D7000 film: Angry Snowboarders

J

JonathanS

Active member
You don't see many real-world run&gun films shot with DSLRs. Having made such a thing last weekend, I can see why - it's a bit of a nightmare. I should probably have shot this with my HMC150, but... but...

http://vimeo.com/20787497

There's plenty wrong with it, but overall I think it works well enough. Certainly, my client is delighted. Shooting with a D7000 is 'busy', but just about manageable.

  • D7000, Neutral profile, contrast dialled down. A little levels tweaking with Final Cut's 3-way, but that's about it for grading.
  • Sigma 10-20mm ƒ/4-5.6 (Too wide at 10mm, too slow at ƒ/5.6, doesn't autofocus in Live View)
  • Nikkor 50mm ƒ/1.4G (gorgeous, *too* shallow DOF below about ƒ/2.8, often a little too long for this sort of filming).
  • Nikkor 105mm ƒ/2.8 VR (not used much here, but fantastic when you need the reach, or the macro.)
  • Røde NTG-2 shotgun on Rycote Lyre mount, straight into camera with *cough*auto*cough* levels.
  • Interview audio recorded on the HMC150 with Sennheiser radio lav.
  • Mostly natural light; softbox used for interviews. Could have done with a bit of ND on the lamp, but I was running out of time/hands.
  • Camera mostly on a Manfrotto monopod, occasionally handheld.
 
That looks great. My wife just got a D7000 for still work, but I've been eyeing it for video when my 150 isn't available. Nice to know it can do all that. Did you say you recorded the audio ONLY with the 150 for the interviews, and sync'ed it up to the 7000 footage later?
btw, do you live in Newcastle? my son is there and we will be visiting him in may.
 
Thanks!

I have to say, my DSLR first choice for video would be a Panasonic GH2, but the Nikon can still produce some beautiful images. It feels a bit risky to shoot with, so I'm a little uneasy about client work with it, but we'll see.

Audio for the interviews: I still had the Røde hooked up to the Nikon, so that recorded a guide track. Pluraleyes synced that and the HMC151 footage perfectly. I'd previously set the HMC to 24p mode, but ended up using only the audio.

And yes - I'm in Newcastle. I'm exhibiting at Maker Faire myself this weekend, with my project SciCast (http://scicast.org.uk), just across the way from the Angry Snowboarders game. It's a terrific city, very happy to be here.
 
I know what you mean about run and gun Dslr being a nightmare ive made that mistake so many times. Simply so much extra work that i believe its not worth the improved image quality
 
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