Week 2: Introducing the camera
Week Two
Workshop
This Weeks Workshop and Practical was learning how to work with the camera. This workshop consisted of learning how to set up a camera and tripod and learning how to change the settings on the camera to suit your location and project. All of our learning in this workshop took the form of practical demonstration and trial and error practice. i found this style of teaching and learning very useful because i am a visual learner and i felt that this way i was able to fully understand and get to grips with using the camera not just in a classroom setting but on location and in actual practice.
The camera we were exploring was the SONY X70,
This camera is very different from what i'm used to as i usually film on my DSLR Cannon. This was a daunting camera as it has a lot of different settings and uses, it looked intricate and detailed. This workshop was extremely useful and important otherwise i would not know how to use this particular type of camera which is much more professional and is essential in oncoming projects including the creative project for this Module.
In the groups we were put into last week, we were given the task to set up the tripod and camera correctly without any direction. this was proven to be a difficult task as none of us had set up a tripod before although we eventually did it correctly. This task was helpful as it allowed us all to realise how little we actually knew about cameras and how to use them. Once we had set up the cameras and tripods we were taught how to adjust the camera to see exactly what we as the filmmakers see. we went through aspects like white balance. Changing the white balance is important when setting up your camera because it corrects the the colour in the image making it cooler or warmer in an attempt to make the colours more neutral. we learnt to change the white balance depending on whether there is cooler, blue- toned lighting on location or if the lighting is warm, yellow or red toned. In my own Study hours i did more research on White balance and what it does to the image you are shooting, i found out how white balance actually works.
"The colour of the light will affect the colours in your photographs. You probably won't notice this with the naked eye because our minds adapt very quickly to perceive the colour of the light as neutral, even when it's not.The camera is less forgiving, and records colours exactly as they are. That's why pictures taken under household lighting have an orange colour cast, and pictures taken at dusk or dawn have a cold, blue look.Digital cameras have 'White Balance' controls to correct these colour shifts. This adjustment happens when the camera processes and saves your pictures.For example, if you take a picture under incandescent lighting, the camera can reduce the amount of orange in the colours and boost the blue to produce more neutral colours." (Source: http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/white-balance-explained-how-cameras-correct-the-color-of-different-types-of-light-1320993)
We also learned about other parts of the camera like the lens and the iris. The iris is in comparison to humans like the eye of the camera. Settings like Aperture( F stop) change the size of the iris which changes the amount of light that is let into the lens allowing the image to become lighter or darker, and allowing there to be more or less exposure. I also did some extra research on this part of the camera to understand further into how the Aperture and the iris works.
"Light is an essential part of the human experience. It's no wonder, then, that we've developed ingenious methods for creating, manipulating and capturing light. Cameras are one way we can record light. Whether we use an exorbitantly-priced professional camera or a cell phone, many of the principles for sensing light levels and capturing images are the same. One of the most important principles is aperture.In consumer optical products -- most commonly cameras -- aperture describes the size of the hole that lets light into a device. Cameras use mechanical diaphragms to control how much light passes into the camera body and strikes the image sensor or film. That diaphragm works a lot like the irises in your eyes; it contracts or expands depending on how much light is needed. Aperture refers to the diameter of the opening. It's like the dark, black pupils of your eyes, the actual orifice that lets light pour through."(source: https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cameras-photography/tips/aperture.htm)
The Gain is the only setting i hadn't previously heard of. This was the most interesting thing that i found out about the camera in this weeks workshop. The Gain controls the background noise in an image. i looked online for further exploration on what the Gain actually does.
"Gain is a digital camera setting that controls the amplification of the signal from the camera sensor. It should be noted that this amplifies the whole signal, including any associated background noise. Most cameras have automatic gain, or autogain, which is abbreviated as AGC. Some allow the user to turn it off or set it manually." - which is what the Sony X70 allows you to do.
"Gain can be before or after the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). However, it is important to note that gain after the ADC is not true gain, but rather digital gain. Digital gain uses a look up table to map the digital values to other values, losing some information in the process.Gain before the ADC can be useful for taking full advantage of the bit-depth of the camera in low light conditions, although it is almost always the case that careful lighting is more desirable."
(Source: https://www.edmundoptics.com/resources/application-notes/imaging/basics-of-digital-camera-settings-for-improved-imaging-results/)
Progress on Pitch Idea:
I have been thinking about music and how it could fit into the brief as its something im passionate about and it could link really well with specific documentary styles. i think the use of music as a topic in film will introduce an interesting and original perspective on the brief. i was thinking of how people react to music and how it makes them feel and realised that i could maybe explore the place that you are transported to when listening to music. i was listening to a range of genres like classical, rock, jazz and r & b and tried to understand how they all made me feel. Last years example of documentary about feeling 'blue ' as a place really inspired me. i listened to different genres and songs and wrote down how they made me feel and where they took me as some experiments.
Reading(notes):
The Reading for this week was:
- Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. 1: What is a Documentary? (pages 3-7)
- McLane B. & Ellis J. (2005) A New History of the Documentary Film, New York: Continuum. 1: Some Ways to Think About Documentary.
Workshop
This Weeks Workshop and Practical was learning how to work with the camera. This workshop consisted of learning how to set up a camera and tripod and learning how to change the settings on the camera to suit your location and project. All of our learning in this workshop took the form of practical demonstration and trial and error practice. i found this style of teaching and learning very useful because i am a visual learner and i felt that this way i was able to fully understand and get to grips with using the camera not just in a classroom setting but on location and in actual practice.
The camera we were exploring was the SONY X70,
In the groups we were put into last week, we were given the task to set up the tripod and camera correctly without any direction. this was proven to be a difficult task as none of us had set up a tripod before although we eventually did it correctly. This task was helpful as it allowed us all to realise how little we actually knew about cameras and how to use them. Once we had set up the cameras and tripods we were taught how to adjust the camera to see exactly what we as the filmmakers see. we went through aspects like white balance. Changing the white balance is important when setting up your camera because it corrects the the colour in the image making it cooler or warmer in an attempt to make the colours more neutral. we learnt to change the white balance depending on whether there is cooler, blue- toned lighting on location or if the lighting is warm, yellow or red toned. In my own Study hours i did more research on White balance and what it does to the image you are shooting, i found out how white balance actually works.
"The colour of the light will affect the colours in your photographs. You probably won't notice this with the naked eye because our minds adapt very quickly to perceive the colour of the light as neutral, even when it's not.The camera is less forgiving, and records colours exactly as they are. That's why pictures taken under household lighting have an orange colour cast, and pictures taken at dusk or dawn have a cold, blue look.Digital cameras have 'White Balance' controls to correct these colour shifts. This adjustment happens when the camera processes and saves your pictures.For example, if you take a picture under incandescent lighting, the camera can reduce the amount of orange in the colours and boost the blue to produce more neutral colours." (Source: http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/white-balance-explained-how-cameras-correct-the-color-of-different-types-of-light-1320993)
We also learned about other parts of the camera like the lens and the iris. The iris is in comparison to humans like the eye of the camera. Settings like Aperture( F stop) change the size of the iris which changes the amount of light that is let into the lens allowing the image to become lighter or darker, and allowing there to be more or less exposure. I also did some extra research on this part of the camera to understand further into how the Aperture and the iris works.
"Light is an essential part of the human experience. It's no wonder, then, that we've developed ingenious methods for creating, manipulating and capturing light. Cameras are one way we can record light. Whether we use an exorbitantly-priced professional camera or a cell phone, many of the principles for sensing light levels and capturing images are the same. One of the most important principles is aperture.In consumer optical products -- most commonly cameras -- aperture describes the size of the hole that lets light into a device. Cameras use mechanical diaphragms to control how much light passes into the camera body and strikes the image sensor or film. That diaphragm works a lot like the irises in your eyes; it contracts or expands depending on how much light is needed. Aperture refers to the diameter of the opening. It's like the dark, black pupils of your eyes, the actual orifice that lets light pour through."(source: https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cameras-photography/tips/aperture.htm)
The Gain is the only setting i hadn't previously heard of. This was the most interesting thing that i found out about the camera in this weeks workshop. The Gain controls the background noise in an image. i looked online for further exploration on what the Gain actually does.
"Gain is a digital camera setting that controls the amplification of the signal from the camera sensor. It should be noted that this amplifies the whole signal, including any associated background noise. Most cameras have automatic gain, or autogain, which is abbreviated as AGC. Some allow the user to turn it off or set it manually." - which is what the Sony X70 allows you to do.
"Gain can be before or after the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). However, it is important to note that gain after the ADC is not true gain, but rather digital gain. Digital gain uses a look up table to map the digital values to other values, losing some information in the process.Gain before the ADC can be useful for taking full advantage of the bit-depth of the camera in low light conditions, although it is almost always the case that careful lighting is more desirable."
(Source: https://www.edmundoptics.com/resources/application-notes/imaging/basics-of-digital-camera-settings-for-improved-imaging-results/)
Progress on Pitch Idea:
I have been thinking about music and how it could fit into the brief as its something im passionate about and it could link really well with specific documentary styles. i think the use of music as a topic in film will introduce an interesting and original perspective on the brief. i was thinking of how people react to music and how it makes them feel and realised that i could maybe explore the place that you are transported to when listening to music. i was listening to a range of genres like classical, rock, jazz and r & b and tried to understand how they all made me feel. Last years example of documentary about feeling 'blue ' as a place really inspired me. i listened to different genres and songs and wrote down how they made me feel and where they took me as some experiments.
Reading(notes):
The Reading for this week was:
- Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. 1: What is a Documentary? (pages 3-7)
- McLane B. & Ellis J. (2005) A New History of the Documentary Film, New York: Continuum. 1: Some Ways to Think About Documentary.
- These readings just furthered my knowledge on modes of documentary and allowed me to understand what is and what isn't a documentary.
- For example, Television shows like 'Made in Chelsea' and 'The Only Way is Essex' Are not considered to be documentaries in the world of factual documentation because they are often scripted and are not documenting real life situations.
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