best camera settings for documentary
- Thread starter leibow
- Start date
Adam J McKay
Veteran
Pretty much anything you want. Just experiment with some settings until you find something you like. There is another thread on here dedicated to scene settings with stills. Check out it.
It all depends what your going for.
It all depends what your going for.
mburgh
Active member
Try 24p
Try 24p
Documentaries can be lucid or ludic - all depends on your subject. If you want to tell a straightforward story, use 24p for your initial capture. I wouldn't recommend using another setting because if all your footage is in a certain look, you won't be able to correct the light back to normal. Once in post, go Boris or whatever add-in you like, and you'll have more freedom.
That being said, if you pick out some shots for cut-a-ways or mood, you can certainly shoot them in what ever Magic Bullet-like preset you like.
Hope this helps.
Try 24p
Documentaries can be lucid or ludic - all depends on your subject. If you want to tell a straightforward story, use 24p for your initial capture. I wouldn't recommend using another setting because if all your footage is in a certain look, you won't be able to correct the light back to normal. Once in post, go Boris or whatever add-in you like, and you'll have more freedom.
That being said, if you pick out some shots for cut-a-ways or mood, you can certainly shoot them in what ever Magic Bullet-like preset you like.
Hope this helps.
Fliques Osman
Well-known member
Hey Leibow,
I think the best thing to do, if your new to documentaries, is to maybe follow (mimic) the work flow (ex:camera setting, editing, etc, etc) of other doc filmakers, especially if you enjoy their work . I should also state that to each is his own, what might work for some one else may not work for you, but it is a good STARTING POINT.
At the top of my head, I would say look at the film "Iraq In Fragments" by James Longley.
Like most doc filmmakers, the director James Longley, was a one man crew. He shot his doc on the DVX100 & DVX100b. For his work we won three prizes at Sundance, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Below are some links to how Longley used his DVX:
http://www.zoom-in.com/podcasts/2006/05/iraq_in_fragments_format_selec
http://www.iraqinfragments.com/background/index.html (bottom of page is technical info)
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/search.php?do=finduser&u=6716 (James is a DVX member, he posted some of this settings, take a look).
Hope that helps,
Manymoosh
I think the best thing to do, if your new to documentaries, is to maybe follow (mimic) the work flow (ex:camera setting, editing, etc, etc) of other doc filmakers, especially if you enjoy their work . I should also state that to each is his own, what might work for some one else may not work for you, but it is a good STARTING POINT.
At the top of my head, I would say look at the film "Iraq In Fragments" by James Longley.
Like most doc filmmakers, the director James Longley, was a one man crew. He shot his doc on the DVX100 & DVX100b. For his work we won three prizes at Sundance, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Below are some links to how Longley used his DVX:
http://www.zoom-in.com/podcasts/2006/05/iraq_in_fragments_format_selec
http://www.iraqinfragments.com/background/index.html (bottom of page is technical info)
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/search.php?do=finduser&u=6716 (James is a DVX member, he posted some of this settings, take a look).
Hope that helps,
Manymoosh
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