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Introduction to Digital Film Making has been written solely for use by the
E. M. Hart Senior enter lass
!y Heman "ee
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DIGITAL FILM MAKING
"earn how to create great home #ideos using a Digital $ideo amcorder and
Microsoft Mo#ie Maker that comes standard with your new %indows&s '(
system. )ow you *ust need the know+how to bring your #isions to life. See how
easy it can be to create, edit, and add s-ecial effects to your mo#ies using
%indows Mo#ie Maker. dd #oice+o#er, music soundtrack, and tiles to make
your mo#ies more -olished with s-ecial effects and -rofessional+looking
transitions between scenes. Share your #ideo o#er the internet or create a #ideo
D or D$D to share with friends and family. /hey will be ama0ed on what you
can do.
Ten Helpful Tips for Shooting Great Videos
1. 2se manual focus if your camcorder has it.
3. Set white balance at e#ery location.
4. %hen shooting outdoors, kee- the sun behind you.
5. (lan your shoot. Shoot to the -lan. 2SE S6I(/.
7. 2se a tri-od or other image stabili0ation de#ice.
8. 2se -lenty of light. "earn the basics of 4 -oint key lighting.
9. !e sure and get se#eral angles both close u- and wide of the same
se:uence, then do cutaways for fill shots.
;. Mo#e the camcorder only when necessary.
ee- your a#erage shot length between 7 and 1= seconds.
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Projects for Video
!iogra-hy
E#ents @!+day (artyA
$acation
Short /ri-
%edding
Holidays
Hobbies or Interest
S-orts
Breeting ard
Insurance $ideo
Educational C How to
/echnical Information
)ews 6e-orting
Disaster
Short Film
outube
Monologue
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Beginner Mistakes
First, a#oid the beginner mistakes that nearly e#eryone makes when they -ick u-
a video camera.
The worst offender is the constant zooming and panning that pervades every
shot.
!efore you reach for that 0oom control, think about why youre doing it. Do you
really need to get a closer look at your sub*ect Gr are you *ust -laying around
with that 0oom because you can If you cant think of a really good reason to
0oom or -an, dont. >ee- in mind, some directors like S-ielberg and Hitchcock
ha#e shot entire featurefilmswithout 0ooming one single time. Instead of
0ooming, consider sto--ing ta-e and mo#ing in closer to your sub*ect. /hen, you
can edit it later. If you must -an @mo#ing from side+to+side, mo#ing u- or down is
called a tiltA, mo#e slower than your instincts tell you to. lmost e#ery beginner
#ideo has a -an that is so fast that it elicits laughter among the initiated
/ry not to 0oom in or out too much during a scene. !ut dont lose a shot by
a#oiding 0ooming altogether. ust do it as gently as -ossible. nd, once you ha#e
0oomed in or out, hold that #iew for a few seconds.
!y the way, forget about your cameras digital 0oom. Manufacturers lo#e to
trum-et how a camera has a 3==J digital 0oom on to- of the 1=J or 3=J o-tical0oom. It is hy-e. /he only thing that counts is the o-tical 0oom, which is
determined by the -hysical elements of the lens. Most cameras ha#e about the
same range of o-tical @-hysicalA 0oom lenses.
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Digital Zoom
Digital 0oom is sim-ly a -rogram in the camera that enlarges the image by
inter-olating -iJels. It looks horrible. Dont use it.
Shoot from a variety of angles.
$ary the scene. Gnce you know you#e gotten the shots you wanted, mo#e
around. Shoot from the sides, from behind, from on high and down low. >ee- the
camera running while you mo#e around. /he #ideo may be useless, but the audio
could be #aluable to us in building the scene to tell thestory.
Pan slowly.
(anning is the mo#ement of the camera from side to side. /ake it slowly. Dont
*erk back and forth during the -an. If you make a mistake, start all o#er again.
Hold the shot steady for a few seconds before you start the -an. Hold it steady for
another few seconds when you are done.
Hold shots for about 1 se!onds.
/his is -articularly im-ortant for scenic or #acation shooting. If you#e got a great
shot of the Eiffel /ower, count to ten while you are recording it. 6emember that
youre not taking a sna-shot. Gnce you#e got it, Shoot it again from another
angle. Bet a closeu-. Bet a wide angle. $ariety is a key ingredient to mo#ie+
making.
Get "establishing" shots.
Establishing shots are scenes that tell #iewers where they are. So, if you are
ta-ing on a family #acation to Disney %orld, get a few shots of the entrance or of
Mickey Mouse greeting -eo-le when they arri#e. If you forget to get them on the
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way in, get them on the way out. ny number of images can work to establish a
scene. Signs work well, but it is also fun to be a bit creati#e.
#eware of ba!$lighting.
backlit scene is one where there is a bright light behind the main action. (icturea bride and groom standing on a stairway in front of a large window on a bright
sunny day. 2ncorrected, your cameras light meter will -robably try to eJ-ose the
scene so that you can see what is outside the window. s a result, it will darken
the whole image, lea#ing the bride and groom lost in shadow.
Some cameras ha#e a -rominent built+in backlight correction button con#eniently
located in the controls. %hen you acti#ate it, you are telling the camera to
o#ereJ-ose the scene so you can see, in this case, the bride and groom @there will
be no detail in the windowA. /his is a #ery useful feature.
If your camera lacks this feature, you may want to learn from the manual how to
do it by hand. $ideo cameras are -retty easy to o-erate. Most -eo-le dont read
the manuals. 2sually, you dont need to. In this one case, it may be a good idea.
%se a Storyboard
Gnce a conce-t or scri-t is written for a film
or animation, the neJt ste- is to make a
storyboard. storyboard #isually tells the
story of an animation -anel by -anel, kind of
like a comic book. good shoryboard then
become the blue-rint for the film making
-rocess.
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&amera 'ngles
/he shot angle is the le#el from which you look at your sub*ect through the
camera.
Eye-level angle+ Gne of the most commonly used shots is the eye+le#el shot.
%hy !ecause its the -ers-ecti#e most familiar to us + we usually see things
from our own eye+le#el. /his angle also causes the least discomfort because were
used to it. If youre shooting a -erson, and you want to make it an eye+le#el shot,
make sure you shoot at their eye+le#el, not yours.
Low Angle+ In this shot the camera looks u- at the sub*ect, making it seemim-ortant, -owerful, or -erha-s larger than it is to the #iewer. For eJam-le, you
might be sitting on the ground looking u- at someone who is standing.
High Angle+ In this shot the camera looks down on the sub*ect, decreasing its
im-ortance. /he sub*ect looks smaller. It often gi#es the audience a sense of
-ower, or makes the sub*ect seem hel-less. In this case, youd be higher than the
other -erson @maybe theyre sitting, or maybe youre standing on a deskA looking
down on that -erson.
#asi! &amera (ovement
Pan+ shot taken mo#ing on a hori0ontal -lane @from left to right, right toA. If
you want to show a frisbee flying across a field, you might use this shot to follow
the frisbee from one -erson to another.
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Tilt+ amera mo#ement in a #ertical -lane. @u- or downA If you want to show a
tall building but you cant get it all in your shot, you might start at the bottom of
the building and go u- to the to-.
Zoom+ /his shot mo#es you closer to the sub*ect, into a Medium Shot or loseShot. If you are looking at the Bolden Bate !ridge, and you want to see
indi#idual -eo-le walking across it, you might 0oom in.
6e#erse Koom + /his shot mo#es you farther away into a Medium Shot or a %ide
Shot. If you ha#e a close u- shot of a flower, and want to see the entire field that
the flower is in, you will re#erse 0oom.
&omposition and )raming *our Shots
/here are many ways to com-ose a shot, de-ending on your goals. ou want to
be aware of what is in the shot and what isnt. sk yourself, can I clearly see what
I intend for the #iewer to see
6ule of /hirds + this classic rule suggests that the center of the cameras attention
is one+third of the way down from the to- of the shot.
Headroom+ term used with shots of -eo-le. /his refers to the s-ace abo#e thesub*ects head. oull see different amounts of headroom left, de-ending on the
intent of the creator of the #ideo. In general, if youre standing right in front of
someone, youll see that they ha#e s-ace all around them + they arent cut off by a
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frame. !y lea#ing headroom, or s-ace beside them, you are imitating what you
see in real life.
Talking!alking "oom+ If you are inter#iewing someone or ha#e #ideo of
someone talking, you generally do not want them looking directly at the camera
@again, de-ends on your goals + certain situations may call for thatA. Benerallyyou want the -erson to be looking off to the left or right of the camera a bit,
towards where the inter#iewer is sitting. %hen you do this, frame your shot so
that there is some talking room. /hat is, you want to lea#e some eJtra s-ace to the
side of their face as if you were going to draw a dialogue boJ in for them. /his
s-ace is talking room. If the -erson is talking to another -erson on camera, this
is shown as s-ace between them. %alking room, if the -erson in motion, gi#es
them s-ace to walk to. It lea#es s-ace in the shot for the action, whether it be
words or walking.
Tripod %se
/o use a /ri-od, or not to use a /ri-od that is the :uestion
nd the answer de-ends on what you are trying to do. If youre chasing your
sub*ect or want to imitate an earth:uake you -robably wont use a tri-od because
you need to be mo#ing. Gr if you want to gi#e the #iewer the im-ression of
walking or running, then you may not want to use a tri-od.
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!asically, if you want a stable, smooth shot, use a tri-od whene#er -ossible. If
you do not ha#e a tri-od, in#ent one. our body is a natural tri-od. ou can also
lean u- against a tree or a wall or sit on a chair for stability.
Proper set #p+ use a wide foot-rint. ou and I ha#e two legs. /ri-ods ha#e
three. %hen our legs are se#eral feet a-art, creating a wide foot-rint you and I
are more stable, harder to -ush o#er. Its the same for a tri-od. /he farther a-art
the legs are, the more stable it will be.
Tripod $otion+ when you use a tri-od, you securely attach the camera to the to-
of it. /he camera can now be mo#ed in two ways + -an @side to side mo#ementA
or tilt @u- and downA. See the amera Mo#ement sheet for more information on
-ans and tilts.
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E!i"#ent
DVD +'(
Instead of writing to a #ideo ta-e, this ty-e of
camcorder uses a Mini D$D+6 disk. /he
ad#antage is that you can transfer the #ideo to your
home com-uter sim-ly by taking the D$D out of
the camera and inserting it into your com-uter&s
D$D dri#e. )oteL Most D$D dri#es will acce-t the Mini+D$D+6 disk.
(iniDV
/his is the most common format for most Digital camcorders still use #ideota-e
@most use a format called MiniD$A
Hard Drive or DVD +'(
/he ty-e has a built+in hard dri#e *ust like a com-uter. /he ad#antage is s-eed
and ca-acity which can range from 1= C 13=B!. lso, n o ta-e or disk to buy.
Howe#er, you must use 2S! or Firewire in order to interface with your home
com-uter.
HD
/he new High Definition format gi#es you enhance -icture :uality that can be
dis-layed on your new HD /$. /he -roblem with this format is the lack
standardi0ation for HD #ideo format @HD$, 'DM, $HDA. I would wait a
few more years before deciding to buy this ty-e of camcorder.
)lash (emory
/he faster growing ty-e of camcorder is the Flash Memory
ty-e. /his ty-e of camcorder is small, usually the si0e of an
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--le I-od or com-act digital camera. /his ty-e is good for short :uick #ideos
to send #ia Email or u-load to outube. /he disad#antage of this ty-e is that the
#ideo :uality will be less than a full si0e camcorder.
'nalog
$HS, $HS, ;mm?Hi;?Digital ; + More ineJ-ensi#e than D$ camcorders, ;mm
camcorders record at a high resolution and can usually record u- to 3 hours of
:uality recording on each ta-e. Sony introduced the Digital ; series of camcorders
which records data digitally onto Hi; ta-es. /his ty-e will re:uire additional
hardware to con#ert analog video to digitalformat, so it can be edited by digital
editing software. See Gther Hardware list below for list of analog con#erted.
on#erters can be iinternal @(I ada-terA or eJternal boJ that can be connected
#ia standard 2S! 3 cable. Most internal ca-ture de#ice also has /$ tuner in-ut.
%amcorder Type %a&le Additional
Hardware
Additiona
'oftware
nalog /a-e 6?S+$ideo es 2S! Dri#er
Digital /a-e 14
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&,--&T/-G *,%+ D/G/T'0 &'(&,+D+ T, *,%+ P&
/he digital camcorder is one of the most -o-ular home -roducts of all times.
amcorders ha#e made shooting #ideos sim-le, :uick and fun. ou can make
your home #ideos e#en more en*oyable by co-ying them to your (, editing
them, adding titles and remo#ing those unwanted scenes. $ideo editing software
like Video Edit Magiccan hel- you edit your home mo#ies to make your memories
last fore#er. ou can also con#ert the edited #ideos to an a--ro-riate format and
create a D$D or u-load them to an Internet ser#er and share your memories with
family and friends.
&he!$list for !onne!ting a &am!order to your P&
To connect yo#r camcorder to yo#r !indows P%+ yo# re0#ire3
Fire%ire 14
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-ort accommodates both Fire%ire standards, while a b+only -ort acce-ts only a
Fire%ire ;== connector.
(hysically connecting your camcorder to your %indows ( using a Fire%ire -ortis easy. (lug the IEEE 14
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the Fire%ire card. @/hese instructions are for %indows '(. /hey will #ary
slightly for other #ersions of %indows.
,ther Software
%indows Mo#ie Maker 3 @$ersion 8 on $istaA .is only one of
many software a#ailable for the home #ideo editing market.
Here are a few to look atL
(innacle Studio 2ltimate 13 @Highly 6ecommendA
yberlink (owerDirector 9 2ltra
dobe (remiere Elements 5
orel $ideo Studio 11
orel D$D Mo#ie Factory 8
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Hardware 4 'nalog Video &onverters
Da00le $ideo reator (lus @EJternalA
(innacle Mo#ie !oJ (lus @EJternalA P17=
DS $ideo EJ-ress P7=
DS D$D EJ-ress '3D + P;