Tech Tuesdays - Lighting

Depending on who you ask, the most important aspect of video is one of two things: audio or lighting. While cases can be made for either side of the argument, you definitely need both to make your videos the best they can be. So today for Tech Tuesday, we’ll be taking a look at why lighting is important and what options are available to you for assembling your own lighting arsenal.

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Light is ridiculously important in capturing quality imagery on your camera—it does not work without it. Try shooting a video on your phone at night, you’ll notice a lot of extra noise. Low light conditions force your camera to increase the ISO to capture enough light, giving that grainy effect.

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This effect is extremely evident in phone cameras due to the sensors in phones being a lot smaller than professional-grade cameras. In short, the more light available to your camera, the better the quality of your photos and video.

Lighting is more than just increasing image quality. It’s also a tool for storytelling by setting the mood.

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When shooting videos, one key rule to always abide by is to show, don’t tell. Lighting is one tool in your arsenal to do that.

While lighting equipment is an absolute necessity for any professional filmmaker, there is one source of light that is 100% free for anyone to use. I’ll give you a hint—look up (for those of you inside, it’s the sun). That’s right, that big ball of fire in the sky is your best friend when it comes to shooting video. Whenever shooting in the daylight is logistically sound, do it.

However, there are certain times of the day for shooting video in prime conditions, that being sunrise and sunset. These are the Goldilocks hours where the lighting is just right—not too light, not to dark, not too soft, not too harsh. Although, if you’re like me, there’s only one hour per day because I’m sure as heck not getting up before sunrise. Peter McKinnon has a great video showing the importance of light as well as some other helpful tips.

For those moments when the daylight just won’t cut it, having your own lighting kit is extremely useful. Talking about all the technical specifics of lights could be its own post so for now, let’s keep it simple.

From what I’ve researched, there’s no better alternative for a beginner than LED light panels. They don’t require a lot of power, the heat output is minimal compared to other lights, they often have built-in dimmer switches for better control, and their flat nature makes it easy to apply gels for different temperature effects.

As far as the minor details go when looking for your own lighting setup, look no further than here. But for those that want a pre-built solution, check out DSLR Video Shooter and his $150 lighting setup below.

Hopefully by now you know just how important lighting is when shooting video and photography. And unlike other Tech Tuesdays, you don't necessarily need the tech to utilize it. 

Be sure to leave any questions in the comments below. Now get out there and keep shooting.

Tech Tuesdays - Tripod

Upon reflection from the last Tech Tuesday, I discovered I may be getting a little ahead of myself.

Since this blog is supposed to be tailored towards newcomers, I realized the last thing on a beginner’s mind is, “what non-essential products should I get?” So for today’s Tech Tuesday, we’ll be looking at an item that is an absolute necessity for any individual pursuing a hobby/career in film—the tripod.

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The tripod is the foundation for still, steady shots. More so than the Steadicam, the tripod is much more versatile in the function it serves. A typical $40 video tripod from BestBuy can do the trick for still shots, but when the camera has to track movement, a higher quality tripod is needed.

So what tripod should you get?

The most important thing when looking for a tripod is knowing the difference between a tripod for photo and a tripod for video—that being the head they use.

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Typically, photo tripod heads consist of a ball-joint with a camera mount on top. This allows a photographer to drop his tripod on any uneven surface, adjust his camera on the ball joint to what they need, snap a picture, and move onto the next shot.

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Video tripod heads are slightly more complex. All video heads will have a long operating arm, removable mounting plate, and a pan and tilt feature with knobs that adjust the amount of resistance. Resistance is important because it helps dampen the movements from the operator and keeps the camera smooth. Resistance can be achieved in a couple ways but each method will heavily influence the price.

Very cheap heads will use friction as the method for resistance. The reason this doesn’t work well is because the movement is inconsistent—the camera will jerk when applying and releasing force.

A step up from friction-based heads is a fluid effect head. These are essentially still friction heads but with an added lubricant to reduce the jerking effect. They work better than their cheaper counterparts but they still aren’t professional quality.

The most professional quality is only possible with a true fluid head. Like the name suggests, these heads contain internal tanks of fluid that allow for the smoothest movement possible. If professional quality is what you are after, the true fluid head should be at the top of the list.

Another feature to consider is a counterbalance system. When setting up your tripod for a shot, it’s important to be able to leave the camera unattended and come back to it without the head shifting. It tends to feature on expensive tripod heads only but it’s worth the investment just in how much it saves time.

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Once you have a head picked out, you’ll want to pair it with a good set of legs. As a general rule, the thicker, lighter, and sturdier the legs, the better. I prefer legs with clamp locks but I'll leave that up to you. 

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One final key feature to look for in tripod legs is a bowl socket. The bowl socket works the same way as the ball joint on a photo head. It allows for quick and easy setup without having to perfectly level the tripod legs. When shooting outdoors, having a tripod with this feature will save you a lot of time and headaches.

Unfortunately, I can’t suggest anything under $100 and say, “this should work,” with a clear conscience. The tripod is such an important piece of equipment in any filmmaker’s collection so being frugal on one is ill-advised.

Here are three suggestions ranging from beginner to professional quality.

Beginner: Magnus VT-4000

Enthusiast: Manfrotto MVH502A

Professional: O’Connor Ultimate1030D Fluid Head & 30L CF Tripod with Mid-Level Spreader

Feel free to ask any burning questions you may have in the comment section below. Good luck and happy shooting!

Tech Tuesdays - Steadicam

Welcome to the all-new series, Tech Tuesdays, where I go over a popular piece of equipment used in film-making and tell you if it's worth the investment for your own videos. Today, we'll be looking at the Steadicam.

If you’ve ever tried shooting a video on your phone, you may have noticed that videos tend to be very shaky. People are constantly moving even when standing still—you can’t just not breathe, right?

A tripod does a terrific job at keeping shots steady, but that doesn’t help when you have to walk with your subject—not everyone wants their videos to look like Cloverfield.

Here enters the Steadicam.

Working a Steadicam can be great exercise as well.

The Steadicam, in essence, is a counterweight system designed to remove unwanted movement while filming. Products range from a stick with a handle all the way to a vest, mechanical arm, and two-handed gimbal system with counterweights for every degree of movement.

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Do you need a $3,000 Steadicam rig to film your make-up tutorials? No—at least I hope you don’t. But if you do a lot of videos that have movement, then a decent $100 Steadicam might be worth the investment. It all depends on what you want to shoot.

The problem with any piece of filming equipment is that they are tailored to doing one specific job. Many professional film-makers will actually have multiple Steadicams because some products are designed better for a specific shot than others.

That being said, if you’re a serious film-maker and want to take your films to the next level, the Steadicam is a great place to start.

If you had a Steadicam, what would you use it for? Also, be sure to check out No Film School, it's a terrific resource for learning about, tech, techniques, and logistics within the film industry.