Blog 18 - Creative camera use

I practiced creative camera techniques to improve the quality of my music video. I used the following equipment:

• Camera
• Tripod
• Clapperboard - Used to mark takes allowing organised editing.
• Lighting
• Cassette

Revising class handouts taught me to use different camera angles and movement to produce subtle effects:

Camera angles

• Establishing shot - sets location and welcomes the viewer
• Close up - used to express emotion
• Point of View (PoV) and Over the Shoulder (OtS) - shows what the subjects looking at furthermore it creates a connection between the viewer and the subject.
• Low angle vs. High angle - Displays power or superiority

Camera movement

• Panning and tilting - follows a character across a scene
• Zoom in / out
• Handheld - creates amateur video camera effect

Carefully measuring the right distance will compose a more balanced shot.

Advanced techniques

I then went to revise more advanced camera techniques such as depth of field (DoF) which creates focus and emphasizes important subjects.

There are two variations; wide DoF, which targets the background, and narrow DoF engages in creating a close subject as the main theme. Moving between a wide and narrow DoF will switch focus.

The procedure I will follow to adjust my DoF:

• The camera must be set to manual [P] on a XM2 camera.
• The manual/focus should be on, and this will appear on the screen.
• White Balance: this needs to be set to either natural or artificial light
• Depending on where I am filming.
• Exposure: Shutter Speed: slow right down 1/50.
• Aperture: open up as far as it can go.
• Gain: adjusted to brighten and contrast the footage.

We applied different shot types. By adjusting the distance and angle of the shot, we were able to ‘pull’ between a wide DoF and narrow DoF. Using this information we experimented using trial and error, our results are below:

Successful:



Failed: