Steve Crow
Forum Replies Created
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Ok, can you post a screen shot Anna?
Not sure what is going on…as I said, the settings you shared should not be the issue
Steve Crow
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I am not seeing your sample footage but this problem most often is associated with overhead fluorescent light that causes off colored bars to move up the screen but you could also call it a flickering. I understand you also had light coming in from the windows but MAYBE this caused a mixed lighting situation where the fluorescent lighting (if it was in the room) was still having an impact.
Does your video look something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Go3ksjkoKU
If so, this issue has been discussed many times on this forum so I suggest you do a search. Otherwise, feel free to try reposting that sample footage again so we can take a look
Steve Crow
PS: Just found this tool that might offer you a quick fix if you are a Final Cut Pro X, Premier or Avid user ($149):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5PrLNeF6tY
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Yeah, your footage shouldn’t be grainy. Your settings seem basically fine although I would suggest setting your shutter speed to 1/50 instead 1/60 but even that wouldn’t produce grain.
Grain is usually associated with underexposed images but it doesn’t sound like that is your issue either.
Maybe you can post a few screen grabs of exactly what you are talking about – so that we can see the grain.
My first thought is that MAYBE it’s not the camera footage but rather something going on with your computer – like bad video compression or something like that.
The footage you say is grainy – how are you looking at the footage? Are you just dragging the H.264 video file off of your card and onto your computer and playing that? Are you transcoding it into another format first and then playing it? Are you editing the footage somehow and THEN is when you are seeing the grain?
Are you on a Mac or a PC? Are you viewing the footage through Quicktime or a windows media player of some sort? What editing system?
Steve Crow
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Shooting DSLR video is a skill that takes time to learn and it sounds like you don’t have that time available. We are really trying to save you from potential disaster. The best suggestion so far, for you, is to rent or borrow a HD camcorder as there is less to go wrong and far fewer controls to worry about – consumer grade camcorders are designed to be used by people who want the auto-everything experience.
In terms of DSLR settings here are some suggestions:
Shutter Speed: Keep at 1/50th and don’t move it – assuming you are at 24/25fps
Aperture: Use apertures higher than 4.0 so that you have a deep depth of field
ISO: Keep as low as possible for the best possible image
Absolutely you must use an external microphone – don’t rely on the in-camera one.
Be aware that if you are using a kit lens it probably doesn’t have a fixed aperture which means as you zoom in the image will darken because it will shift to a higher aperture/smaller diameter. I would suggest setting the focal length as wide as possible and use your feet to move closer – one less thing to worry about.
Get a monopod so that you have a chance of steady shots at least and still can easily move around
Steve Crow
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You can read about the differences between All-I and IPB on this thread here:
https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=13707.0
I’d opt to shoot in 1080 over 720 given the choice. Traditionally, if you want a more filmic look you keep your frames per second at 24 or 25.
Shooting in an auto mode is not a great idea because cameras can get confused and focus on the wrong thing (like the background instead of the subject), expose differently than you’d like or set other controls to a mode that would be bad for your film. Some of these “mistakes” can be corrected while editing but focus isn’t really one of them.
For instance, the camera might select a very high shutter speed if you are shooting video in a bright outdoor situation when what you would really want to do is keep your shutter speed at 1/50th of a second at all times and use the ISO and aperture controls to control the exposure and/or use Neutral Density filters on the lens to cut down on the light. High shutter speeds will give your video a “jittery” look.
Make sure you get some kind of loupe for your LCD screen otherwise if shooting in bright light outdoors the screen will be completely washed out and you will have no idea what you are actually shooting or what the settings are.
Steve Crow
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Actually I am saying nearly the opposite. I’m saying whatever Canon DSLR you are likely to purchase it will produce far better images than your Sony Camcorder – even the T2i.
Go to Vimeo and type T2i in as a search term and see all the wonderful short films that have been shot on that camera – there’s a new documentary out that was shot entirely by one person using two Canon T2i’s – it’s about how people have overcome difficult situations by using Batman as their inspiration – sorry can’t remember the name – but there are many many other examples out there
Steve Crow
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Well frankly there isn’t hardly any difference between the Rebel T*i modelsn in so far as the final look of the video – I’ve even talked to Dave Dugdale about this issue and he told me that I probably wouldn’t notice much difference at all between my Canon T2i and the 7D.
If you can spring for it, look at their entry level full frame model the Canon 6D – so you are still getting the benefits that full frame gives you with the 5D but at a much reduced price.
Steve Crow
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Just to be upfront about it, a good film can be made with any camera able to capture a video image (or stills if your project is stop animation)…what’s far more important is who is operating that camera.
That said, yes, a DSLR like the Rebel or, especially so, the 5D will allow you to record gorgeous images BUT it does take much more work than you are used to with a camcorder. For myself, I’ve found the extra effort to be well worth it. So I would encourage you moving into this direction.
Steve Crow
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No problems Kristin…best of luck on your new video series
Steve Crow
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Simple, take the lens off auto focus and focus everything manually. If you set your f-stop (iris) before you shoot to something like f8 you are basically guaranteed to have the shot in focus – you will just have to make sure you have enough light though because at F8 the iris isn’t letting a lot of light in. I would put the camera on a tripod, of course, and then pre-focus on something that is right were your head and body will be. When shooting by myself I’ve used things like a broom as a focus target to give me something to focus on before removing it from the scene.
At f8 you won’t have the background of the shot blurred but that may not matter to you.
(Also, there are ways to connect your Canon camera to a laptop with a long USB cord which would allow you to see what the lens is seeing and even control the settings on your camera using your computer – so you could stand in your “spot” and hold the laptop to set up your camera if you are following me)
So basically you need to learn about how to operate your camera in a manual mode where you set the focus, shutter speed, ISO and F-stop by yourself so that you have full control.
Do the same for the close ups.
Steve Crow