Video recording & equipment
Choosing the right equipment is crucial in producing quality footage.
Camcorder is directly responsible for image sharpness, optic effects and general video quality.
Recording format
Traditionally digital video is recoded to DV tape.
One tape provides 60 minutes of decent DVD quality video. Tapes work well for decent video recording but for advanced post production we use solid state discs and DVCPROHD-100 professional video compression.
DVCPRO-100 video compression is used in professional film making. It produces huge files (1 Gigabyte per minute) with very accurate image that is sharp and free of compression artefacts. Such footage with proper mixing and post production enhancements is used to generate cinema like video.
Video recording equipment
Professional filming equipment.
- Panasonic HVX200 camcorder with 20x Leica lens - Records in high definition video to DV tape and solid state discs.
- Professional video tripod support - Steady scene recording and smooth camcorder rotation.
- Fast e-stata 1000 gigabyte hard discs - Used for video storage and editing.
- Workstation based on Core i7 four core processor - Used for video mixing and post production.
Post production Video mixing, titles and retouchOptics in film making
The importance of camera optics in video production
Camcorder optics is used to achieve depth of field, wide angle and image stabilization in video footage. Without proper optics camcorder can only make plain videos.
Optical depth of field in video footage
If we want to have an object in focus while having the background diffused we have to use shallow depth of field optic configuration. This configuration gives cinematic look to the footage. Many scenes in movies involving people dialogues are shot using this technique.
If we want to have close and far objects in focus we have to use wide depth of field. This technique is useful shooting panoramic scenes and architecture.
Optical image stabilization
Optical image stabilization reduces video shaking when recording handheld video. Without this feature videos recorded from car window or while walking are useless, especially when filmed with zoom. We use equipment with Leica lens with optical image stabilization.
Camcorder support
We generally use tripod support and fluid head technology for professional video recording.
Tripod assures that the image is steady. We use high quality tripod with fluid head that allows smooth, film like camera rotation.