First studio workshop

 Today we got an intro to working with a professional tripod and camera.
 

The first thing we learned was the ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ rule. Equipment is often heavy, fragile or both. In order to secure the equipment we were thought when handing equipment to someone else or when we are  being handed equipment to say ‘mine’ when holding the object securely and say ‘yours’ when we let go. 

The equipment:

Black magic URSA mini

 

 

 

 

Viten vison tripod 

 

 

When mounting the camera, you must securely slide the quick release plate on the top of the tripod. A little meatal plate prevents the quick release plate halfway through to slide until the end.  After pressing a button on the left side of the tripod the quick release plate can slide through. In order to secure the camera on the tripod you must screw in a lever on the right-hand side of the gimbal. 

In order to raise the tripod to a higher level you must unlock the leg locks and advisably put your food on the plate connecting the tripod, so the tripod stands on the ground. Then you pull the legs up to the point you need them. You will now have to lock the leg lock again. 

When you have raised the tripod, it is likely that not all legs are on the same level. This could create an uneven image. Luckily the tripod head can be moved around. There is a spirt level showing you if you are in fact even. While moving around the tripod head you should try to get the air bubble in the middle of the circle. 

(video of matching spirit level)

 

In professional environments equipment is always set on manual and not auto as cameras for example don’t have context on the scene. 

Pulling the focus is crucial for a good shot. A missed focus can ruin the best take, as the viewer will not be able to see what’s going on. In order to pull the focus, you zoom in as close as possible on the object you want in focus and then try and get the sharpest image you can get. When trying to set and Actor/Actress in focus zoom into their eyes. The eyes are not only the part that most people focus on, but they have infinite detail unlike skin thereby being optimal to determine the sharpest image. After setting the focus you can zoom out again to frame your shot. Zoom and Focus can be changed by pulling on the designated wheel on the lens (‘pulling the focus’).

 

 

Exposure is the brightness of the shot and must be changed depending on the lighting on set. The exposure can be changed through a small blue leaver on the lens.  

 

Lights have different colours. Man-made lamps inside are often more orange. Sunlight as it goes through the blue sky is bluer. The colours of objects recorded on video change depending on the light. To make this more coherence you can change the white balance which is supposed to show the true colours. The white balance can be changed on the digital touchscreen. There are pre-settings for indoors outdoors and other light situations, but you can also create costume ones.