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The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video

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The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video Stt.95 't\\\� �\\1\ l�1\)l\ 1\�\l f\lJll l \f\\l\�l IIY 'l'f))I Sf.,flll.. , f)l�t•t•J�I.. THE BARE BONES CAMERA COURSE FOR FILM AND VIDEO (SECOND EDITION, REVISED) By Tom Schroeppel Illustrations by Persistence of Vision/Edward Fiol THE BARE BONES CAMERA COURSE FOR FILM AND VIDEO (SECOND EDITION, REVISED). Copyright (c)l982-2012 by Tom Schroeppel. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Tom Schroeppel, 3205 West Price Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33611-3720. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 82-90651 10-Digit ISBN 0-9603718-1-8 13-Digit ISBN 9 780960 371815 38th Printing Manufactured in the United States of America ii TABLEOF CONTENTS PREFACE 1. BASICS THE CAMERA HOWIT WORKS• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • 1 EXPOSURE•.•••••••• . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .4 COLORTEMPERATURE. .. 6 SETTINGEXPOSURE ON A TV CAMERA. • 7 SETTINGEXPOSURE ON A FILM CAMERA... .. .. .. .. .8 I SO ............. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ............... 8 COLOR TEMPERATURE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 LIGHT METERS •• . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .10 USING A LIGHT METER ••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 10 LENSES • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•. 12 FOCUS • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 15 ZOOM LENSES. .. .. .. .. .. .16 DEPTHOF FIELD. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 17 2. COMPOSITION THE CAMERA A TOOLFOR SELECTIVEVISION •••••••••••••••••• 21 USE A TRIPOD••• .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 RULEOF THIRDS.. .. .. 23 BALANCE LEADINGLOOKS. .. .. .. .. .. .. • 26 BALANCE MASSES. • 28 BALANCE COLORS. •••••••••.••••••••••...••...••••••••••.•• 30 ANGLES• •••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3 3 FRAMESWITIIIN THE FRAME. • 35 LEADINGLINES •.••••.• .. .•• 37 BACKGROUNDS••••••••••••••••••••• • 39 IN SEARCHOF A GOODCOMPOSITION .• . .. .. .. .. .42 iii 3. BASIC SEQUENCE HOWA BASIC SEQUENCEWORKS ••.•.•••. ~ •••••••••••••••••••••• 43 SHOOTINGA BASIC SEQUENCE•••••••••••••..•••••••..•.••..•.• 47 CUTTINGON THE ACTION•.....•••••••••••..•••••••.••.••••••• 50 CLEANENTRANCE -CLEAN EXIT ••...•.•••••••••...•.•.•••••.•. 52 SOMEFINAL WORDS ON BASIC SEQUENCE••.....•.•••••.••••••••• 55 4. SCREENDIRECTION SCREENDIRECTION AND CROSSING THE LINE.•••••••••.••••••••. 56 USINGSCREEN DIRECTION TO SOLVESHOOTING PROBLEMS •••••••.. 64 5. CAMERAMOVES WliY CAMERA.IDVES? •••••••••••.•• o ••••• o ••••••••• o •••••••••• 67 MAKING CAMERAMOVES ........................................ 69 6 • MONT A GES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • a • • • • • • o • • • • • • • • • • • • • 71 7. LIGHTING EXTERIORLIGHTING .......••••••••••••••..........•••.....•• 72 INTERIORLIGHTING ....•.•••••••••••....••.•...•.••••••••••• 74 BASIC LIGHTINGSET-UP ••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••• 77 8. DOINGIT PLANNINGAND SHOOTING A SEQUENCE••••.••••••••••••••..••.•• 80 SHOOTINGSCRIPTS ANDSTORYBOARDS ••••.•.••••••••••••••••••• 81 SHOOTINGOUT OF SEQUENCE•••••••••••••••.•••••••••••.•.••.• 83 C0"'1Jv1UNICATI NG. o ••••••••••••••• Q, ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8 4 WORKINGIN UNCONTROLLEDSITUATIONS .•.•••.......•••.••••••• 84 SOME FINAL WORDS••••••••••••••••••••••••••• o •••••••• o •••• o •••• 86 INDEX. •.•••.•.•••••••••• g: o ••••• Ill •••••••••••• o ••••••••••••••••• 8 7 ABOUT THE AUTHOR• ••••••••••••••••••••••• o ••••••••••••••••••••• 8 9 iv PREFACE This book explains, as simply as possible, how to shoot usable images on film, tape and other media. If you are, or plan to be, a carneraperson, I suggest you read your camera's operator's manual in addition to this book. When you understand both, you should be able to go out and shoot footage that works. If you're not interested in becoming a carneraperson, but simply want to better understand how the camera is used, no additional reading is required. Just relax and enjoy the book. V 1 1. Basics THE CAMERA-HOW IT WORKS The camera is an imperfect imitation of the human eye. Like the eye, it sees by means of a lens which gathers light reflected off objects. The lens directs this light onto a surface which senses the pattern formed by the differences in brightness and color of the dif­ ferent parts of the scene. In the case of the eye, this surface at the back of the eye sends the pattern of light to the brain where it is translated into an image which we "see." THE EYE GATHERS PATTERNS OF REFLECTED LIGHT WHICH THE BRAIN TRANSLATES INTO IMAGES WE SEE. In the case of the camera, the lens directs the patterns of light onto a variety of sensitive surfaces. Still film cameras record light patterns on film coated with light-sensitive chemicals. The chemicals react differently to different amounts and colors of light, forming a record, or image, of the light pattern. After the film is processed in other chemicals, the image becomes visible. 2 --------- --......-­ ---- _.... ---- -- ---- ---- -- STILL FILM CAMERAS RECORD LIGHT PATTERNS ON FILM COATED WITH LIGHT-SENSITIVE CHEMICALS You'll notice that both the lens of the eye and the lens of the camera turn the light pattern upside down as it passes through. This is because they're both convex lenses, or lenses which curve outward. Because of their physical properties, convex lenses always invert images. In the brain, and in the camera viewfinder, the images are turned right side up again. Movie cameras record images in the same way as still film cameras, except they do it more often. Eight-millimeter movie cameras normally take 18 different pictures, or frames, every second. Sixteen millimeter and thirty-five millimeter movie cameras take 24 frames per second. When these pictures are projected on a screen at the same fast rate, they give the illusion of continuous movement. The viewer's mind fills in the gaps between the individual frames, due to a physiological phenomenon known as persistence of vision. -----..-- .......... ------ ............... --- ---------- ---------- ------------- MOVIE CAMERASTAKE NANY DIFFERENT PICTURES EVERY SECOND. 3 In digital cameras-both still and video-the lens focuses light patterns onto an image sensor-either a CCD (charge coupled device) or a CMOS {complementary metal oxide semiconductor). The surface of the sensor contains from thousands to millions of tiny light- sensitive areas called picture elements, or pixels, which change according to the color and intensity of the light hitting them. In video cameras, tne image formed by all the pixels taken together is electronically collected off the sensor at a rate of either 25 or 30 complete images per second. These images can then be recorded or broadcast. -- __., - -.____ ---------- --------- O', ____,..,,, ...OQ VIDEO CAMERAS CONVERT LIGHT PATTERNS INTO ELECTRONIC IMAGES At the viewfinder or TV set the process is reversed to recreate the original image. Persistence of vision causes the viewer to perceive the separate pictures, or frames, as continuous movement. 4 EXPOSURE Exposure is the amount of light that comes through the lens and hits the film or CCD chip. The hole in the center of the lens that the light travels through is called the aperture. If the aperture is big, it lets in lots of light. If it's small, it lets in very little light. The size of the aperture is adjusted by the f/stop ring on the outside of the lens. An £/stop is simply a measure of how big or how little the aperture is. I find that the easiest way to understand £/stops is to think of them in terms of fractions, because that's what they really are. F/2 means that the aperture is 1/2 as big across as the lens is long. F/16 means that the aperture is 1/16th as big across as the lens is long. 3.ltS"mm I I 50mm When you look at it this way, it's easy to understand why in a dark room, you'll probably be shooting at f/2 to let in all the light you can. Conversely, outside in bright sunlight, where you've got a lot of light, you'll probably stop down to f/11 or f/16, to let less light in. 5 Now that you understand that, let me point out that in most modern lenses, especially zoom lenses, what I've just told you isn't absolutely true. An f/2 aperture won't physically be exactly 1/2 the length of the lens. But optically it will be. It will let through as much light as if it were indeed 1/2 the length of the lens. And that's the important thing. F/stops are constructed so that as you go from f/1 to f/22 and beyond, each stop admits 1/2 as much light as the one before. The progression is: f/1, f/1.4, £/2, £/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, £/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32, f/45, f/64, and so on. F/1.4 admits half as much light as f/1. F/4 admits half as much light as f/2.8. \ I '.... .,.; - L-" - I - \ I I Ci - ......' I H ' \ I/ - - ,, \ I / rn~ / T - '' \ I .,,,, :rn: ....I L I-.... -_, I ,- - -..... ...... .,,,, ' ' f/1, f/'t f/5.~ f/o EACH F/STOP ADMITS HALF AS MUCHLIGHT AS THE ONE BEFORE. Many of the newer lenses are marked in both £/stops and T/stops, or T/stops alone. T/stops are more accurately measured £/stops. F/4 on one lens may not let in exactly the same amount of light as f/4 on another lens; but T/4 is the same on every lens. It always lets in the same amount of light. 6 COLORTEMPERATURE Have you ever bee~ out walking on a cold, dingy day and remarked to yourself how warm and cozy all the lighted windows looked? Well, that was because the light in the windows~ of a warmer color than the light outside. Yes, light comes in different colors. If you think about it, you'll see
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