TECHNICAL TIPS
1. WHEN SHOOTING THINK HOW YOU ARE GOING TO EDIT IT.
2. ALWAYS MONITOR THE SOUND WITH HEADPHONES and control the volume in the headphones with the Monitor Volume button not the Input Volume controls..
3. GREAT FOCUSSING TIP to get everything in focus from one foot to infinity:-
- a. Zoom the lens out as wide as possible.
- b. Hold the camera into your chest and point it at your feet, about 4 feet away from the lens.
- c. Press the PUSH AUTO button for 2-3 seconds.
- d. Check the image is sharp.
- e. Everything will be in focus from 0.7 metres to infinity, and even closer, if you are using a wide angle adaptor lens. But, you must not to zoom in at all, or it will go out of focus.
4. My TIP FOR EXACT FOCUS on one part of the picture.
The best way to focus is:-
- a. switch the camera to MANUAL FOCUS.
- b. zoom as close as possible into the part of the image that you want in focus.
- c. press the PUSH AUTO button for about 2 seconds.
- d. then zoom out and reframe.
5. ADJUST THE FOCUS OF THE VIEWFINDER. On most cameras you can adjust the viewfinder to your eyesight.
6. LEAVE SPACE FOR THE SUBTITLES when composing a shot.
7. DO NOT USE THE DIGITAL ZOOM, only use the optical zoom. The digital zoom electronically increases the size of the pixels; the picture will get grainier and blockier and lose its sharpness. The optical zoom changes the position of the elements of the lens. Go into the camera's internal; menu and switch the digital zoom to off.
8. The great EXPOSURE TIP
- a. Put the camera into the AUTO mode.
- b. Point the camera at the area you want to have exposed correctly and exclude any difficult dark or bright areas, like windows. To do this you may have to zoom in.
- c. Hold the camera in this position and switch the camera to the MANUAL setting as above.
- d. Now the Exposure is locked at this ideal setting.
- e. Now you can reframe the shot to the composition that you want and difficult areas won't change your exposure settings.
- f. But remember you have locked it at this setting. It may not be right for your next shot.
9. TIP FOR FILMING COMPUTER SCREENS
Computer screens refresh at a 50 cycle rate. This may coincide with the 50 frames a second shutter speed of your camera, so, the screen will appear to 'roll over'. If so, change the shutter speed to 12 and it will stop, but you will not be able to film movement on the screen. Some cameras have a special speed of a 60th of a second, just above normal shutter speed, which avoids clashing with the 50 cycle refresh rate and stops the 'roll over' effect. To do this you must have the camera on a tripod. Switch the AUTO LOCK to MANUAL. Press the shutter speed button and turn the SEL/PUSH wheel till 60 appears on the screen.
10. GET LOTS OF CUTAWAYS.
You don't have to use them, but they are very useful so the editor can 'paper over' bad edits and jump cuts.
11. USE YOUR TRIPOD WHENEVER POSSIBLE and especially for landscape shots.
12. TRY NOT TO HUNT OR ZOOM. Find your shot and peacefully watch what happens and let it run. If nothing happens, don't go hunting for something to happen. Something will happen so let it happen. If it happens while the camera is zooming or panning around, the movement will distract the audience from what you'd like them to see.
13. DON'T GET ZOOMITIS. Wobblycam only works when it's meant to be wobbly. Get steady images and hold your shots.
14. DON'T FORGET THE NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER in bright conditions
15. PUT COLOUR BARS AT THE FRONT OF EVERY TAPE AND LABEL IT PROPERLY. If you don't do this you will get into an horrendous muddle later.
