Playing scales on a camera...

J

JimmyC

Member
Hi Folks,

This is really a question about improving camera operating skill and technique... but... how do you play scales on a camera?

Coming from the music world I know that if I want to keep my technique tight - and there are no gigs or sessions coming up, no band to rehearse with, I would sit down and play some scales... go over and over different modes... play to a click... play along with some of my favorite records - I sometimes used to do this for 5 hours a day!

I'm just getting into film making and have got some work on the way, but what can I do to improve my camera handling skills when there is nothing particularly compelling to point my lens at? No actors to be shot? Are there techniques that you guys practice and repeat to increase your focusing skill, composition, exposure, camera and gear familiarity? Too make sure I am in better shape come gig (shoot) time?

any advice or tips would be greatly recieved!

Jim
 
To get some practice sometimes I shoot my dog running around in the backyard in full manual.

Really you don't have to shoot anything compelling what-so-ever. Just go outside and shoot anything that moves and work on getting good focus. You will get better at it.

Another thing you can do is stand on the side of a road and try to keep focus on cars that drive past the entire time.
 
Recreate scenes from movies you like, including lighting. Learning lighting is harder than learning camera moves. (unless it's a steadicam or geared head!)
 
j said:
Recreate scenes from movies you like, including lighting. Learning lighting is harder than learning camera moves. (unless it's a steadicam or geared head!)
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. The nice thing about practicing lighting is that you can do it all at home whenever you have the time. I do it fairly often when I'm bored.
 
One of the best things I did was get a cometician's mannequin head off ebay (the kind they use to practice hair cutting). I have it on an old mic stand. When I want to practice lighting and camera technique it makes a great stand in for trying to force friends or family to play along. I should get another one for storyboarding dialog using a digital camera.
 
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