Is anybody shooting video with their dslr?

autofocus

I shot some video yesterday using the D800 capturing audio with my Sony wireless Lav mic in camera. Also used my Rode NTG-2 recording to Tascam DR-40. The Lav mic has great quality but lacks ambience of the room. The Rode was boom mounted about 2 feet from the speaker's mouth and sounds good but has a bit more echo than I would like. I tried to reduce echo from the back end of the mic by putting a piece of insulation above it. It helped but still not where I want to be. Anybody else have suggestions on boom mic placement or tips for better quality? I was shooting in my basement which isn't finished and has very little echo when speaking. An additional issue I had was lighting. Using two fluorescent (5500K) hot lights produced beautiful light that I could balance in camera with the Kelvin setting. My problem is the flickering. Any tips to prevent this or is just time to consider LED or something like KENOFLOs?

PB_PM

Just a follow up, I picked up the Rode Videomic go. Seems like a good buy, thanks for the advice all.

MikeGunter

Hi all,

@ autofocus - Like hand grenades, the key to getting good audio is proximity. Lav microphones are great, but do leave a rather sterile sound. You could add a shotgun or omni microphone for ambient sound and mix down for a dual track and mux both tracks to stereo (too often your audience will have their audio set to one track - it happens). Or you can boom one shotgun very, very close to the subject, but then you'd need to gain up, and be sure that it never clips during the narrative. That's a trick, too. A dead cat will help, but then you'd certainly have to ride the pot the whole time.

As for lights, you can buy lights (and you'll never stop), or get inventive. It depends upon what and how much you'll do.



is a pretty easy rig to make using some foam core and contractor light sockets from Home Depot and duct tape and hot glue. The lights are daylight and work great.

C bolts hold the contraption to a tube that fits to a light stand. I have made a couple I use in my studio.

Total cost is under $30 with bulbs.

My best,

Mike

PB_PM

@MikeGunter What wattage lights are you using in the box? 60w, 100w or 250w equivalents? I'm assuming more lower wattage lights (60-100w) would better, but I don't have much experience with video lighting. I'm also wondering if that lighting setup is also useful for still photography?

I'm thinking of doing family interviews this Christmas, but I don't think I'll get into anything fancy lighting wise.

autofocus

@MikeGunter- Thanks for the DIY light box idea. I have looked at many posted on youtube. My only question is how do you combat the flickering. Are certain bulbs better than others. I'm thinking this is the route for me since I'm not sure how far I want to go with video. It's fun right now.
@PB_PM- I did take some stills with the lighting I mentioned earlier. Seemed to work well but keep in mind they aren't bright enough to really freeze movement. Slower shutter speed is what I encountered. Maybe more lights would help. It did help with set up because what you see is pretty much what you get.

MikeGunter

Hi all,

@ PB_PM The wattage I use is 13 watt which is 60 watt equivalent. With two of these on each side and one placed slightly further away, it's pretty nice. They are daylight balanced which allows some mixing with windows.

@ autofocus I haven't had any flickering with my videos using these. I do have my cameras set to remove flickering at 60 cycles (the North American standard).

That said...

I've also used the shop lights one can find anywhere. They are bright, run hot and use a lot of juice. If you have some foam core and get some large-ish plastic spring clamps to hold up the foam core to bounce the light and to keep the light off areas to focus it to the subject, it would be an easy setup, depending on space, time and whether or not the heat would be a problem.

The plastic clamps are less than $5 bucks and you can glue or epoxy them to the stands for the foam core and that's pretty quick to do.

As for color balance, go to Live View, White Balance, Kelvin (K), then the front wheel and rotate it to the desired color. This is a better option that taking the on camera choice for Tungsten or Daylight. Of course, you need a known color value to 'get it right'.

You can get a light on a clamp (I have one), that can be put on a small chair or similar movable item. It works well, too.

I have used the light box for my remote teaching mostly. They get several hours a day, where I would get too hot with the shop lights.

Both work well, but for a 'one of', you might be better with shop lights.

The major draw back is mixing with ambient light sources.

My best,

Mike

PB_PM

I thought you might be using the 13w bulbs, since anything higher than that would have been much bigger. I tried using LED lights in a DIY, but they were too heavy and a little pricy.

Golf007sd

Well ladies and gents, the video below is a good example of how DOF and good light can go together, as well as, the challenges that arise from shooting wide open.

By all mean look beyond the artist and all...my focus is on the manner in which this was shot and the lighting used. Hopefully this will add to the topic and the conversation taking place.

Best viewed at Full HD at 1080p (via Youtube itself) and full screen to see my point in how the eyes go in-and-out of focus due to the shallow DOF.

For the record, I find this style of shooting and videophotography very appealing.

autofocus

@Golf007sd- Thanks for sharing. I agree, I like the shallow DoF. Looks like it was shot through a ring light. Gives me an idea for a video I'm getting ready to shoot. I'm thinking this DIY project (http://isiahxiong.com/the-square-ring-light-under-10/) might work with hot lights instead of the strobes.

Golf007sd

@autofocus: You want to look at the Peter Hurley and his style of lighting. It is right up your ally.

autofocus

I've been watching Peter Hurley for a while. I do like his lighting but it has a limited use for stills. He also has his own Kenoflo like light sets coming out soon. All said, the ring light may have some application in video.

Msmoto

@autofocus

Peter Hurley is often shooting images for the models portfolio. A client wants to see all aspects of the model and he uses the white backgrounds and clean lighting to achieve this goal. He is a nice guy as well.

Here is one done in a similar fashion….for a specific purpose. Notice the "squinching" done before Peter even invented the word..LOL There are many methods one uses when working with models to obtain the "look."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/7115248369/

As to eye highlights….IMO they should either reflect a point source or a window which is recognizable, unless one wants a very unusual abstract image.

autofocus

Well, my beautiful bride bought me Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 software for Christmas. Lots to learn now. Any tips on how to get started.

Golf007sd

Adobe has a very friendly online tutorial site. Here is the link for Adobe Premiere Pro.

Vipmediastar_JZ

I tried the squinching pose on somebody. The feedback of everybody in the room was like this "looks like you are going to the bathroom". I only tried it once though.

Msmoto

@Vipmediastar_JZ

In working a model, especially one who has less experience than a full time professional, I like to have them exercise the facial muscles before the image capture. Making silly faces, stretching the muscles around the mouth, looking at extreme angles, all can "relax" the face so as to avoid the "deer in headlight" look. The I run through various verbal scenarios to obtain the "look" I am seeking. I prefer the look into the lens, but do some without the model looking directly at me.

If the model is using heavy makeup, be careful with the face squinching. In most cases these are pros, however, and they have their own methods to be camera ready.

Vipmediastar_JZ

thanks for the Good info. I will have them excersie the facial muscles next time. ;;)

Ade

Usually models are ok, most have spent enough time posing in front of the mirror to know how they look best. I admit I mostly work with experienced models and I would have reviewed their portfolio beforehand, so the ones looking like deer-in-headlight in their portfolio will probably not make it into the shoot to begin with.

Peter Hurley -- he actually specializes working with actors & actresses, not necessarily models. Unlike models, sometimes actors don't know how to pose for stills, so there's where a lot of coaching (and squinching) becomes necessary.

Also the type of headshots needed for actors will be different from ones required for models. The Peter Hurley style is great for casting video projects, but might be terrible for casting a fashion editorial.

(E.g., the heavy makeup @msmoto mentioned… for actor headshots, casting directors would prefer very little makeup; whereas in a model portfolio, you will see a lot of makeup and even a fair bit of post processing in the mix).

Golf007sd

Here is a picture I took of my sister, with the whole "squinching" technique in play. The "model" and I where happy with the result.