T351 Week 2 Lab - Spring 2008

Agenda

• Turn in critiques from week 1 & review last week’s exercise
• Camera followup / advanced tips
• Look at examples from previous classes
• Continuity
• Storyboard & action sequence (30 point exercise)

Camera 202

Review last week’s tips

Remember to check for the proper exposure. While you can rely on the camera’s auto iris feature, you must know how it works. Think about how it looks at a scene and be aware of its limitations. For example if you were shooting a person against a light background (the sky for instance) it would close the iris down too far. You can zoom in to your subject so that they fill most of the screen, set your iris, and then zoom out. This may cause your background to be overexposed. Learn to use the zebra strips and how they can be set. Remember to recalibrate the viewfinder brightness and contrast if necessary by switching to color bars.

Before shooting always:

• Make sure proper filter is in place (if applicable)
• Gain is set to 0 or "low"
• Either white balance or use the proper preset (indoor or outdoor)

Allow for at least 5 seconds of pre-roll before your action starts and a few seconds of post-roll after your shot concludes. You will need this for the edit.

CONTINUITY

• Physical Continuity - props & clothing change from shot to shot. If your talent has sunglasses on in one shot, they need to be on in the next shot.
  • Have one crew person watch for these potential problems.
• Time Continuity - if a clock, candle or position of the sun appears in more than one shot, the time must be consistent with the scene.
  • Keep references to time out of the scene. Try to shoot scene under similar lighting conditions.
• Technical Continuity - shots don’t match in image quality or sound.
  • Make sure filter is set, microphone is working, etc.
• Event Continuity - The same person in two consecutive shots and has changed “magically” from one action to another.
  • Have the frame clear before and after each action to provide time to cut. Cut on action and overlap your shooting.
• Spatial Continuity - the 180-degree axis has been crossed.
  • Check your storyboard and draw an imaginary line once you have arrived on set.

Storyboard / Action sequence exercise

See the on-line assignment for specifics.

Strive for high quality video and continuity in all senses of the definition. Be sure to record natural audio.

NOTE: We will edit and assemble these next week. You have lab today to shoot them. After lab is completed, you should log your tape and pick some music.

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