Tips for first time shoot with T2i

L

Lynos

Well-known member
Hey guys

I'm shooting a music video and using the Canon T2i for the first time.

Couple of things I'm not sure about and thought maybe I can get some help here. I'm shooting mostly indoors. My lenses are 50 mm that came with the camera and 35mm/1.4 usm L series. I'm shooting 1080P.

So:

1) Lighting wise, I understand this camera behaves pretty well in low light, so I'll only be carrying with me a 500W Lowel softlight (with diffuser) just to cover the bases. Do you guys think that'll do the trick or should I go for a three-piece lighting arrangement?

2) White balance should be done custom, right? My experimentation yielded best results with custom. I'm doing anything else manually anyway. Also, if I shut the camera off between takes, should I set WB all over again?

3) Exposure level indicator: When I push the indicator button I see the small dot jumping along the exposure scale, but then it disappears after a few seconds and I can't see it anymore. Am I missing something?

4) As far as image quality goes, should I set it to Raw?

5) What shutter speed and aperture would you recommend for those lenses? How does 50 and 2.5 sound?

Again, this is basically an indoor shoot. Also, this is 90% static shots. I'm thinking of one dolly move and maybe couple of slow pans, but nothing too fancy. Mostly just lock it on a tripod and frame it accordingly.

I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!
 
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RAW is for stills mode not video mode. (wouldn't that be nice though). I'd suggest some practice shooting. See what different shutter speeds look like, get a feel for the exposure meter, find out how far you can push ISO before you hate the noise level, etc.

Noah
 
Lynos said:
Hey guys

I'm shooting a music video and using the Canon T2i for the first time.

Couple of things I'm not sure about and thought maybe I can get some help here. I'm shooting mostly indoors. My lenses are 50 mm that came with the camera and 35mm/1.4 usm L series. I'm shooting 1080P.

So:

1) Lighting wise, I understand this camera behaves pretty well in low light, so I'll only be carrying with me a 500W Lowel softlight (with diffuser) just to cover the bases. Do you guys think that'll do the trick or should I go for a three-piece lighting arrangement?
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Depends on what/where you are shooting and the look you're going for. Tough for us to answer this.

2) White balance should be done custom, right? My experimentation yielded best results with custom. I'm doing anything else manually anyway. Also, if I shut the camera off between takes, should I set WB all over again?
Click to expand...
If you have the WB set to custom, when you shut it off and cut it back on it should keep the same settings. Now if you use ML you can set the temp which is a nice feature I use alot.

3) Exposure level indicator: When I push the indicator button I see the small dot jumping along the exposure scale, but then it disappears after a few seconds and I can't see it anymore. Am I missing something?
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no you're not. Once you start recording it will go away and you're on your own. If you use ML you have the histogram which comes in handy ALOT in keeping everything "even".

4) As far as image quality goes, should I set it to Raw?
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Taking photos? if not, this is irrelevant

5) What shutter speed and aperture would you recommend for those lenses? How does 50 and 2.5 sound?
Click to expand...

Shutter speed should be relative to the FPS and not the lens for vid. shooting @ 24, shutter should be ~60. 60fps? shutter 120. But that isnt etched in stone, just a guide. Adjust according to the look you are going for.
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Again, this is basically an indoor shoot. Also, this is 90% static shots. I'm thinking of one dolly move and maybe couple of slow pans, but nothing too fancy. Mostly just lock it on a tripod and frame it accordingly.
Click to expand...

Thats fine.. If you're shooting indoors, then lighting should be a major concern unless its a bright room.. Again, you have to make that call for aesthetic reasons for your video.
After you shoot a few videos you'll have a better feel for it.

GL man. Hopefully I've helped in some way :)
 
I'm shooting a guy playing a guitar inside a house. I'm not going for any particular look. My aim is to keep everything well-lit and in focus. No fancy lighting - no shadows and atmosphere shots. Just want to avoid low light. Want the subject to be seen clearly without washing the set with 3000W of light. Again, it's my understanding that the large sensor of the T2i responds well in low light and doesn't need tons of compensation. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The exposure level dot actually disappears before I start recording. I just set the shot, push the exposure button, the little dot is dancing around and then disappears after a few seconds. I guess the last spot it was in is my exposure rate...?

As I said, I'm just looking for a well-lit look. It's as basic as it sounds. You say lighting "should be a major concern", though. Gets me thinking that maybe one 1000W light isn't enough...

Thanks for your comments!
 
Lynos said:
I'm shooting a guy playing a guitar inside a house. I'm not going for any particular look. My aim is to keep everything well-lit and in focus. No fancy lighting - no shadows and atmosphere shots. Just want to avoid low light. Want the subject to be seen clearly without washing the set with 3000W of light. Again, it's my understanding that the large sensor of the T2i responds well in low light and doesn't need tons of compensation. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The exposure level dot actually disappears before I start recording. I just set the shot, push the exposure button, the little dot is dancing around and then disappears after a few seconds. I guess the last spot it was in is my exposure rate...?

As I said, I'm just looking for a well-lit look. It's as basic as it sounds. You say lighting "should be a major concern", though. Gets me thinking that maybe one 1000W light isn't enough...

Thanks for your comments!
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Just seems like you are going into this blind. If you have used your camera then you will know exactly what it does. Having a camera in a room on a tripod focused on only 1 subject is so easy to replicate I honestly just dont know why this thread is even made?

Go to where you are shooting and create the scene before hand, then you will know EXACTLY what to expect

/ Thread
 
The thread is made because I wanted to hear input from people who have more experience with the camera than I do. Isn't that what the forums are for?
 
Pay no attention to vision_.

My advice to you would be to go out there the day before and try a few things out (if timing allows). If you can't, at least shoot some stuff around your house to become more accustomed to it. You should definitely be comfortable with the camera / lenses BEFORE going in there and wondering why it's so dark / grainy. I don't know what extent you understand about your camera or DSLR's in general.

For your questions. Yes, bring the three piece lights. Odds are you'll use them. Worst case, you don't but you have them. BUT I can't imagine lighting an entire band with one 500 watt light. You should be fine on WB shutting down your camera. I never change mine just from powering down. BUT it depends on if lighting has changed (temperatures, not placement). Did sunlight start pouring in? Then yes, you need to change your WB. I'm with Kastro on all the rest.

Also, it's better to have a lot of light, and compensate for that in your camera than not have enough light and have to boost your camera to like 1600 ISO and get noisy footage.
 
Yeah, it's not a whole band, but I get what you mean about the lighting. That was my dilemma exactly.

I am familiar with the camera and did some practice shooting in the last couple of days (It's not mine. It's borrowed. Maybe that can explain my newbie questions).
My main concern was, again, regarding the lighting gear required (I only had practicals when I practiced), and just some features of the camera that I've yet to master completely - especially since I don't have much more time to practice before the actual shoot.

You guys cleared up most if it for me, though.

Thanks.
 
Avoid overexposing (common beginner flaw, clipping the whites too much). Try cinestyle profile if you want maximum range.

I'm the natural light guy so can't give any good tips on that but pick up a couple LED panels from ebay (chinese/indian sellers). The wonder with these cameras is the ability so sculpt with light (now you shouldn't go over iso 800 in video on t2i, but still - beating film!)

Hawk Teflon said:
Pay no attention to vision_filmz.
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Lynos, for an indoor shoot I'd recommend a 3-point lighting setup. If you use 1 light you'll end up with too much shadow on peoples faces as well as all over your background. The real advantage of three point lighting setups is not about adding more light to the scene, but controlling the contrast ratio and type of light falling across the scene. Regardless of how well your camera performs in low light, a 3-point setup is the best way to light your scene so that it will be percieved as 'normal' on video.
 
Martin: Not very practical for me to pick something up from ebay right now, but thanks for the recommendation. And yeah, I'm aware of the ISO 800 cap thing.

deltoidjohn: Thanks. Noted. I actually had a 3-point set-up in mind all along (that's how I shot my short film). But that was a different shoot, with a different camera, and after learning more about the t2i capabilities I wasn't sure anymore if the lighting should be the same or not.
 
Want to spice up your music video and save the band a bunch of work? Record the song on a portable player, or your iphone or something and after you shoot your master for sound, just play back the song and catch all your cool close ups and arty shots with the playback playing and the band following along. This way you only worry about sound once. Good luck.
Oh, and if you only have one light in a living room, shoot it up at the ceiling and bounce it as a broad source or shoot it into a piece of white foam core and create a big one side source.
 
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