First Camera Workshop September A2

1. First Camera Workshop By Lexi Mikhaylova

2. Getting used to the equipment • We had a go at using tripods and filming. • We also looked at some new things. • At the beginning we were familiarising ourselves with the camera and equipment and get repetitions in. This was so that we could get used to being in the studio and using the camera again. • If on shoot day we are worrying about how to set things up and how to film we won’t be focusing on the important things like what camera shots we want. • We all set up our tripods and then Matt came round and corrected everyone on their mistakes.

3. Frictions • On the opposite side of the tilt lock there is a tilt friction dial for going up and down. • In the middle there is a pan friction dial for going side to side. • The more you turn the dial the more friction and less it will move. • To lock the camera in place use the locks not the frictions because the frictions will make it stiffer but it still won’t be completely tight.

4. Shutter Angle • The shutter angle is measured in degrees. • It is how the camera sees motion blur. If you move fast in front of a camera it goes a bit blurry. • When you change the shutter angle to a lower number by pressing shutter angle it stops the blur. • Putting it lower could be good for dancing, party scenes or fast music videos as those are more prone to blur. • When you turn it up it will make it more blurry which could be good for a music video where you want a softer, warmer look, maybe romance. Or even if someone is drunk and disoriented. • It can change the whole look of a music video depending on what degree it is on. • When you adjust the shutter angle it will make the screen lighter or darker. This is because when you adjust it there is something inside that will move and it will either go faster or slower meaning less or more light can get in creating a darker or lighter camera screen.

5. Prime Lenses • Each lense does one job: • Either wide, mid, close up. • They only do their specific jobs but they are better quality. • Zoom vs prime: Zoom does everything mediocre whereas prime only does certain jobs but really well. • You have to use adapters that go on the front of the lense. • Matt then demonstrated with the different lenses. • What lenses we use depends on our set and the look we want. • One of the main considerations is speed as when switching over the different lenses take a long time.

6. Focusing on a prime lense • Because you can’t zoom in on them you have to find a different way to focus. • By measuring how far away the subject is with a tape measure. Then you dial in the numbers then it will focus on the subject that is that distance away. • Either have it fully open or fully closed with the latches down so that if you pick it up they don’t fall out and brake. • Pictor zoom lenses- are really good cameras but are really heavy and makes it more difficult to move around and reframe the shot. • With the zoom lenses you always put them on tree dot to red dot

7. Practicing with different lenses and Clearing up • We then went around and different camera set ups with different lenses including the prime lense. • At the end of the session we cleared up all the equipment so that we could get used to putting it away again.