[Kirk Darling]

I’m not using DSLR microphones for my usable audio. I use a Rode DSLR mic for sync audio in the camera and XLR wired Sennheiser and Shure microphones. My concern here is in the cases that I have to go with my wireless Sennheiser system or some other wireless system that uses unbalanced output at the receiver.

[Kirk Darling]

I’ve tried the DLSR Controller app for Android to connect by USB to an Android tablet. That successfully maintained the touch control to the connected tablet at the same time that the camera LCD was still fully active(although it lagged a bit compared to the camera LCD).

It works well enough that a large tablet could fully serve as a monitor to replace the LCD except for the lag in touch congrol.

[Kirk Darling]

Most people who must wear glasses will not want to remove them. Not only will they not look the same to others–because eyeglasses form a significant part of personal appearance and even psychology–but also because when their vision is handicapted, their facial expressions and sense of comfort will show it in the interview.

The answer to eyeglass reflection very often is “hard light” because it creates a much smaller and easier to control reflection. If you go back and look at the old school movies of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, nearly all the lighting was hard…but it was well filled.

That’s the key, so to speak. A hard light well-filled to, say, a 1:2 ratio (take an incident light meter reading with a flat or recessed receptor pointing first at the main light, then at the fill light and see that there is no more than a stop of difference) will look just as pleasant as a soft light. But the smaller reflection will be much easier to control.

[Kirk Darling]

I’ve been in still photography for 40 years, but brand new in video. That means I know color and light balance, but LED continuous lighting is new to me…but I remember well the days before electronic flash, too.

My experience so far with LED panels and high-intensity near-point LED lights shows that apparently the hole in the magenta portion of their LED spectrum is normal and only corrected with the very highest end units.

I say this is a “hole” in magenta rather than a spike in green. If it were merely a spike in green, it would be easily corrected by filtration–you can always remove excess. It’s hard to correct properly for a lack without suffering a shift in other colors–but we can live with that in most cases, especially if we intend to color grade the production anyway.

Another issue is that even without the magenta hole, an LED light doesn’t necessarily hit its advertised color temperature, and they may noticeably vary even within the same make and model. That means the key light might be a noticeably different color temperature from the fill. That’s a particularly nasty problem to deal with in post.

This is rather an old problem in a way, resurfacing. Back in the old tungsten light days of stills (which is still rather the norm in video), tungsten lights had a tendency to vary in color temperature as they aged. Filtration at the light source was the answer. That’s why I’d heavily lean toward variable temperature LED lights with the expectation of testing and indexing each light for the setting that matches my other lights.

[Kirk Darling]

I agree with going with the same camera, which is what I’ve always done. I don’t consider them backups–I keep them both in the rotation. That means all my techniques and handling habits stay consistent. Having a camera break on an important job is stressful; having then to remember a different set of operations multiplies the stress and makes error much more likely.

Also, by keeping both cameras in the rotation, it’s less likely that I’d turn to a backup that for some reason wasn’t ready.

[Kirk Darling]

Before buying any new lights for on the job (OJT) interviews, first consider using your two LED panels as supplemental lights. OTJ, you probably have a choice of using window light as a main or fill, roughly matching color temperature with the LED panels.

Mixing color balances between light sources is very nasty. Color of the lights is something you can determine fairly closely in tests with your camera. Do some testing to determine the difference from window light (which will be in the high end of the 5000K range) and your light panels. Also make note of any color casts they may need. Then go to B&H and purchase some gel sheets to match window light.

But if you set up to use a large window as a broad fill, one panel as a main light and the other panel as an accent light, you should be good to go. In an OJT situation, you’ll want a certain lighting style consistency–you don’t want to present an editor with huge differences.

[Kirk Darling]

Are you using continuous focusing? If so, it’s refocusing slightly after you remove your finger. I like continuous focusing to keep track of points I’ve designated when that object is in motion (or I am). But if the position is fixed, I touch the pause button turn it off.

I’m rather frequently going through sequences of touch-focus, pause, un-pause, touch-focus depending on the movement of the subject(s) and how I’ve blocked out the focusing plan.