Advice sort: first bit of video to shoot tomorrow :-)

aserota

aserota

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Hi all,

I've been asked to record a short 2 minute interview for a friends IT/home installations business tomorrow (last minute call). I have 0 experience in video work and am trying to keep things as simple as possible.

I plan to have 2 cameras fixed on tripods recording the interview (one DSLR and one smartphone), I then plan to have another DSLR on a more sturdy tripod with a zoom following the conversation. In addition I'll take some videos of his work for the client to splice in to the interview (establishing shots, pans of his work, defocus clips etc.).

I've done a fair bit of studio photography, so I planned to setup a couple of video lights with shoot through umbrella to light the 2 subjects in the interview. I plan to shutter speed at 1/50 throughout.

I'm fortunate with equipment; I have a 5d3, 70d and Nexus5 phone that I'll be recording with. I was planning on sticking a 85 1.8 in the 5d3 and then using the 70d with a 70-200 2.8 for following the interview and then relevant lenses for the establishing shots.

This is for embedding in a website so what video size would you recommend to use? Any other advice? I'll mock up the setup tonight and teat everything
 
How are you doing audio?

Have you got a clapper or similar to synch the cameras?

Don't forget release forms, batteries, any archive content (photos, maps, paintings, songs..), memory cards...

Don't overshoot.

Don't let the interviewee see the questions beforehand.
 
Audio is going to be recorded off the 5D3 which will be closest to the action - I don't have any external mics that I can use at this short notice.
I don't have anything to sync the cameras - I was planning on doing this in post (didn't consider this tbh)

Ta for the advice though - have spent a bit of time practising tonight and am happy with using both the 5D3 and 70D for video. I'm really not after anything fantastic (audio will definitely be limited), but will do what I can
 
First decide what sort of interview are you doing. If it is a promotional one then you need to do a script. Also rehearse, Don't do it on the fly, it doesn't work for promo's. The audio is going to be the problem. DSLR's audio systems (even the 5D's) are not great, but that's something you'll need to live with. I opt for manual ausio control. This stops the AGC ramping up the gain during quiet sessions ( hiss) and stops high initial volume levels when the audio starts again. Depending on what software you have synching the clips may or may not be difficult. Apple's FCPX will do this for you using the audio track and works a treat. Problem is it's mac only. I've sync'd audio without any software aid, and it is possible if you can slide tracks . It does take time but is possible and not difficult, just frustrating :). To sync the cameras try a loud clap. This will show up as a transient in the audio and help sync.

Think who is going to be talking the most, and use this as the master track. saves a bit of time.

Allow time for prep and rehearsal. It's not a 5 min thing. and old adage is a minute of video, takes an hour to produce. Not totally accurate but gives you an idea of the time needed. and saves a whole lot of time in post ( and frustration) . Plan your angles well before hand. Remember the video quality from different cameras will be different, and depending on yor software may not be optmisable , so plan for this.

Good luck
 
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Thanks for everyone's advice, things went much better then I predicted!

I shot things as simply as I could to give a 'polished' result, rather then trying to get too complicated on my first try. I ended up setting up 1 umbrella with a video light at 45 degree from the single person in the frame. I had a Canon 70d with an 85mm at f2.8 for a closeup and a Canon 5d3 with a 35mm at f5.6 for the wide shot. Both were mounted on tripods and were left during the clips. Audio was run off the 5d3 without an external mic and I'll definitely be using an external mic next time; although the audio is more then OK for this video.

The tripods used were useless for panning (as they were too fragile and not video tripods). I've been given some money for helping out so that'll go straight into buying a dedicated video tripod as I loved today's work!! I was staggered at the performance of the 70d with good glass in terms of focusing speed for video. The 5d3 definitely feels a step behind for video, but was fantastic for wide shots with the Samyang 14mm

I'll do some editing tomorrow and see what I come up with :-) I think I've opened the floodgates for more video work now, it's great fun.
 
I have done a reasonable amount of video work - both shooting and editing. Two things I would suggest. First of all, you are kind of already there - always plan what you are going to shoot. It is otherwise much too easy to forget to do a particular shot and never be able to get it again. The other thing is to encourage people to speak their 'lines' and leave a gap either side of a couple of seconds. This will give you a better ability to do fades/mixes between scenes as you will have time between clips to work with.
 
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