Lessons on Camera Use

Camera Lessons

On Friday the 7th September my media class and I were taken into the media studio to learn about the cameras we would be using throughout the course.

              The first thing we learnt was how to assemble a tripod. We did everything slowly making sure we took everything in so we could do everything easily next time. We learnt how to change the height of the tripod which was helpful for when we were filming sequences later on in the week.

               Secondly we learnt how to put the camera on the tripod (A very important part of media studies... obviously). The camera we used was a Sony NX5.

This involved holding down one of the buttons on the side to enable the camera to slide onto the top of the tripod and then locking the camera onto the camera with a switch. The camera is then safely locked onto the tripod and should not fall off. We learnt about how to open and close the lens using a little switch and how to click the battery in at the back of the camera.

              Bubbling the camera is very important to make sure the camera is straight and will shoot properly. To do this, we had to use the spirit level on the tripod, moving the camera and tripod around until the bubble was within the centre of the spirit level circle and then locking the tripod using the knob  underneath the top of the tripod. The camera is then successfully bubbled. I found bubbling the tripod quite hard the first time but after trying it a few times, it is gradually getting easier.
               We then got to the actual camera work itself, learning about the main buttons. This included, learning about how to focus the camera, who to zoom, how to change the exposure and finally about white balancing. Focusing the camera, zooming and changing the exposure were all fairly simple. There were three dials at the front of the camera near the lens, one for focus, one for zoom and one for exposure. Using these were very easy. There were also different zoom buttons all over the camera which zoomed at different speeds and were for when the camera was being held by hand or held differently. We were taught that when filming something we had to first zoom into something very close and focus the camera before zooming out and starting filming. This is essential so that when the camera zooms in it will already be focused.
               One of the things I found pretty interesting was learning about the importance of white balancing. The white balance button was a tiny button on the left side of the camera at the bottom which I found very strange as it was such an important button. Matt taught us that the natural light and the artificial light was very different when it came to filming and when white balancing we had to zoom  in on something completely white inside or outside depending on where we were filming and then press the white balance button. When zooming out the change of light looks a lot more natural depending on where we are filming.
                The most interesting thing I learnt in the media lesson was about shutter speed. The cameras took 25 still pictures per second at a shutter speed. This was the most natural shutter speed setting as when Matt shook his hand in front of the camera his fingers blurred like if we were looking at it naturally. When we increased the shutter speed to 215 and Matt shook his hand, it looked like he had an abnormal amount of fingers. This would be useful when doing a big action sequence with car explosions and gun fights as the high shutter speed would catch everything very clearly which could then be edited and slowed down to make slow motion shots.

How the conversation should look based
on the 180 degree rule. The camera sticks
within the 180 degrees on the same side. 

One thing that is very important to know when filming with cameras is the 180 degree rule. This is a very basic rule in filmmaking where the camera must stay on one side of the actors. the camera must stay within 180 degrees on one side otherwise it could look like the actors are facing the same direction which would be confusing for the viewer. The only time it is allowed to go past the 180 degrees is if the audience sees the movement past the 180 degrees so the audience knows that the camera has swapped sides. The camera can then use the same 180 degree rule on the new side.

Another rule that was needed for filming is the rule of thirds. this is the idea that any shot can be split into nine equal sections.The main reason for observing the rule of thirds is to discourage placement of the subject at the center, or prevent a horizon from appearing to divide the picture in half. You place important elements of your composition where these lines intersect. The point of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. 
             Later on in the week we went back into the media studio and used the cameras to film short sequences. We had to use wide-shots, a close up and a medium close up. We took different shots of the same film sequence at a different zoom so they played one after the other. You always have to start with the wide shot so if all else fails you still have the wide shot. A wide shot is the whole set, with no zooming in, a close up is zoomed in on a specific object or point and a medium close-up is less zoomed in on a different point. Our sequence was Maggie walking into the shot, picking up a ringing phone, threatening the caller, hanging up the phone and walking out. So we shot the wide shot first, of course adjusting the white balance and focusing close up on maggie first. Then we changed our tripod height for some diversity in the shots and did a close up of just the phone so we saw it get picked up and then seconds later put back down again. We then ran out of time but we were going to adjust the tripod height again and do a medium close-up of Maggie's face picking up the phone, speaking and then leaving. I found this quite easy but pretty time consuming which meant in the future we will have to work faster. We learnt about the 'continuity person' who has to make notes and make sure that everything is the same as it was before and we learnt about how the cameraman and the director work. 
             We then filmed a second sequence and showed to the rest of the class. I found the lesson quite easy as I enjoy working with the cameras but I need to work faster next time and remember to adjust the tripod height more for different angles. 
By Alice Gamble