Advanced Camera Workshop

On Monday we had a Advanced Camera Workshop with Mat. He gave us a recap on what we had learnt before and then more which helped us understand what we were going to to for the shoot day.

In the lesson we were using the Black Magic 4.6k Ursa camera, the same type that we used in our opening sequences and what we will use in our music video.

We also had a recap on  tripods and the specific way on how to set it up so it is easier and more efficient. You first pull out the legs to make it stand up straight and tall. You have to start from the bottom of the tripod as it makes it easier to change the levels of the tripod and not make it wonky. To make sure all the legs were even so the camera will be level and balanced you the have to bubble it which youn can do at the top of the tripod.

We also had a rehash on what White balance was and why we use it. The screen on the Black magic camera is touch screen and that is where we can adjust the white balance. You use the white balance to select what type of environment you are in so the lighting is set for the right environment type. For example if you are outside in natural lighting it is correct to have a sort of blue tone in the lighting, whereas in man made lighting there is more of an orange warm tone in the lighting.

We also got reminded how to change the exposure of the shot. Exposure measures how much light you let into the shot. If you want a dark gloomy shot you would probably want to turn the exposure slightly to let in less light.

We learnt about shutter angle. The shutter speed/angle determines the clarity of the shot. Depending on what shutter speed number you choose the shutter angle will determine how long you let light into the shot. On the black magic camera you can change the shutter speed on the screen. If you have the shutter angle at 360 the shot will be softer and look dream like. This would be good to use in romantic scenes. If the shutter angle is at a lower angle like 90 the shot will look sharper good for fast movements. The normal angle which the camera is automatically set on is 180.

Compared to filming the opening sequences, when we shoot a music video we use a prime lense instead.  There are many lenses that you can you. The different lenses determined how zoomed in it is. Prime lenses are measured in mm. As there is only one job for the specific lense the job that they do is much better and at better quality. The 18mm are used for a wide shot, The 50 mm is used for a close up and a  85 mm is an even closer close which is more detailed shallow depth of field. These lenses don’t zoom in or out so there is another way to focus it. There is a focus symbol of the focus point on top of camera. You measure from the symbol to the target. Once you know the length in metric feet, on the lens you use the focus and it has metric feet. To double check you can double tap on the screen and it will zoom then you focus it