Digital Film Making of Documentaries

There are many kinds of films, which fall under categories like expressionist and realist films. The documentary film falls under realist filming. It depicts events as they actually are audibly and visually. This is to say that there are no actors involved. Real people in their natural environments feature, usually as interviewees. Besides this, other aspects that influence documentary film making are cinematography, camera techniques, sound and lighting.

In cinematography, the film attributes are considered. The 7 stops exposure latitude, motion blur due to the low 24 frames per second frame rate and high resolution are responsible for the image quality. They give documentaries their 'film look'. This necessitates cinematographers to learn how to capture perfect footage. They learn this in film schools.

The documentary also incorporates digital film making, whereby digital cameras are used to select the format and aspect ratio. This digital cinematography is very effective in low light shooting, in which the film is not as adequate. The best documentaries that have utilized digital filming usually achieve the high resolution 'film look'.

The camera techniques employed are the same as those of expressionist films. They include camera movements like tilting, panning, dolling and zooming, among many others. They also include grammar of the shot. This refers to effects like close-up and panoramic shots. Besides this, the sound includes the voice-over narration and mice-en-scene.

There is absence of the thematic sound tracks present in expressionist films, used to heighten suspense. The voice-over narration is the only role one can get in documentary film making, besides being part of the technical crew. This crew is made up of camera, sound and lighting technicians. The narration details the image interpretation, but leaves the audience to make their own conclusions. It is more like a commentary or report.

The documentary is shot in the natural environment, which means the lighting is mostly natural. When enhanced by stage lights, the results must still look natural. This gives the film director the task of coordinating the various aspects of the film. This must be done in the most cost-effective way, as filming can be quite expensive.

The final stage documentary undergoes is editing. At this stage, digital enhancements are avoided. Everything must depicted as in reality. The sound, if recorded on the camera, is poorer quality than on an audio recorder. The sound is edited to a synchrony with the visuals. Most of the editing lies with the shots. They are cut into suitable lengths and combined to tell a fluent story.

All these areas of specialization require great skills. Talent alone is not enough. The skills in either the technical aspects or narration are acquired in schools of film. These schools also teach the different filming techniques, keeping at par with technological advancements. Enrolling in such a school, therefore, guarantees one expertise in digital film making, the new face of the film industry.

We provide the best info about documentary film making and digital film making. For further details please visit the provided links.

Original article

Canon Digital Feature Film Making

Thanks to The Canon Company and the digital camcorders and DSLRs there is an underground digital film revolution happening. This revolution began a few years ago when Canon decided to add the 24 frames per second option into most of its mid range consumer camcorders. Later it would at this as a video option in its DSLR and the revolution has caught fire world wide.

There are so many sites and blogs dedicated to DSLR cameras such has the Canon D7, Mark II and the T2I that I thought that I would go old school and focus on the cameras that started the revolution and with a few add-ons can offer nearly the picture quality at a low price point. I will focus largely on the Canon HV series and the feature films that have been made with these little monsters and when the moment demands it I will get into some of the great work being done with the DSLRs.

Let's begin with why should a low budget film maker consider these cameras. I would say in response that a low budget film maker should not and by low budget I mean if you have fifty thousand dollars or more to spend then you should consider using the Canon Mark II or the Red or a number of the Panasonic pro-sumer camcorders if you want to make a feature film. If you have fifty thousand or more why not go 16mm film. The film cameras are cheap and if you know what you are doing with them then go right ahead. The truth is that I am not here for the low budget film maker. I am here for those who are called ultra low budget or no budget film makers. You fall into this category if you have less than ten thousand dollars to spend on your first feature.

Allow me to describe you. You or a close friend have written the screenplay for your movie. You will be doing this project with the help of friends and family who will work behind the scenes for no pay. You will be shooting on nights and weekends and at locations that you can get for free or get in and out of without being caught filming there. Your actors will be paid little to nothing up front. You will be looking to get the best production value out of the least amount of money spent possible.

In other words you are a lot like me.

You are only willing to pay for what is absolutely unavoidable. The three area where you are going to have to spend money are:

Sound, if your audience can not hear the movie then you are doomed. Viewers will give up on your project the third or fourth time they have to mutter what did he just say? Huh, What was that?

Editing, you may be able to use a free program, but you will need a computer strong enough and quick enough to edit and hopefully do some sound mixing on. If you have such a computer cool, you just saved money.

Camera, you need something that shoots in HD digital and shoots at 24p. Why 24p? That is the industry standard. This is the frame rate that gives you that motion picture look. You are going to have to spend some money on your camera. Money on the lenses and in most cases on a depth of field adapter.

The cameras are why we are here and let us talk about what to do and not to do. Get the best camera at the lowest possible price that will get the job done. Do not blow half of your production budget on your awesome new camera. It will feel wonderful to have that expensive camera and muse about all the things that it is able to do until it is day 12 of shooting and you have no money to feed your cast and crew. You have no money left for transportation, (gas money) and you have just realized that you should have set aside at least a third of your budget for post production cost. Treat your camera like the tool that it is.

A camera is not jewelry. It is not a diamond ring. It is a tool. You could consider it a hammer or a shovel. I think of mine as my axe. Like a good guitar it can make beautiful music if tuned just right.

As a independent movie maker I have want to share the bits of information I have picked up during the years, so I have started a blog dedicated to no budget digital film making. If you wish to learn more about the use of the canon series of camcorders and film making visit me a http://www.cannondigitalfeaturefilmmaking.blogspot.com/.

Original article

Learn the Benefits of Buying the Sony DCR RS68 Digital Video Camera

Choosing a handy-cam to buy for you is a tough job. There are so many models available in the market that it is easy to get confused and end up making the wrong choice. After all, every brand out there promises to provide quality at the best price. If that was the case, you could walk into a shop and buy the first camcorder that lay on the display. In this indecisive situation, you cannot do better than go for a reliable and proven brand. Sony is considered to be a world leader in appliances and their digital video cameras have earned the praise of users all over the globe. The Sony DCR RS68 handy-cam is one of the best cameras for a beginner. Here are some reasons why this camera proves to be a good buy.

Economy

The Sony DCR RS68 costs $329 if you purchase it online. Considering the usual pricing of digital video cameras, you might have to spend over $500 on a modern high-end camera. This makes this model an exceptionally inexpensive purchase. This is a great job on the part of Sony to bring the camera to the common man's reach.

Quality

Despite being moderately priced, the camera offers exceptional picture quality. The professional level Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar lens allows you to capture high-resolution visuals without any blurs or other noise. The picture quality available at this price means that you get more than you pay for.

Zoom

Perhaps the best thing about the Sony DCR RS68 is the zoom option. Providing up to 2000X digital zoom, the camera offers outstanding clarity and crispness even if you are shooting from a distance. You can easily take close up shots without having to stand close to the person.

Sound

The camera has Dolby Digital sound quality. Every sound in the video is captured clearly without any distortion. There is a built-in zoom microphone that captures every sound made in the shooting radius. The Sony DCR RS68 gives great sound to the memories you capture on video.

Memory Space

The RS68 has an 80GB built-in disk drive which gives you the luxury of storing up to 61 hours of recorded footage in the long play format. You can always transfer the files to your computer to free up space in the camera or get an additional memory stick to increase the space at your disposal.

Ease of Use

The Sony DCR RS68 is an entry-level camera which is designed for people not adept at handling digital cameras. The features are easy to use and the menus can be accessed through the touch screen. The user manual provides a detailed guide as to how to use the camera properly.

Reliability

Sony is a household name. When you buy a Sony product, you can be sure that it is reliable and durable. You can say that there is a feel good factor about purchasing from a renowned brand. This reliability isn't duplicated by any of the newer brands in the market. These are some great reasons to buy the Sony DCR RS68.

Stan Roderbel loves to write about the latest electronic gadgets, gismos and anything related to cutting edge technology. Stan ventures into the fields of cameras, video and cell phones to find out the newest product and bring that product to his readers. You will enjoy this article about the Sony DCR-SR68 Video Camera even more if you go to the Sony DCR-SR68 website. While there read the article about the Sony DCRSX85 Handy-Cam Video camera and it's many fine features.

Original article

What Makes a Great Digital Camera?

So you've decided to buy a digital camera but you seem to be more confused as to what to buy. There are a lot of people telling you what matters most in a digital camera. Buy this... Buy that... Choose this and choose that... You might be going crazy with all of this so-called "advices." So let's try to narrow things down. What exactly makes a good digital camera? Is it resolution? Zoom? Maybe some other technical stuff? I will make it easier for you. I will list the things that make a digital camera worth your time (or not!). Some of these things may be a little too technical so I will try to make it less complicated for you simple folk out there. For this article, I will tackle resolution, lens and power supply. Take note that there are more things to consider but these are the main ones that you need to look for.

Resolution

Resolution can easily be understood as "image detailing". You see, pictures are made of pixels. The more pixels, the more detailed a picture becomes. But wait, albeit common belief more pixels does not equate to better photo quality. If you get a camera with very high resolution, you might get frustrated with slower shooting. If you choose a camera with very poor resolution, your pictures might come up as crap. So if you think that a 14-megapixel camera is light years away from a 12-megapixel camera, think again. They might even give the same quality of images under certain conditions.

Lens

In the digital camera world, there are a number of different kinds of lenses. Some have aesthetic purposes but most of them offer some form of technical advantage over the other. They can be broken down into 4 different kinds of lenses as mentioned below.

- Folded optic lenses- Usually present in ultra compact cameras, this kind of lens folds sideways maintaining the slim design of the camera.

- Fixed focal-length lenses - These lenses have no optical zooming capabilities at all. This has the lowest optical quality of the 4 types of lenses.

- Retractable zoom lenses -Currently the most common type of lens in the digital camera market. These lenses retract inside the body of the camera when not in use. The retraction/extension makes start-up and power-down times longer. Also, the design limits manual-focus through switches and/or buttons.

- Fixed zoom lenses -These lenses are fixed to the body and do not retract inside when the camera is powered off. Magnifications using these kinds of lenses can go to as high as 26x. Advanced controls allow the user to create adjustments if needed. The only thing about fixed zoom lenses is that it tends to make the cameras bulkier and operation of the camera may be more complicated.

Batterytypes

For power supply, it's always best if your camera can use interchangeable power supply simply because there may be times when it will be impractical to use one type of power supply. For everyday use, you can opt for rechargeable batteries because they tend to become cheaper on the long run. But if you are in the woods for a long time, it would be better to bring a pack of disposable batteries rather than bring a rechargeable battery.

For more great tips and ideas on digital cameras come and visit our website at http://www.radmustangs.com/, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Original article

A Few Tips to Transfer 8 MM to Digital

When you need to splice film together or add some white lead-in (leader) to the beginning of the film, the only way you can accurately join the two is with a splice tool. They align and space the sprocket holes perforations precisely then you may apply either film cement or splice tape.

I have a splice tool for Regular 8 but not for Super 8; I had a piece of white leader come unglued from a Super 8 movie. Instead of trying to align the sprocket holes and cement the leader back on the film without a proper tool it is better left off, and I explain what I did to bypass this in the next paragraph. If they are not perfectly lined up you may have a host of troubles. A couple of the problems you might encounter is your film starting to walk off the sprocket or it may turn it into an accordion, then it's a ruined beyond repair.

I clipped off the end of the film with the cutter on the projector, mainly to cut off the cement and using the projectors trimmer gives you the best feed alignment for that machine. Then I fed the film thru the projector after first starting the video camera recording, when more than enough of the film came out to be attached to the take-up reel I paused both projector and video camera and secured it to the reel. Then I Reverse the projector a few frames and start the video camera recording and then start the projector in the Forward motion and continue to film.

If you are fortunate enough to have a self threading take-up reel you won't have to stop everything, the projector I have does self thread with Super 8 sometimes, but never with Regular 8. It is very easy to join the two with a Video Editor program and no one will ever know that there was a pause in the cause.

Also you can use the above method to join breaks in the film or where one is fluttering real bad and you had to stop production. Sometimes when it starts getting uncontrollable flickering and or fluttering in the forward direction I switch it to Reverse and keep filming with the video camera because with a Video Editor program you can reverse the direction of the movie, as long as you aren't working with a talkie.

You just need to make sure when going from Forward to Reverse that the Framer Knob is adjusted to get the top and bottom of the screen realigned, mine changes the end view when I go from Forward to Reverse and vice versa.

Keeping a camel hair or a real soft brush and a can of compressed air (that only shoots air and no liquids) is always easier and less time consuming than redoing what has just been done. The Aperture and Film Channel must be kept as clean as possible so you don't get dust, hairs and other undesirables transferred to your digital copy.

Most of the old Super 8 and Regular 8 Movie Cameras didn't use the thru the lens view mode so occasionally you might find a few movies in a row with the same hair in the same part of the frame. Anyway I found a few films that way but before determining that it was on the film I had cleaned the projector lens a few times and took the film out of the projector and cleaned the film advance more than once. That's a bummer but that was life in the 50's and 60's and possibly still is depending on what type of video camera you are utilizing at the present time.

I will be updating my website with some helpful information and some views of how some of my transfers turned out on some 8mm film that was taken in 1956 at http://danstrobel.com/8mm_to_Digital.html.
Thank you for taking time to read my article
Daniel D. Strobel

Original article

Video digital SLR Vs video camcorder - the battle at the top of the page

The battle of "Video DSLR vs camcorder"

For about 3 years, video amateurs and professionals from around the world have heard of the rising star of the video scene, "video dslr." This lightweight competitor is a based photography camera packs a blow to the ring against the older, heavier, and less popular "camcorder." The battle of "Video DSLR vs camcorder" is officially underway.

Since 30 years since Sony's BetaCam in 1982, tape-based camcorders have found video industry with their generation compact, lightweight, and most importantly, their ease of use. All you had to do was push a button red and point of the lens to what you want to save. Nothing is more necessary to film or projectors. Literally, anyone could film whatever they wanted and watch instantly.

High definition?

In recent years, many camcorder companies have tried to make it even easier by using of digital devices such as memory and hard drives, cards that stick you video recording in any computer to instantly see. With the transition to digital video came the move to high definition (HD) video. Most camera companies were coming out with called HD recording, but most of them did not record full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p). In addition, many camcorders record in a format that cannot be changed as a raw file, such as AVCHD, which means that there is loss of massive quality, decreasing the fact that the video was recorded in HD in the first place. In the battle of "Video DSLR vs camcorder", this means that "Camcorder" should simply throw the towel.

The birth of a Champion

In September 2008, Canon announced the publication of its 5 d Mark II, the first DSLR camera to spread the popularity of the use of HD video DSLR. A year later, on 1 September 2009, Canon came out with the least expensive, but also powerful, EOS 7 d. The 7 D is not full-frame as the 5 d, 7 D was made with video functionality in mind, making it more suitable for video shooters. It has a button for pass mode still image video mode and is made of a magnesium alloy case, which is more sustainable.

"DSLR video vs camcorder". DSLR takes the lead

Since the release of the Canon EOS 7 d in 2009, several manufacturers of video camera gear began to manufacture accessories for video shooting with the 7 d and 5 d Mark II. With the ability to change lenses, frame rates and have a manual shutter, it became clear that with the appropriate accessories, these digital reflex cameras begin to dominate the video industry. You can now buy platforms mount shoulder and set - up dolly with mat-boxes and follow focus sets which are specially designed for the video. For the quality of the video that produce these cameras, camcorders no threat to the growing use of digital reflex cameras for video.

I almost forgot to mention that a full video of the DSLR set with necessary accessories and lenses can be purchased for most less than HD video camcorders that are currently on the market. For less than $3,500, you could own a configuration of the camera that is worthy of the film or documentary winner of awards.

The battle is won!

In the battle of "Video DSLR vs camcorder", video DSLR won and I don't expect to see a re-match.

An incredible site focuses on the Canon digital SLR video, the leader of the DSLR video industry has been created. CanonDSLRVideo.com is committed to providing reviews, tutorials and videos for filmmakers and video producers. Take the time to visit the site and watch videos. You can find the resources to be useful.

View the original article here