thought about the Dave Dugdale method but my only concern is when shooting on a bright sunny day, the glare from the sun can make it very difficult to read the histogram from the LCD. So I wonder would it be better to shoot under exposed by may be -1/3EV, then adjust the exposure during post editing by playing with levels?

 

[daniyal]

Daniyal,

Would you know where I can get these type of thumb screws for my Wei Feng 717 plate?

Bro, tell me about it. I am also looking for thumb-screws. I hate "coin screw" type.

Same here, if you know where to get it, let me know too. Thanks Bro.

 

[daniyal]

Bro,

Thanks for the detail reply.

I thought about the Dave Dugdale method but my only concern is when shooting on a bright sunny day, the glare from the sun can make it very difficult to read the histogram from the LCD. So I wonder would it be better to shoot under exposed by may be -1/3EV, then adjust the exposure during post editing by playing with levels?

Well, I did tried during the wedding on Sunday. I could not see any difference. Maybe I was under pressure I may overlooked. I leave it as it is.

If you look at the bottom of your LCD screen, there is this exposure metering. As you move your camer, it will read the exposure. I used that as well as a guide to see whether am I going underexpose or overexpose.

 

[joryan]

Daniyal,

I like it when you managed to bring out the Malay culture in the video. But I think the video was quite shaky. Were you using a tripod/monopod? Some scenes could also be better angled, eg at 00:58 I could see the other cameraman. Other scenes could be better if the DOF was more shallow.

Overall a good effort on your first attempt!

 

[daniyal]

Daniyal,

I like it when you managed to bring out the Malay culture in the video. But I think the video was quite shaky. Were you using a tripod/monopod? Some scenes could also be better angled, eg at 00:58 I could see the other cameraman. Other scenes could be better if the DOF was more shallow.

Overall a good effort on your first attempt!

Bro Joryan >>> Thank you for comments. Yes, I agree with you. There are lots of mistakes in this video. Being first timer covering a wedding, PHEW!

But I think the video was quite shaky
- I think some of the footages works with a little bit of shakiness but not all. If there were to be my next wedding gig, I will eliminate all these. It would make the overall video looks good.

Were you using a tripod/monopod?
- I did used tripod and monopod. But there quite a number of instances where it was hit and run. For example, while doing some sliding shot, I knew something would happen. So I removed my camera from the slider and off I go. Handheld. Over time throughout the wedding, I have tried this method of making a "square" with your camera while handheld, I think the results were better. This is to dampen my fall and overcomed my tiredness in my hands.

Some scenes could also be better angled, eg at 00:58 I could see the other cameraman
- Tell me about it Bro. That was me in the blue shirt. That's why I wrote about competency in my earlier post.
- Since it was captured, my editing has to be "dirty".
- The next time, I need to make my final product to be very clean.

Thanks Bro Joryan for your time and comments. I am doing this just for fun. This is my friend's wedding. I have invested a lot of time and money in this wedding. I personally felt that from this wedding alone, it has taught me numerous lessons and also provided me a ground to test my knowledge after months of reading and self video tests. My friends are happy and I am happy.

Keep your comments coming.

 

[frozentomtom]

- I did used tripod and monopod. But there quite a number of instances where it was hit and run. For example, while doing some sliding shot, I knew something would happen. So I removed my camera from the slider and off I go. Handheld. Over time throughout the wedding, I have tried this method of making a "square" with your camera while handheld, I think the results were better. This is to dampen my fall and overcomed my tiredness in my hands.

What is "Square" movement? I replayed framed 5:50 several times, can't see the square movement in the video.

 

[daniyal]

frozentomtom>>> Bro, you would not be able to see it. Because I was doing it very slowly. And I never completed a square. Heheheh. You can try it.

 

[hamanoshun]

I think regarding the histogram issue, it should only be used if you can't determine, by eye, whether the highlights are clipped. This happens very often in bright sunlight where there's too much glare to be able to confirm that you have exposed for the highlights ideally, therefore using the histogram to make sure your highlights aren't clipped in is a great solution only in glaring sunlight, because ultimately when you start recording, the histrogram disappears, rendering you unable to continually use it to maintain proper exposure throughout the duration of your shot.

It's good that you have learnt a lot of this wedding, but remember to apply what you feel is necessary. I see you have proper audio recording hardware but I'm not sure whether you used an external hot-shoe microphone.

 

[daniyal]

hamanoshun>>> I could not agree more with you Bro.

I think regarding the histogram issue, it should only be used if you can't determine, by eye, whether the highlights are clipped. This happens very often in bright sunlight where there's too much glare to be able to confirm that you have exposed for the highlights ideally, therefore using the histogram to make sure your highlights aren't clipped in is a great solution only in glaring sunlight, because ultimately when you start recording, the histrogram disappears, rendering you unable to continually use it to maintain proper exposure throughout the duration of your shot.
- You are right. There are occasions where my footages, the highlights are already clipped but the histogram did not reflect it. So I trusted my eyes. There are occasions under the glaring sun, I have to trust the histogram because it is quite difficult to see.
- If you have magic lattern installed, you can actually switch on the histogram even while recording, it will be displayed.
- I have the Viewfinder but it kept dropping on me. I gave up on it. Maybe I should look at LCD SunShade. Artworkfoto is selling it.

It's good that you have learnt a lot of this wedding, but remember to apply what you feel is necessary. I see you have proper audio recording hardware but I'm not sure whether you used an external hot-shoe microphone.
- Yes Bro, with this wedding, I gave all out whatever I have learnt. And yes, through this wedding gig, there are certain things which I personally feel it is not neccessary in terms of equipment and techniques.
- External hot-shoe microphone ? I did use Rode Videomic on my 60D. I used my Zoom H4N as a back up for the wedding reception on Sunday. I am still on the journey to fine tune my audio recording techniques and settings. With the current settings, I am quite happy with the amount of noise that it recorded. The setback is, with the current settings, it did not offer me a good dynamic range to play with especially with the volume adjustment in post. Hopefully, one day, I am able to record a freaking good clean audio. That would be awesome.

 

[frozentomtom]

Daniyal,

This monopod could be alternative to manfrotto 561bhdv-1.


[video=youtube;iH2fFUl-ElU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH2fFUl-ElU&feature=g-all-u[/video]

 

[daniyal]

Daniyal,

This monopod could be alternative to manfrotto 561bhdv-1.


[video=youtube;iH2fFUl-ElU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH2fFUl-ElU&feature=g-all-u[/video]

frozentomtom>>> Honestly, I am not sold to this 2 in 1 version. 2 weeks ago, I spent 8 hours on 561BHDV-1. I am in AWE! So I placed an order with CathayPhoto last wednesday. Hehehheh...I already have a stabilizer so I do not need another one. If I were to invest in another stabilizer, I am going for the full body system.

 

[eleveninth]

Bro, tell me about it. I am also looking for thumb-screws. I hate "coin screw" type.

Same here, if you know where to get it, let me know too. Thanks Bro.

guys these can easily be bought from ebay.

tripod plate screw | eBay

 

[daniyal]

guys these can easily be bought from ebay.

tripod plate screw | eBay

eleveninth>>> Is there any stores locally that sells only these? I did go couple of hardware stores, they dun sell the thumb screws, they only sell wing screws.

 

[eleveninth]

eleveninth>>> Is there any stores locally that sells only these? I did go couple of hardware stores, they dun sell the thumb screws, they only sell wing screws.

locally no idea dude.

 

[frozentomtom]

eleveninth>>> Is there any stores locally that sells only these? I did go couple of hardware stores, they dun sell the thumb screws, they only sell wing screws.

Daniyal,

Are you looking for these thumb screws? why you prefer thumb over wing screws?

And what is the correct screw size for DSLR? 1/4 or 3/8"?

 

[hamanoshun]

External hot-shoe microphone ? I did use Rode Videomic on my 60D. I used my Zoom H4N as a back up for the wedding reception on Sunday. I am still on the journey to fine tune my audio recording techniques and settings. With the current settings, I am quite happy with the amount of noise that it recorded. The setback is, with the current settings, it did not offer me a good dynamic range to play with especially with the volume adjustment in post. Hopefully, one day, I am able to record a freaking good clean audio. That would be awesome.

Good clean audio is very difficult unless you got someone specifically to just man the audio. For recording a feed off the mixer, the golden rule is to arrive early and do a mic test to ensure the levels are optimal.

Hotshoe shotgun mics are generally cardioid or hypercardioid patterns which reject sounds from the sides. However, this is not a 100% thing. The thing is when used with a DSLR with auto-gain, it doesn't produce as much noise as it would without the hotshoe mic. And to add on, if you edit with a music track, the noise is almost unnoticeable. It's still there, but it's unnoticeable, so it's still acceptable. Unless you're doing interviews where 0 noise is a must, the noise is fine for a wedding video, depending on your editing style.