Camera used in various productions
Introduction
The choice of the right camera for a given production type is crucial because of the audience’s certain expectation of image quality. While the average viewer has modest understanding of camera technology, viewers have grown to associate different aesthetics with different types of production. For some, however, there is a thin line between the aesthetics of film or high-end digital camcorders and those of consumer or prosumer camcorders. Generally, the image quality of a consumer or prosumer camcorder is widely associated with low-end television, corporate video and home video. This is often judged on the premise of the camcorder’s small sensor as well as video look. On the other hand, film or high-end digital cameras are typically associated with television dreams, feature films and commercials. This image quality is judged mostly basing on the shallow depth of field together with color saturation of these cameras.
Shooting a High-end feature film for cinema
The finest camera to use in the production of a high-end feature film for the cinema would be the Arri Alexa. This is a film-themed digital motion picture camera system that features PL mount lenses, modularity, a Super 35 sized CMOS sensor and supports proprietary raw data or uncompressed video (Mendiburu, 2012, p.15). The Arri Alexa camera integrates the finest features of all the best Digital Cinema cameras that came before it. It is the workhorse camera for feature production as it is built on Arri’s tradition of having in mind both the cinematographer and producer (Grant 2012, p. 25). The camera has unique ability to roll off highlights in a very natural, organic manner while transcending dark areas devoid of the “mosquito noise” or “blue sparkle.” The image colors of Alexa are rendered both pleasingly and accurately.
The Arri Alexa is both versatile not only on set but also through post production. Every aspect of the camera has been tailored to fit into various current workflows in the field as well as in post production. This implies that production of the high end feature film for the cinema would be without the typical limitations associated with digital cameras.
The user interface of the Arri Alexa would be particularly familiar and comfortable for a crew that is used to 35mm film cameras and broadcast cameras. This video camera is ergonomic and lightweight in addition to running very quiet without necessarily getting hot. The controls of the Alexa are clearly marked besides being located at strategic places for easier intuitive use. The Operator side of the Alexa contains commonly used controls whilst the Assistant’s side has deeper but easily-navigated menu interface along with a large LCD display panel. The Alexa camera is also highly comfortable to handhold and comes with all-new full color completely-orientable F-LCOS HD viewfinder that shows a 10% look-around area of the recorded image.
The Alexa has compatible built-in lightweight 15mm rod mounts to the front that can be easily accessorized for film-style sliding bridge plates. The powering of the camera is also relatively easily through the use of industry standard Anton Bauer, or large off-camera 24v block batteries or V-mount onboard 12v batteries.
The suitable lenses for the Arri Alexa digital camera system would be the Arri/Fujinon Alura Zooms. Though optimized for digital sensors, the Alura Zooms also delivers excellently on film. The lenses have exceptional optical quality characteristic of high-end zoom lenses and relatively affordable. Their high compatility with Arri Alexa Lens Data System enables for utilization of valuable metadata both on set and in post production (Mendiburu, 2012, p.26). The daily hire rate for the Arri Alexa camera is $1800 while its weekly hire rate is $5400.
Shooting a High-end Television drama
In the United Kingdom, a high-end television drama is defined as a television programme, including comedy or documentary production, intended for broadcast, and having expenditure per hour of slot length of more than £1 million. In terms of a television programme, slot length refers to the length of time that the programme is commissioned to take (Mendiburu, 2012, p.75). As such, the slot length as relates to the High-end television drama is required to be not less than 30 minutes. The UK standards regards a television programme to be a drama if: (i) it consist mainly or wholly of a showcase of events; (ii) the events depicted (either mainly or wholly) are by one or more persons through performance; (iii) the entire or a significant proportion of the action by the person(s) performing, either through acting, speech, singing, or dancing, entails the playing of a specific role (Kellison, 2013, p.23).
The most appropriate camera for shooting a high-end television drama would be the Sony F65 CineAlta digital production camera. Sony F65 is currently acclaimed as the most advanced camera available on the market for purposes of high end digital cinematography, in addition to being ideal for commercials and wildlife photography.
Sony F65 is presently the digital motion picture camera with the highest resolution due to its 20 megapixel image sensor. This translates that it has unmatched ability to capture scene detail and texture of wide landscape shots. Relative to a broadcast camera, the menus of the F65 are largely simplified and ready for instant adjustment without the need of going to much menu settings. This would save the production much downtime during filming of the high end TV drama. The camera is equipped with superior internal ND filters that make changing of exposure level relatively easy. The recommended lenses for Sony F65 in this production are the Angenieux Optimo & Cooke S5i prime lenses. The daily hire price for Sony F65 is $1950 while its weekly hire rates are $5850.
Shooting a High-end commercial
The RED Epic Digital Cinema camera is most suitable for shooting a high-end commercial owing to its highly compact form factor as well as amazing image quality. The RED Epic gives high performance digital image at various frame rates as well as optical formats. It is supplied with a PL mount which can be easily configured with mounts as well as 19mm rods and accommodate majority of cinematography lenses, follow focus systems and matte boxes. The RED Epic is also compatible with a range of S35mm (APS-H) PL mount zoom and prime lenses (Kadner, 2010, p.13). Lens mounts can be exchanged easily and quickly in the field but in a dust-free environment.
The RED Epic is best choice for achieving specific slow-motion shots through the desired resolution of 4K. A high end commercial using the RED Epic would require using 2 Angenieux Optimo DP zoom lenses. These lenses are reputed for their superior image quality, great focus action, smooth apertures and potential to cover a relatively decent zoom range. In addition, they would allow the production team to work much faster. Specifically, the recommendable Angenieux lenses for such a commercial are the Angenieux Optimo DP 30-80mm T2.8 and Angenieux Optimo DP 16-42 T2.8. Shooting a high end commercial requires selecting the right tripod – preferably the Sachtler Video 20P supplied with carbon fibre legs. The Sachler Vide 20P tripod has a characteristic excellent fluid head able to support the RED Epic rather well while the legs are very rigid yet very light because of the carbon fibre.
The typical commercial is often 30 seconds and 15 seconds in length, with last 5 seconds going to titles. As such, the cinematographer needs to be aware of this time factor and take into account. Too slow or too quick pans/tilts might not cut effectively with the piece. If they are too quick they will look too frantic while if they are too slow the effect of the any movements would be lost because of the very less time to let the entire shot run through (Cartwright, 2012, p.54). Some slider movements can easily be achieved by a Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly while slow motion can be realized at 120fps. Through creativity, the cinematographer can add several combinations of slides, tilts, and pans so as to bring about some more dimension together with movement in the shots. With the RED Epic, the production team is able to reposition and reframe throughout the shooting of the commercial in a matter of minutes. The RED Epic can be rented for a daily rate of between $1000 – $1600. This rental package includes the camera body, the odd lens, a 1.8-imch 128GB SSD storage device as well as a proprietary camera remote.
Shooting A Broadcast Documentary
Panasonic AJ-HPX3100GJ P2 High Definition Camcorder is the best choice for shooting a broadcast documentary. Its body design is well designed with a low center of gravity so as to provide extra stability besides giving unobstructed view to either sides. It weighs merely about 3.9kg. It had two P2 card slots on the same side as the main controls, which allows for easy insertion and removal of cards. The camera offers higher mobility and easy operation especially throughout the traditional shoulder-held shooting style. It records broadcast-quality high definition HD video using full pixel (1920×1080) resolution and 10bit/4:2:2 sampling. The AJ-HPX3100GJ has relatively high sensitivity and low noise to give the desired level of recording quality for broadcast and video production. The P2 HD functions on the camera include 24 bit audio, wireless metadata input capability, and high quality proxy recording. In addition, the AJ-HPX3100GJ has dramatically reduced power consumption (approximately 34W for the camera recorder) relative to the conventional model, which improves mobility and reliability.
There is a couple of interesting optional upgrade that guarantee to streamline and turbo-charge the workflow during shooting of a broadcast documentary. One of the upgrades affords the producer of script supervisor the leeway to use a phone or laptop wirelessly insert metadata into the footage during shooting or after shooting. This means that the crew is able to have camera-originated metadata such as custom clip names, locations, markers and notes which can come in handy in the real world.
The second upgrade is one the enables the camera to record high-quality proxy all in real-time to an SD card which can be used to quick review the footage with hustling much with master footage. It also saves the post production team the trouble of spending much time in rendering out proxies. The Panasonic AJ-HPX3100GJ also has in-built reverse scan that makes it possible for unique setups on set e.g. mounting the camera upside down, use of anarmorphic lens adaptor ultra prime lens in order to realize a 2.35:1 image (Mamer, 2009, p.66).
Shooting a music video
Each camera package for Nikon D7000 comes with a 24mm-85mm zoom lens, a Rode external microphone, a line/level cable, and the Beachtek audio adapter. Both the microphone and audio adapter are powered using 9-volt battery.
A good choice of camera for shooting a music video would be the Nikon D7000, as evidenced by the recent Norwegian hit music video ‘Snakke Litt’ by Admiral P. A number of lenses can be used with Nikon D7000 for this music project: AFS Nikkor zooms, manual focus AIS, primes and macro lens. The D7000 gives greater flexibility in terms of moving the camera more rapidly and effectively. The music video can easily be shot from a ground level position on a Konova K3 slider dolly in a single take, from an 8ft ladder on an overhead jib. The greater ease of mobility with the camera guarantees a wonderful resultant music video. As such, the Nikon D7000 has relatively greater versatility and agility needed when shooting such a multi-scene production (Young, 2011, p. 45).
A YouTube viral video
A viral video refers to a video that becomes popular as a result of Internet sharing on video sharing websites, social media, or email. They often consist of humorous or shocking contents mostly eyewitness events. As such, a successful viral video is one that lends itself to sharing and sharing again. Accurate focusing of the video to reach the target demographic and the extent to which it spreads along with how well the message resonates requires adequate planning with includes the choice of a camera. Canon 5D Mark III digital camera would be good for shooting a YouTube viral video.
The camera has supercharged EOS performance along with a stunning full frame and high-resolution image capture. the EOS 5D Mark III is a good choice for shooting a viral video because of its ability to capture beautiful cinematic videos in EOS HD quality (Lowrie, 2012, p.34). Its 22.3 Megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and DIGIC 5+ image process as well as shooting performance of up to 6.0 fps gives it exceptional clarity and sharpness, which makes it suitable from capturing rapidly-unfolding scenes (Perello, 2012, p.11). The DIGIC 5+ image processors enables the Canon 5D Mark III digital camera to accurately reproduce bright natural colours and tones, meaning that it can capture a moment in rather beautifully vivid detail.
In addition, the ISO 100-25600 sensitivity range of the camera allows for capturing of detailed images even during shooting hand-held in rather low lighting situations. The 61-point AF system ensures that action can shot fast and accurately focusing on all subjects. The ability of the camera to record at 6 fps guarantees that one cannot miss out on a fast-moving subject because it is able to do high-speed continuous shooting. The video recorded is in full high definition along with excellent audio quality. The 5D Mark III is supplied with manual controls that enable effective control of Canon’s comprehensive EF lens range in order to achieve cinematic visual effects (Lowrie, 2012, p.89). The EOS 5D Mark III has such technological advancements as intelligent viewfinder, High Dynamic Range (HDR), advanced iFCL metering system, as well as Multiple Exposure mode, making the camera a perfect multimedia tool.
The Canon the EOS 5D Mark III has also expanded versatility and functionality which enables exporting of clean, uncompressed HDMI output from the camera to an external recorder. The camera has also the ability to record to internal CF or SD cards while the cinematographer can monitor the video footage through a rear LCD display (Perello, 2012, p.35). The Canon 5D Mark III digital camera also promises to do well with a viral video for You Tube because it is composed of a rugged magnesium alloy sealing it from the threats of dust and moisture, thus enabling carrying it around and continue shooting even in the toughest of conditions. The camera has also in-camera editing that enables the cameraman to explore different creative possibilities. It is important to supply the 5D Mark III with the right memory card because it will determine both how fast images are saved as well as how fast an image can be uploaded.
References:
Mendiburu, Bernard. 2012. 3D TV and 3D Cinema: Tools and Processes for Creative Stereoscopy. CRC Press.
YOUNG, D. 2011. Mastering the Nikon D7000. Santa Barbara, CA, Rocky Nook.
Kellison, C. 2013. Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach for Producers. CRS Press.
Cartwright, S. 2012. Pre-Production Planning for Video, Film, and Multimedia. CRS Press.
Kadner, N. 2010. RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera. Peachpit Press.
Grant, E. A. 2012. Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals. CRS Press.
LOWRIE, C. K. (2012). Canon EOS 5D Mark III digital field guide. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons.
Perello, I. 2012. Canon 5D Mark III: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Peachpit Press.
RONSON, I. D. (2006). DV filmmaking: from start to finish ; [learn the nuts and bolts of planning, production, post-production, and distribution.]. Beijing [u.a.], O’Reilly.
MAMER, B. (2009). Film production technique: creating the accomplished image. United States, Wadsworth Publ Co.
