Grabs from DVX

MalcolmOng

MalcolmOng

Veteran
Hi guys, I just shot a school video using the DVX, and well...It didn't really turn out as well as I hoped it would. Was dealing with a tough cast who wanted to just get it over and done with and go home asap. Anyway, I figured I'd post some initial grabs for everyone to see and critique. Probably gonna get all critique, but lets hear it anyway. Didnt pay much or any attention to lighting, etc, due to the limited time we were dealing with...

http://productionlogs.blogspot.com/
 
MalcolmOng said:
Didnt pay much or any attention to lighting, etc, due to the limited time we were dealing with...
Click to expand...

Well, there's not a lot to critique if we're not looking at "lighting, etc". Framing looked alright.
 
Well I believe the lighting was abyssmal - especially since it was all point and shoot. I had the iris on manual and one of the shots turned out really really really dark because we forgot to adjust, and thought the footage was dark just due to LCD glare(heh, shoulda used the viewfinder)... But I wanna know how to make subjects look good even in direct sunlight like that. It seemed to me very flat, and unmovie-like.
 
Well I'm not an expert quite yet, but I have learned a few things about using direct sun light. Obviously light is what is gonna make your subject have dimension and characater. When we are in a controllable lighting situation (studio) often times, unless for effect, there is somewhat standard positions for the key, fill and back light. The key should be off to the side of the camera, about 3 to six feet, and shooting down at about a 45 degree angle. The fill should be the on the oposite side if the key filing in the shadows. and the back light directly behind and above....ok there's the basic stuff you've probably heard a million times, now here's why I remind you. When shooting outside you can treat the sun the same way. There are times in the day when the sun is positioned quite nicely for a key, in the morning at sunrise unitl about 10 o'clock or so, or in the evening about an hour before sunset, (I'm being very general). position and shoot your subject using the sun as the key. Also go some white foam core and bounce some light back into your subject to fill in the shadows from the sun.( if its an overcast day the light is diffused and usually makes a pretty soft shadow and you can get away with no fill). It's all about positioning. Another cool thing you can do, which I think gives a more sereal look is to use the sun as your back light, then bounce light back onto your subject from the front using foamcore. THe obvious with this one is position so the sun is behind and to the side not framed in the shot. Dabble a bit and see what happens. google outdoor lighting techniues and you'll get much more in depth explanations. I'm only giving a brief discriptionl, there is other factors like style, color temp, hard verses soft (overcast verse direct sun)...just google you'll see. Hope this helps.
 
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