Why are so many video pros turning to DSLR cameras for HD video?

1. EFFECTIVE SITE SURVEYS
DSLR Video:
High End Looks on a Middle Class Budget
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2. Goals of session
‣ Benefits DSLR cameras
‣ Gear selection
‣ Planning for the shoot
‣ Exposing the shot
‣ The editing process

3. From Still to Motion
‣ A photographer’s guide to creating video
with your DSLR
‣ Full color case study with hands-on
activities
‣ 6+ hours of training videos
‣ www.peachpit.com/stilltomotion
‣ Free sample – tinyurl.com/fs2msample
‣ 35% Off with Code TOMOTION
(order from peachpit.com)

4. Why Shoot DSLR Video
The Benefits of DSLR Video

5. AESTHETIC BENEFITS
‣ Great Depth of Field
‣ Filmic Image
‣ Creatively Invigorating
‣ Smaller Profile

6. .
Depth of Field

7. .
Depth of Field

8. Depth of Field

9. FILMIC IMAGE

10. FILMIC IMAGE .

11. FILMIC IMAGE

12. Technical Benefits
‣ Lens Selection
‣ Lowlight Performance
‣ Smaller Profile
‣ Tapeless Workflow

13. LENS SELECTION

14. LENS SELECTION

15. LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE

16. LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE

17. LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE

18. .
Smaller Profile

19. Smaller Profile

20. Smaller Profile

21. TAPELESS WORKFLOW

22. TAPELESS WORKFLOW

23. TAPELESS WORKFLOW

24. THe CONS
‣ Tapeless Workflow
‣ Sync Sound Workflow
‣ Add-on Gear Essential
‣ New Skills

25. TAPELESS WORKFLOW

26. SYNC SOUND WORKFLOW

27. SYNC SOUND WORKFLOW

28. ADD ON GEAR ESSENTIAL

29. ADD ON GEAR ESSENTIAL

30. Selecting a Camera Body
What to Choose When It’s Video You Want

31. Selecting a
Camera Body
‣ Which video enabled DSLR you choose
is largely a matter of personal
preference
‣ We highly recommend you actually try
out or test a camera before deciding on
purchasing it
‣ You can't do much with the footage if
the camera doesn’t shoot the frame rate
or resolution that your project requires

32. Ergonomics
‣ How the camera feels in your hands is
an important part of choosing a video
enabled DSLR.
‣ Size – The body you choose should fit
your hands well.
‣ Weight – Pro bodies (or bodies that
have battery grips installed) tend to be
heavier which provides a nice counter
balance to longer lenses.

33. Sensor Resolution
‣ When it comes to sensor resolution and
video, don't let the megapixel count
influence your choice of a camera body.
‣ Choose a camera body that meets the
megapixel requirements of your still
images and don’t worry about sensor
resolution for video.
‣ The 21.1 megapixel Canon 5D MKII
that has a max resolution of 5616 x
3744 when taking still photos.
‣ When shooting video at 1920 x 1080,
your effective megapixel count is only
2.1 megapixels!

34. Full Frame Vs.
Cropped Sensors
‣ A full frame sensor is one that matches
the size of a 35mm film frame
and the sensor is approximately 36mm
x 24mm.
‣ Manufactures like Canon, Nikon and
Panasonic have different sizes for their
cropped sensors or smaller sensors but
generally adhere to standardized sizes
based on the APS (advanced photo
system).
‣ Cropped (or smaller) sensors multiply
the focal range of any given lens.

35. Full Frame Vs.
Cropped Sensors
‣ As a general rule of thumb, the larger
the sensor the greater the influence on
depth of field (DOF).
‣ Put simply, a larger sensor will allow
you to blur the background easier than
a smaller sensor with the same lens.
‣ A driving force in the popularity of video
DSLRs is that their sensors are
gigantic. Those large sensors allow for
a much greater control in the depth of
field (which many equate to a cinematic
look).

38. Crop Factors
‣ 1.3 – Crop factor used by Canon on
some of their 1-series bodies that use a
APS – H sensor like the 1D Mark
‣ 1.5 – Crop factor is employed by Nikon
for all of its non-full frame
‣ 1.6 – This crop factor is used by Canon
for their APS-C bodies like the 7D and
the Digital Rebel
‣ 2.0 – A large crop factor ratio that’s
used by Micro Four Thirds image
sensors like the one featured on the
Panasonic Lumix GH1 DSLR

39. Frame Rate Options
‣ 60 fps (59.94 fps)
Common frame rate for 720p HD
Can be used for overcranking
‣ 30 fps (really 29.97 fps)
The most common frame rate for
broadcast in the U.S. and other
‣ 25 fps
The common frame rate of video used in
Europe and around the world that use the
PAL standard.
‣ 24 fps (23.98 fps)
A rate that closely matches that of film

40. Frame Rate Options
‣ For footage that mimics film, a good
choice is to record 24 (23.98) fps
‣ For footage that is going to be used for
broadcast 30 (29.97) fps is a good
choice (1920 x 1080)
‣ If working with the Phase Alternating
Line (PAL) standard, you’ll use 25fps.
‣ For footage shot 1280 x 720, then 60
(59.94) fps is the best choice for
broadcast in NTSC based countries and
50 fps for PAL countries.

42. Recording Length
Limitations
‣ Most video enabled DSLRs format their
memory cards using the Windows FAT
32 file system.
‣ This system limits files to 4GB or about
12min of continuous recording.
‣ Other manufacturers impose even lower
limits due to hardware performance.
‣ This limit sounds like it might be
crippling but in most cases you can
work around it.

43. Recording Length
Limitations
‣ Plan Breaks– If recording an interview
estimate how many questions you can
get in 12minutes. If you’re recording a
concert, stop after each song.
‣ Minimize down time – Have a second
card ready to go. We keep a second
card in the strap to speed things up.
‣ Stagger Coverage – If using multiple
cameras, don't start or stop them all at
the same time. You can get overlapping
coverage between two or more
cameras.

44. THe GeaR You’ll NEED
Some Must and Nice To Haves

45. MUST HAVES
‣ Fluid-Head Tripod
‣ Viewfinder
‣ Audio Recording Device with
Microphone

49. NICE TO HAVES
‣ Camera Support
‣ Fast Lenses
‣ Follow Focus
‣ External Monitor
‣ Lights
‣ Matte Box
‣ Laptop

53. SMALL HD
Panasonic via AJA

57. Using a Follow Focus
When a follow focus really matters

63. Make a Plan
Get your thoughts on a page

64. Making a Plan
‣ Storyboard
‣ Sketch
‣ Camera
‣ Shot list
‣ Lighting diagrams

65. Photoshop for
art Direction
‣ Shoot test shots in a raw format
‣ Organize with Adobe Bridge or
Lightroom
‣ Open in Camera Raw
‣ Color grade to desired look
‣ Share with crew for lighting direction

70. Exposure Triangle
Understanding the relationship between settings

71. Impact of Light and
Motion on Focus
‣ If you’re shooting a lot of motion,
pay close attention to both the amount
of light as well as the quality of light
‣ The less light that’s available, the larger
an aperture you’ll have to use in order
to record a properly exposed image.
‣ This means that your depth of field will
decrease and it will be much harder to
keep your subject in focus.
‣ If you or your subject are moving, it
get’s even more tricky

72. ISO
the
Exposure
Triangle
Shutter Speed Aperture

73. The Window
‣ Imagine your camera is a window with
shutters that open and close.
‣ Aperture is the size of the window. If it’s
bigger more light gets through.
‣ Shutter Speed is the amount of time
that the shutters are open. The longer
they’re open, the more that comes in.
‣ Inside the room and are wearing
sunglasses. Your eyes become
desensitized to the light that comes in
(like a low ISO).

74. OUTDOOR SHOOTING
You can’t overpower the sun

75. NO MATTER HOW GOOD you are,
you can’t completely control the sun.
It will move in your scene and
destroy continuity.

85. Lowlight SHOOTING
Don’t be afraid to push it

90. Creating great shots
The choices that go into a shot

91. QP Card PHOTOVISION

92. Canon EOS 7D 300.0 mm 1/60 ISO 160 4.5

93. Canon EOS 5D 50.0 mm 1/60 ISO 100 10.0

94. Canon EOS 5D 50.0 mm 1/60 ISO 640 1.4

95. Canon EOS 5D 105.0 mm 1/30 ISO 1600 4.0

96. Canon EOS 5D 28.0 mm 1/60 ISO 800 2.8

97. Canon EOS 7D 95.0 mm 1/60 ISO 200 2.8

98. Canon EOS 7D 35.0 mm 1/80 ISO 100 3.2

99. Canon EOS 7D 58.0 mm 1/50 ISO 100 2.8

100. Canon EOS 7D 24.0 mm 1/60 ISO 1250 1.4

101. Canon EOS 7D 17.0 mm 1/60 ISO 640 2.8

102. Canon EOS 7D 50.0 mm 1/60 ISO 1600 1.8

103. Canon EOS 7D Lensbaby 1/200 ISO 100 5.6

104. Canon EOS 5D 28.0 mm 1/60 ISO 600 2.8

105. Canon EOS 7D 28.0 mm 1/50 ISO 100 2.8

106. Canon EOS 5D 24.0 mm 1/60 ISO 100 2.8

107. Canon EOS 7D 55.0 mm 1/60 ISO 100 4.5

108. Sync Sound Workflow
Audio will Often Come from Two Sources

109. Why record
dual sound?
‣ Internal microphone quality
‣ Automatic Gain Control
‣ Difficulty in monitoring
‣ Challenge to keep constant levels

110. Dual Sound
WOrkflow
‣ Use sync source
‣ Record enhanced camera audio
‣ Record “real” sound with
professional microphones
plugged into a mixer
‣ Record to file-based recorder
‣ Synchronize in postproduction

111. PluralEyes
‣ Place video on one track and
audio on another track
‣ Files are synced based on sound,
no timecode required
‣ Audio levels can be normalized
‣ Huge timesaver
‣ www.singularsoftware.com
$149

112. Public Service Announcement
Case Study

115. The POSTPRODUCTION WORKFLOW
There are Extra Steps... But it’s Worth it

116. The WORKFLOW
‣ Transfer to Field Drive and Mirror
‣ Determine Editing Format
‣ Identify Storage Requirements
‣ Transfer to an Edit Drive
‣ Determine Transcoding Specs
‣ Organize Media
‣ Transcode Media (optional)
‣ Edit

117. Transfer & Backup
The first transfer to critical

118. LAPTOPS IN THE FIELD
‣ Laptops serve as “loading stations”
‣ Consider using multiple stations
‣ Stations don’t need to be the latest and
greatest hardware
‣ Stations should have:
‣ Ability to connect to card readers
‣ Portable drives
‣ Archiving devices like Blu-Ray burners

119. transferring from
Field Storage
‣ Never edit directly off of field storage
‣ Transfer all field assets to redundant
media drives
‣ Keep all field storage drives secure until
project completion and archive
‣ Field storage drives are like “tapes”
on a shelf

121. Card Readers
‣ FireWire Readers
‣ Lexar or Hoodman
‣ ExpressCard
‣ Laptop with an ExpressCard slot
‣ Frees up ports for drives
‣ Multiple Card Reader
‣ Slower
‣ Ability to walk away

122. PLAN FOR STORAGE
‣ Storage space is consumed relatively
fast.
‣ Canon 5D Mark II
‣ 1920 X 1080 at 30 fps needs
approximately 320 MB of card space
for each minute of footage
‣ A 32 GB CF card will hold about 100
minutes of footage
‣ Often use bus-powered drives for field

123. ORGANIZING MEDIA FOR EDIT
Get your selects made

124. Common Media
Folder Approach
‣ 01_Original Footage
‣ Card images or cloned copies
‣ 02_Selects
‣ Footage picks
‣ Adapt as needed

125. Renaming Files
‣ Optional
‣ Can use descriptive names
‣ Adobe Bridge
‣ Includes batch rename option
‣ Can preserve original name in
metadata for future

126. Make Selects &
Transcode
‣ Transcode only selected footage
‣ Reduces transcode time
‣ Removes extraneous footage
‣ Reduces storage burden

127. Why Transcode?
Sometimes you will.... sometimes you won’t.

128. Why Transcode?
‣ Once the footage has been transferred,
you'll may need to convert it to a format
that can be edited.
‣ Ideally, video you edit should be
optimized for the editing system you’ve
chosen to edit with.
‣ Convert the files into a standard video
codec that supports real-time editing.

129. Why Transcode?
‣ While H.264 files are small, they do not
often make good source files.
‣ Have heavy compression that drains
your computer's processors to decode.
‣ Must choose codec that is a healthy
balance for quality and size.

130. Why Transcode?
‣ Not great in Final Cut Pro
‣ Motion JPEG OK
‣ H.264 terrible
‣ Doable if you don’t mind rendering and
spinning beach balls of death
‣ Does work in latest
Avid, Premiere Pro, and Sony Vegas

131. Edit
Time to tell the story

132. Choosing the Right
System for Editing
‣ Processor
‣ RAM
‣ Connections
‣ Hard Drives
‣ Video Card

133. 64
Going 64-Bit
‣ Make sure you are using 64-bit OS
‣ Windows 7 or
OSX Snow Leopard Recommended
‣ Make sure to update plug-ins and
drivers to be 64-bit
Bit
‣ Add more RAM to take advantage of
64-bit benefits fully
‣ 2GB per core is a “good start”
‣ Go for fast RAM

134. Premiere PRO CS5
‣ 64-bit Performance
‣ GPU-accelerated Mercury Playback
Engine for faster responsiveness
‣ Make sure you upgrade or have
proper video card.
‣ Make sure you download drivers
‣ Work with DSLR video natively

135. Color Grading
Using After Effects or Photoshop

136. Color Grading
‣ Advanced manipulation of color
for storytelling purposes
‣ Black & White
‣ Special Effects
‣ Glows
‣ Grain & Stock Simulations
‣ Two powerful choices

137. Retiming Footage
Changing frame rates for technical and stylistic reasons

138. Methods to
Change Speed
‣ Conform
‣ Interpret
‣ Process

140. Resources
Things to help get the job done

141. www.facebook.com/dslrvideo

142. forums.creativecow.net/dslr

143. podcasts.creativecow.net/
dslr-video-podcast

144. From Still to Motion
‣ A photographer’s guide to creating video
with your DSLR
‣ Full color case study with hands-on
activities
‣ 6+ hours of training videos
‣ www.peachpit.com/stilltomotion
‣ Free sample – tinyurl.com/fs2msample
‣ 35% Off with Code TOMOTION
(order from peachpit.com)

145. EFFECTIVE SITE SURVEYS
DSLR Video:
High End Looks on a Middle Class Budget
twitter.com/ facebook.com/ linkedin.com/in/ youtube.com/
rhedpixel RichHarringtonStuff richardharrington rhedpixeltv