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| Track and dolly |
Camera work
In small groups, we went round each camera set up - standard tripod, jib, track and the shoulder camera - and experimented with them all. With the tripod, we just familiarised ourselves with how to put the camera on and take it off the tripod, we also put it in focus and adjusted the white balance - all the normal things to do to set up a camera.
The jib was next and it was a new piece of equipment to me, Gavin showed our group how to assemble it and we tried a few sweeping shots. Jack sat in a chair and I started up high in the top corner of the studios and moved the camera diagonally down to Jack. This was difficult as he didn't always end up in the middle of the shot at the end - the camera might have been too high or too low. However, the more I practiced it the easier it became.
The track was third, this was also new to me. I enjoyed using this one because it made the camera movement really smooth and the shots looked really good. Gavin had jack at the end of the track and moved the camera backwards, while changing the focus - this made Jack stay the same size but the background zoomed in and out. This looked really good, it would probably be used in a scene about time changing / a crazy dream / flashback sort of thing in a film.
The shoulder camera was last. I didn't use this one myself but it looked heavy - especially after having it on your shoulder for a while. It would be ideal to use for effective handheld shots.
I learnt that in our production the camera operators will have to control their own iris and exposure to match all the cameras together. In a real life situation there would be people in the vision control room who sort out the exposure and iris on the cameras so they are all the same.
Reflection:
- It was a good experience to see and have a feel of the shoulder camera, as we want to go into the audience in our Fashion Fails section with a handheld camera. This would definitely be the camera we would want to use. It was relatively smooth and not too bumpy so it would give us a good shot of the audience member who is speaking about their fashion fail.
- We would like a jib shot at the beginning and end of our show and a few in the middle, but for just these few shots we aren't sure if it's worth having a jib at all. We, mainly the directors, will re-think this later on when we have the set planned out on the studio floor.
- From the original pitch, we planned to have a track to give a good panning / establishing shot. Now, we realised that we definitely need a panning shot because the presenters walk from the soft area to the catwalk and back. The track may be useful for this - again, it was very handy to try these camera set ups out so we could have a good feel. We now know that the track gives us a very smooth shot, whereas panning with a camera on a tripod may not be as smooth as it can tilt at the same time as well if not tightened.
- Del used a few words that I hadn't heard of before - ENG (electronic news gathering), WFM (wave form monitor) and PSC (portable single camera). It was helpful to hear these words being said in a studio situation because in the real world we will need to use and understand these words.
Vision mixing
After the break we went into the gallery and learnt how to vision mix. This will be Alex's job on the broadcast day but it was interesting to have a go at it myself. It seemed complicated but once I positioned my fingers in the correct places it was just a case of knowing which finger was on which camera button without looking. Del called out the directors commands and we all had a go at following them and flashing the correct camera up onto the preview screen and on his command - the transmission screen.
I was really helpful having all the camera screens in front of me, on the day this will help Alex and the directors to see if the next shot is ready or not.
Our next session with Del will include people out in the studio in front of the cameras and we will be practicing a real live situation, we will also be introduced to the 'talk back' and will be using that too.
Reflection:
- I knew there was such thing as a vision mixer but didn't know what they did exactly so today was very useful and helped us learn the basics of vision mixing. I also think I did a good job and only made one mistake of cutting instead of mixing. I would definitely consider doing more vision mixing in the future.
- Alex did really well and I have no doubts that he'll give an amazing performance on the day.
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