LO1: Using Camera Equipment to Record Cinematic Quality Footage

DSLR

ISO

ISO controls the sensitivity of the camera's senor to light. Alongside aperture and shutter speed, ISO affects the exposure of an image. Increasing the ISO will make the image brighter, helping to capture higher quality footage in a low-light setting. Although, a higher ISO can make the footage appear grainy, reducing it's overall quality.

Aperture

The aperture is the part of a camera that can be adjusted to let in more or less light. The smaller the aperture, the less light that'll be let in, resulting in a darker image. The bigger the aperture, the more light that'll be let in, resulting in a brighter image. If the aperture is too large or small it can over or under-expose the footage, leaving it unusable. Aperture can also be used blur or sharpen backdrops/landscapes.

Shutter Speed

The shutter speed affects the rate at which the shutter of a camera closes. A faster shutter speed creates a shorter exposure, making an image sharper and more defined, and a slower shutter speed creates a longer exposure, meaning anything that moves whilst the shutter is open will look blurred to varying degrees depending on the length of exposure.

Image Quality

The image quality of a camera dictates the level of accuracy in which the camera captures, processes, and stores footage. Image quality is affected by the camera's resolution, ISO, and other settings. Some cameras will have a better resolution than others, making their footage look nicer than others.

Lenses

Standard Lens

A standard lens, also known as a "normal" lens, has a similar angle of view to the human eye. This makes the footage seem more natural as it produces an image that matches what we see. The lens is capable of capturing high-quality footage across a versatile range of landscapes and environments.

Telephoto Lens

A telephoto lens has a longer focal length than a standard lens, yielding a magnified image and a narrow field of view. A telephoto lens allows you to photograph a subject that is far away. Typically, a lens is considered "telephoto” if its focal length is 60mm or longer.

Fish Eye Lens

A fisheye lens is an ultra wide-angle lens that produces strong visual distortion intended to create a wide panoramic or hemispherical image.  Fisheye lenses achieve extremely wide angles of view, well beyond any rectilinear lens.

Effects

CPL Filter

A CPL (circular polarizer/linear) filter is placed on the end of a camera lens and is used to reduce reflections, atmospheric haze, and increase saturation. This can make the footage seem higher quality as the filter applies an almost cinematic look. The filter's ability to reduce glare and reflections in windows can guarantee that the intended subject of the footage is not obscured by reflections of external objects. It also makes sure that no reflections of the production team can be seen, as if they were it would draw away from the professionalism of the project.

ND Filter

An ND (neutral density) filter is used to reduce the amount of light reaching the camera's sensor. Doing so allows the photographer to select combinations of aperture, exposure and sensitivity that would otherwise produce overexposed pictures. This is done to achieve effects such as a shallower depth of field or motion blur of a subject in a wider range of situations and atmospheric conditions. The filter does not change the colour of the light being captured, only makes it darker.

Sony 4K Camera

Depth of Field

The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image captured with a camera. The depth of field can be determined by focal length, distance to subject, and aperture. Limitations of depth of field can sometimes be overcome with various techniques and equipment.

Filming

Sony 4K Cameras offer a lot of features that may not be found in other video cameras. For example, the Sony 4K has dual SD media slots, allowing for three recording options, simultaneous, relay, and independent. This gives filmmakers a variety of options to choose from, helping to elevate the quality of their films. The Sony 4K also offers dual video recording, meaning filmmakers can record footage in both high and low quality simultaneously. This allows for quick sharing of footage due to the low quality resulting in a smaller file size, and also for high-quality editing.

White Balance

White Balance is an adjustment in electronic and film imaging that corrects for the colour balance of the lighting, so that white objects appear white, rather than coloured yellow when lit by tungsten filament lights, or excessively blue under sunlight. Most digital cameras have automatic compensation for white balance, and the more advanced allow some manual adjustment, either to fixed settings or balancing on a particular image. The white balance is adjusted by applying different weightings to the red, green and blue (RGB) components of the image coming from the sensor, based on the colour temperature. The Sony 4K offers both automatic and manual white balance adjustment which can be changed in settings.

Drone

Filming

Drone integration into filmmaking has opened up new horizons for storytellers. Drone usage in the film industry is not just limited to cinematography, but also includes location scouting, crowd control, and light rigging, further underscoring their versatility. Drone significantly cut down on filming related costs as shots that were originally filmed with a helicopter, can now be shot with a drone. Drones used for filming typically have a small, high-quality camera attached to the underside of the drone's body with all footage captured being projected back to a small screen handled by the drone operator.

Video Quality

Drone video quality can vary based on the make and model. Higher-quality cameras can usually be found on more expensive drones. This is due to the fact that those cameras are likely to be bigger than those that capture low-quality footage, meaning the drone will have be larger and more powerful to account for the increased camera weight. The video quality is typically adjusted through software that comes with the drone. Remote settings are used to try and keep the drone as light as possible, helping it stay in the air longer as it uses less power.

Shoulder Mount

Set-Up

For small hand-held cameras, a harness or contoured frame steadies the camera against the photographer's body. In some models, the camera mount is on an arm that protrudes in front of the photographer; beneath the camera is a handle grip. Another variation positions the camera atop a fulcrum brace against the photographer's chest or abdomen. To compensate for the movement of the camera operator, a stabiliser is used to keep the camera level.

A camera shoulder brace stabilises by shifting the weight of the camera to the operator's shoulder. This allows for smoother shots than might be obtainable by handheld operation. Camera shoulder braces are typically padded for comfort and allow the attachment of zoom controllers, transmitters, and other devices. The operator generally holds two handles while a third brace rests on the shoulder. A remote LANC zoom controller is usually placed on one of the handles.

Uses & Functions

Using a shoulder mounted camera is great way to capture footage from a narrative view. It puts viewers directly into the heart of the action; much like a disembodied spectator and it allows the art of voyeurism to be carried out from directly where you want it to be seen. The rapid, yet still controlled, movement of the camera can also help build the energy of the scene, adding an extra frantic touch to what would otherwise be a mildly heated moment.