Video doesn’t look like HD quality…why?

[Erin Herbst]

Hi James,
This was very informative an incredibly helpful. To be honest I have no real understanding of f-stop or ISO settings (I’m VERY new to this haha) so that’s clearly something I need to educate myself on.
I really appreciate your input!
Thanks, Erin

[Erin Herbst]

Hi JP,
Thanks so much for the advice! I generally shoot speeches/people talking directly to the camera for short promotional videos.
Heres an example: https://youtu.be/_F2kiG0R4oo
And another: https://www.dropbox.com/s/36ca3kb8w9f9saa/Civil-Litigation.mpeg
I apologize if this is a very amateur question but what type of lens would you suggest for this type of work? I have rented mics from Borrow Lenses before and I just build it into my fee so I would probably just rent a lens from them as well (at least until I save up enough to buy my own).
Thanks, Erin

[Erin Herbst]

Thanks Steve, I appreciate your input!
I wasn’t too concerned about capturing the slides, unfortunately that was as far as I could zoom in on the speaker with the lens I had 🙁 I’ll also filming
You mentioned in your first post that I should film in 24p rather than 30p. I know this is basic stuff but can you explain the difference between the two and why one looks more filmic than the other? In what type of situation would I want to use 30p?
Thanks, Erin

[Steve Crow]

24p or 24 frames per second comes from the kind of cameras used to film for Hollywood movies, in fact the standard goes way, way back. Essentially 80-90 percent of all the movies you see in the movie theater are filmed at 24 frames per second with some notable exceptions. It’s what our eyes have become used to.

This frame rate creates a bit of “motion blur” between individual frames and that’s actually a good thing up to a point…higher frame rates means less motion blur and the movie begins to look both more “real” “more like video” and “less cinematic.”

30p is what video cameras used for years and years and is typically associated with the more “video look”

The P stands for progressive which means that each time the camera captures a “frame” it is recording the entire image hitting the camera’s sensor in one snapshot – a very nice thing. “i” stands for interlaced and it means the frame is broken down into two “fields” – basically half the image is captured in each frame (really it’s all the odd lines in one frame and all the even lines in the other) which is then merged to give you a complete picture.

It’s easy to confuse frame rates like 24, 30 and 60 with shutter speeds which are actually different.

Steve Crow

[Jason Jenkins]

[Erin Herbst] “can you explain what critical focus is and why it necessitates an external monitor?”

Hi, Erin:

“Critical Focus” is just a way of saying that you want to be really sure your focus is right where it should be. The built in viewfinders or LCD screens of the typical DSLR are small and often lower resolution than the image you are capturing. This makes it difficult to be sure that your focus is right on. Having a larger, external monitor with features like 1 to 1 scaling and focus peaking make it much easier to obtain critical focus!

Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style!

Check out my Mormon.org profile.

[Jp Pelc]

No problem. For stand ups or other controlled situations, the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 that I mentioned before is a great option. It is a prime lens however, so you have no ability to change focal length if you need to go wider or tighter.

https://www.borrowlenses.com/product/Sigma_30mm_f1.4_for_Canon

If you want a variable focal length these are some pretty solid options:

https://www.borrowlenses.com/product/canon_standard/Canon_24-70mm_f2.8_L

https://www.borrowlenses.com/product/canon_standard/Canon_24-105mm_f4_IS

For speeches, you will probably need a telephoto lens as you are usually stuck pretty far away:

https://www.borrowlenses.com/product/canon_telephoto/Canon_70-200mm_f2.8_IS_II

https://www.borrowlenses.com/product/canon_telephoto/Canon_70-200mm_f4_L

https://www.borrowlenses.com/product/canon_telephoto/Canon_28-300mm_f3.5-5.6L_IS

[Steve Crow]

Hey JP,

I agree with your overall points and lens recommendations but I think it’s fair to also point out that if that prime lens with a fixed focal length is attached to a camera with a sensor smaller than full frame (say something like the Canon Rebel Series (T2i – T5i, the 7D, other APS-C cameras etc etc) or a micro four thirds sensor camera like the GH4 then the effective “reach” of the lens is increased from 1.6x to around 2x in the case of the micro four third cameras. I am often surprised how far I have to back away from the talent when using my Canon 50mm 1.4 because it’s acting like an 80mm (50×1.6=80)

Also, let’s not forget that you can still move the camera to get a wider or closer shot IF (and I think this was your point) you have the freedom to move your camera location and are not stuck where you are at.

But again, I basically agree with your points.

Steve

Steve Crow

[Jp Pelc]

Steve,

Yes I am aware of the 1.6x crop factor and I considered that when giving my lens recommendations, I just didn’t feel the need to mention it in case this thread might turn into information overload 🙂

And yes I meant to convey that she could just move the camera closer or further, but I guess I was kind of vague. Thanks for clearing it up.

To Erin, it’s a good idea to get a basic understanding of exposure and the settings to control it before going on many more shoots. All you really need to learn to get started are the 3 main settings you can change (ISO, Shutter speed, Aperture/f-stop) and the benefits and drawbacks of changing each of them

[Michael Phillips]

I don’t really agree with the notion that 24p makes it look more professional. Certainly 24p has a look, mostly for stories that want to have that “suspension of disbelief. In this case, it is speeches and such, so not warranted from a creative storytelling technique.

More importantly, shoot progressive, regardless of frame rate, you will get full horizontal resolution compared to interlace. So 30p (29.97p) is fine, and usually a nice comprimise. 24p (23.976) has some tangible benefits in file size and data rate as it will be a 20% smaller file overall given the same parameters and that may gave value. Or increase date rate by 20 for more quality, etc. It will also give you 20% more shooting time on that card. 🙂

I do agree with the exposure discussion. At the very least get a gray card and do a white balance and exposure on that before shooting. This will give you a great start and better looking image.

Lens is a factor – but may have diminishing returns based on the codec compression of the camera.

Michael

[Jason Jenkins]

[Steve Crow] “30p is what video cameras used for years and years and is typically associated with the more “video look””

60i is actually what you are referring to, Steve. 60 interlaced fields. 30p is 30 progressive frames.

Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style!

Check out my Mormon.org profile.