INTRODUCTION TO THE VIDEO CAMERA

Camera shots and Camera movements
What I had to remember when using the cameras

Time code, white-balancing, aperture settings, focusing, the 180 degree rule, spatial settings,

Spatial settings helped to show the viewer the space there in as well as portraying spatial relationships between the characters, for example a close and friendly relationship between two characters would mean that they could be shot in the same frame, and an antagonistic pair of characters could be shot in separate frames. This has exceptions.

White balance is when the white areas in a frame are adjusted manually to tell the camera what every other colour in the room is in comparison. For example a white wall would be white balanced to help the brown door and oaker table find the colour in comparison. if the white wall was adjusted to look cream then the rest of the colors in the scene would appear darker and same the opposite way around.

Focusing is key and something i forgot to pay special attention too when we were given our first task to film, the focus is an essential tool to create a clear picture; it is also used to shift the audience's attention from one item to another. For example a man in the background is in focus he then looks towards the bottom left hand side of a camera and goes out of focus, the item he is looking at comes into focus at the front of the scene.

The 180 degree rule is a rule in which the camera cannot shift past one side of the shot, if the camera begins filming on one side, the camera can go anywhere that does not cross over the 180 degrees.  This prevents the actors appearing to have swapped places or the room to seem warped, for example, a shot and reverse shot must be shot on the same side as if the camera is across the 180 degree line the characters can seem to have swapped places, also if the door stars on the left of the frame it cannot suddenly be on the right as it will appear strange. There is an exception to this rule which is the arc rule when the camera whilst filming crosses over the line. This is allowed because you see the camera crossing over and it doesn't warp the set.

The proximity of the shot is also broken up into many different categories to give off different roles or effects,
The wide and extreme wide shot
This helps the viewer see where the plot is taking place. This is usually used as an establishing shot.
The medium shot
The medium shot, shows the subject of the scene close up, but not close up. Like a full body of the character.
Close up shot
This shows the subject of the scene in close, like a head and shoulders. This allows us to feel more familiar with the character.
Extreme close up shot
This is a more non naturalistic shot as it is unlikely for in life anyone to get that close to people and see there emotions, this is to show emotions or perspectives of the character and allows us to become very familiar with the character etc...


Before anything is shot the director will shout stand by to make sure everyone is on the ball and ready. It is also essential to never cut or record unless the directer calls it. It is important to leave a long gap at the begining and end to allow plenty of editing space this is called leading out. Turning over is a term used by the director to tel the camera man to speed up, rolling is a term used to tell the director and actors the camera is recording but the actors dont start the scene until action is called.


I found that moving from a still camera to a video one is very different, the only similarity is the fact it captures what is infront of you, the movement, the while balence the angles are very different. however the cinematography in video and photography in still camera canj be similar in artistic filming, but the shots in a video is normally one of many and can be simpler.
I found the filming its self easy until i watched over and saw all the many mistakes i had made. Including, focusing and spatial thinking. my focus was very incoinsistant and the spaces I used were too small and cramped. I will now, having learnt not to, be aware of these mistakes and work on improving and polishing them in my next task.