Something that I have little control over on my DSLR is focus. If it is set to auto-focus, the microphone picks up the shutter and if it’s on manual it becomes a bit of an ordeal to use. For home movies it’s fine, but for anything else the camera pretty much needs to be still. Using cameras built specifically for video has been breezy. There is less fuss about the restrictions of the machine and more actual filming/doing/creating. That’s not to say that my camera can’t be used well though. Lately I have been filming a lot of stuff and plan on adding audio tracks to the visuals, much like the abstract exercise in class, which was difficult to say the least.
This is the first time I have used a proper video camera though, and the stability of it takes the guess work right out of capturing something in focus. Zooming in completely on a subject to obtain sharp focus, then zooming out to the frame is a technique I have tried to implement in my DSLR practice. At first it was difficult to understand how this improved the shot. I’m not confident in explaining it to someone, but I have learnt that the further away you are from a subject the greater the depth of field, meaning there is more leeway for the subject to be in focus. My kit lens is 18-50mm which is nothing compared to the cameras at uni, but refining my skills with this equipment will surely be good practice.
Making a choice on what to have in focus has a lot to do with framing. I need to work on frames at both the beginning of a sequence and the end (for panning and tilting shots). This will hopefully make for cleaner footage.
– Gabe