Unit 21 - Production Equipment

History of Cameras

The first video camera was designed by Louis Le Prince in 1888. In 1923 Eastman Kodak introduced a 16mm film stock, principally as a lower cost alternative to 35mm and several camera makers launched models to take advantage of the new market of amateur movie-makers. Thought initially to be of inferior quality to 35mm, 16mm cameras continue to be manufactured today by the likes of Bolex, Arri and Aaton many in the Super 16mm and Ultra 16mm formats.
Video Cameras create the illusion of motion because it is 24 images a second. These motion picture cameras are capable of high speed image capturing. The Film is inside the camera is completely dark then the shutter opens and the sensor is exposed to the light which it then takes in the shadows of the image and imprints them onto the film. Finally the shutter closes and the next piece of unexposed film moves into places.  

Camera

There are three different things that can effect the exposure of an image. The aperture changes the amount of light that the camera takes in and also controls the Depth of Field. The DOF defines the objects that ill be focused on, for example if an object is further away within the depth of field then it will be blurred if the camera is focused on the nearer objects.  The smoothness of a film all depends on the shutter speed. This is because the shutter speed defines how fast a video or image will be captured. The ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles apply as in film photography – the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light) 

Lighting

The different types of lighting include;
The Key Light- This light is the main light and used for every production. 
The Backlight- This light is at the back of the subject and stops any shadows that are created by the Key Light. Using lights of different colour temperatures can create a great effect. This simply means using different lights of different colour in the same shot. This was used to great effect by James Cameron in the Steel Mill scene of "Terminator 2", in which he used blue and orange lighting (motivated by the moonlight and the molten steel respectively). 

Another great use of lighting is also in Great Encounters of the Third Kind when the aliens are coming out of the ship the light blinds the characters and keeps the aliens a foggy mystery.

Sound

Shotgun microphones are very directional and are more accurate when recording sound because of that. They can have covers but on them which prevent the wind from getting into the mic and been recorded. The shotgun microphones are very useful when used for wildlife as they are directional.
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There are many different microphones on the market. They range massively in their quality and price. Many hundreds of pounds are needed for a very high quality microphone. We don't have that kind of money. You can just use the ZOOM's inbuilt microphones or you can purchase a range of medium-priced microphones that will jack into it. 

Some microphones are sold which will fit onto your camera's hot-shoe. I have used these and they are no good. They pick up your breathing and the noise of your fingers on the camera.

However, they are still good low priced microphones and can be used by adapting them to fit a boom pole. The pole telescopes out, is lightweight and allows someone to hold the microphone very close to the actors. Part of the pole has a foam wrap so the boom handler grips it there and doesn't transmit his hand sounds along the pole and into the microphone.

Production Video Evaluation

http://youtu.be/_wsm2q5vvmg

In our group we made a video about production gear. This video is informative because it tells the viewer about lighting, cameras and sound. It also shows the viewer how to set up a shotgun mic onto a boom pole. The video could have had some more examples of how to use the equipment and also have some better explanations of the equipment. However the Editing, Directing and Production itself was all done well. 

The acting could have been improved if there was more enthusiasm and someone else should have done the acting. The audio could've been made louder because it cannot be heard when there is background noise. The transitions were badly made because there were black areas before and after the transition. If i could make it different i would get a different actor and change some of the transitions & noise.