sureshot10 wrote:
Thanks Bill, I am always astounded by the knowledge base on the Hogs. I will look into the Lumix and how right you are on the sound aspects. I learned about this the hard way when I tried to video a performance of the Blues Brothers. I already have the Sekonic Digitalmaster L-758DR and am trying to come up to speed on all the aspects of frame rate, etc. Did some basic research after the fact and WOW did I get an eyeopener about peak cutoffs and a whole lot more. Looks like I might be getting some professional audio software and a sound board. :thumbup:
Thanks Bill, I am always astounded by the knowled... (
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Actually, you need not invest in tons of equipment to do some seriously great storytelling. How you use what you have is far more important than having all the right toys.
That said, the right software goes a long way. Whether you use Final Cut Pro X, or Adobe Premiere, or some other editor, spend the time with the manual to learn all its tricks and features. Non-linear editing systems have been in development for a good 30 years or so, and for the past decade, they've been pretty mature.
In camera audio doesn't have to suck, if you have the right camera (a dedicated video camera or a LUMIX GH4). Most dSLRs are just okay at it. That's why lots of folks use a zoom, or Røde iXY or something similar to capture separate sound to sync up with and replace the in-camera sound.
I learned a long time ago that the most important thing in video is to have a point, and to plan how you'll make it. Use outlines, scripts, storyboards or shot lists.
Plan how you'll record things with the fewest camera moves. I've done dialogs with just one wireless microphone, by recording each person's lines separately. I've done one-on-one interviews the same way. The interviewer pauses after each answer before asking another question. The camera remains on the person being questioned. Once it's all over, the camera moves to the interviewer, and the questions are asked again. Then it's all edited in the right sequence.
Lighting is really important with video, too, especially if you are working in 4:2:0 (8-bit) mode. You need to control specularity and ratios to avoid burned highlights and plugged shadows. Plenty of schemes are available, from "cine-like" camera profiles to reflector boards, scrims, gobos, frosted diffusion sheets, supplementary LED lights...
Actually, as with any of the audio-visual arts, there is a lot to learn! It never ends. The technology evolves, but the good news is, the laws of physics never change. We just get better at exploiting them.