Video Camera Course - Week 4

• White balance tells the camera what each colour should look like, by giving it a "true white" reference.
• If the camera knows what white looks like, then it will know what all other colours look like because all colours are contained in white.
• Most cameras do this function automatically .
• It actually works very well in most situations.
• Incorrect white balance shows up as pictures with orange or blue tints.

• Point the camera at something non-reflective white in the same light as the subject, and frame it so that most or all of the picture is white.
• Set focus and exposure, then press the "white balance" button.
• There should be some indicator(usually 2 triangles and a square blinking) in the viewfinder which tells you when the white balance has completed.
• You should do white balances regularly, especially when lighting conditions change (eg. moving between indoors and outdoors).

• Auto-focus is strictly for the birds!
• The focal area is determined by the camera not the operator.
• And it goes hunting for moving objects, sucking up battery power.
• Also the internal mic will pick up the motor noise while "hunting"
• The most common manual focus mechanism is a ring at the front of the lens housing.
• To obtain the best focus, zoom in as close as you can on the subject you wish to focus on,
• adjust the ring until the focus is sharp,
• then zoom out to the required framing.
• Maximum focus or depth-of-field will be achieved by using a wide angle lens (zoomed back out), a small aperture and lots of light.

• Auto-Exposure can be used as a guide.
• If you're not sure about your exposure, try flicking the Exposure to auto and see what the camera uses, then go back to manual.
• Find a comparison of various camcorders regarding image quality

• When shooting a subject against a strong backlight such as a window or the sky, the camera adjusts the exposure for the strong backlight, which leaves the subject as a silhouette.
• Some cameras have a "backlight" feature which helps with this problem.
• To adjust the settings manually, open the iris until the subject is exposed correctly.
• This will mean the background is too bright, but it's better than the subject being too dark.

• Getting good results with audio is actually quite difficult.
• The internal microphone picks up the hum of the video tape, servo-zoom and autofocus.
• This is very annoying in playback of the video.
• To improve it , try plugging an external microphone into the "mic input" socket of your camera.
• Be careful of wind noise. Even the slightest breeze can ruin your audio.
• Many cameras have a "low-cut filter", sometimes referred to as a "wind-noise filter" or something similar.
• These do help, but a better solution is to block the wind.
• You can use a purpose-designed wind sock, or try making one yourself.
• Get a good set of headphones to monitor the audio as you are shooting

• Buy a microphone intended for camcorder use. It should have a mini jack plug.
• A WILDTRACK of general ambient background noise(at least 10 seconds) should be taken on every shoot to hide any audio jump cuts during editing . A cardioid or omnidirectional mic will do the job admirably.
• A BOOM is a powerful external mic placed at the end of a long pole that can record clearer dialogue from a distance.
• A CARDIOID microphone has a heart-shaped pickup range. It is ideal for recording individual or group(2-4) conversations.
• An OMNIDIRECTIONAL mic is what is built into your video camera. It has a 360 degree arc and is good at recoriding general audio but poor at picking out specific sounds.
• A SHOTGUN , or unidirectional mic is best for recording sound straight ahead and at a distance. Good for recording subjects that are hard to get near.
• A TIE CLIP MIC is a small mic that can be clipped on place to the clothing of a person being interviewed. There can be two types:
  1. Controlled through a cable
  2. Radio - controlled.
• A CONDENSER is the device commonly found in most mics. It converts the ripples caused by sound into an electrical pulse, which is then recorded.
• Exercise - Do a search to check out some available mics