Video on a Canon 60D

aidan257

aidan257

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Aidan
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Hello there guys & gals,
I'm going to be recording my mates reunion gig for my mates band. It will be the first time i've used my DSLR for video & i'm trying to prevent the video turning out like a video on my camera phone.
Basically i want to know if there is a way to avoid washing out the video with colour as i find the video's i've done in the past appear to be over exposed by the stage lighting.
Now for audio i should be getting a direct mix from the desk straight into the the mic input on the side of my camera.

Thanks for your help in advance.

* Forgot to add i have a 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens.
 
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Being washed out by the stage lights means you got the exposure wrong for the framing you chose. Exposure may need to change based on what's in the frame (lights / no lights etc). However, much of what you perceive as bad can usually be improved during colour grading.

In terms of audio, you should get a direct feed from the desk in to a separate audio recorder and sync in post. That way you won't have the crappy Canon pre-amps to deal with and you also won't be restricted on movement by having a trailing cable. In addition, having a separate audio feed means you can turn the record on and off without losing audio continuity and as long as you take enough b-roll you can fill those gaps in editing.

f3.5-f5.6 is slow for indoor work normally, but with good stage lighting you should be OK.
 
the washed out comparison is with my Desire HD mobile phone.... which i know would be uber crappy. The event is coming up in a few weeks. Unfortunately i won't be able to get a seperate audio recorder before the gig, though it may be possible to get a cd off the desk at a later date.

Now i will warn you Dave, i'm really new to DSLR's i've only had my 60D for about 5 weeks. So i'm still getting my head round it all. Thanks for the tips though. I'll certainly consider that for the future.
 
I would use manual mode to control the exposure, for video you need to keep you shutter double your fps, so if you're shooting 30fps use 1/60th shutter. Control the exposure with your ISO and aperture.

Under those lighting conditions as well i would be tempted to set the white balance manually as well to save it jumping all over the place.
 
Tyler138 said:
I would use manual mode to control the exposure, for video you need to keep you shutter double your fps, so if you're shooting 30fps use 1/60th shutter. Control the exposure with your ISO and aperture.

Under those lighting conditions as well i would be tempted to set the white balance manually as well to save it jumping all over the place.
Click to expand...

Be careful of shooting at 30fps unless you are in the USA.
30fps is designed for our American cousins or countries who use the NTSC television system.
Used in the UK you will find all the stage lights flickering.
Our electrical system being 50Hz the US being 60Hz.
So shooting video in the UK you're best to pick a shutter divisible by 50,
25th, 50th, 100th etc
In the States with a 60Hz electrical supply you're better off with 30th, 60th, 120th etc.
Although on the 60D the lowest PAL shutter speed is 30th sec, I suspect in practice it's actually 25th.

As far as the lights go - expose for the content, the band.
To hell with the lamps, use them as as a feature, not a fault!
 
I doubt the lighting is going to be Jean Michel Jarre-esque so like Owen says, you'll probably be best off exposing for the band. They're the focal point of the film so it's no problem if there's the odd washed-out light....

I'd also manually focus - those lights, especially if they flick and move, could easily fool the AF in liveview...

You don't have to stick to the 180 shutter rule but start going into really high shutter speeds and then things do start to look peculiar. If you're not ultimately comfortable, I'd stick in something like Av and just shoot..... I'm sure he'll love it regardless :)
 
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