DSLR Induction

Today we had our DSLR induction to be able to use the cameras from our AV suite, it was a brief session about how to properly set up the camera to be able to film in certain settings that will enable us to correctly film what we need for our VFX Module. We started off by listing the good and bad points about using this particular Cannon DSLR.

The Cannon DSLR is good for
Portability if you are transporting it
Mobility if you need to carry it to different locations by hand
Ease of use in how to set it up and operate it
Versatile in the different lenses and attachments that it can have equipped
High quality stills

The Cannon DSLR is bad for
You can only record for 30 minutes
It's not good for events for due to the short recording
Have to use a tripod or should rig to make to steady and this can be annoying to carry

Setting up the Camera
Manual Mode
     - Switch on lens
     - Stabiliser on
Menu
Shoot 1: Image Quality = Raw -
                                      = JPEG Large
Shoot 4: AF (Audio Focus Mode) = Live Mode
              Grid for Frame Shooting if you need it
              Movie Record Size = 1920 x 1080 at 25fps ALL-I

For the shooting we could also use IBP as it has a high compression and you can record for nearly 3 times longer but it isn't as editing friendly. At this stage we can also record at 50fps to then be changed back to 25fps in editing so that it will be in slow motion.

Shoot 4: Sound Recording = Auto
During this stage we can also select to change the sound manually so that we can listen to the sound and get to the right level so that we can drown out any background noise.

Set Up 1: Format Card = so that all previous data can be deleted which creates more free space on the memory card.
Set Up 2: Auto Power Off = We can either set this up or leave it the way it is but by turning it to shut down after a few minutes we can save battery power. Then again this is not so useful when taking a lot of shots throughout a small time as the camera will continue to shut itself down.
Set Up 2: Brightness = You can turn this down to save battery power or if it is sunny and you can't see the screen.
Set Up 3: Video System = PAL. But you can change this if you want to be NTSC which is the American way of filming so that you can shoot in 30fps, just so that you can film for America if they wanted you too.

C.Fn2 Display Operation: Custom Controls = This can be used to change the certain buttons to be in other places, the most common one to change would be, when filming, to change the zoom button so that it is on the middle of the wheel, this just makes it easier if you are right handed.

These settings above will all help to create the best high quality settings possible to start filming with. Once we had done that, we then went and created a few more settings to be able to get on with filming.

More Settings
Shutter Speed: Start at 50
Aperture: Start at F4.0
ISO: Start at 100

When starting to film we first set up the camera in the correct place and change to the above settings. The first thing that we start to change is the ISO, we will increase this until we have enough light in the scene, but if the ISO goes over 2000, you need to get more light in the scene and then turn this back down.We then start to change the White Balance so that we can get the temperature of the room correct. We can do this best by changing the Colour Temperature as we can go through and get the best results, the best setting to use in this menu is Natural as we can then change different aspects of this as well. Once we have set all of this up and ensured our scene is looking good we can begin to film and then start down the long road of post production.