There are many key components to a video camera. Some of them would be the lens, the body, the
memory card, the aperture, and the user controls.
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The Lens – The lens is where the light enters and the photo process starts. They can be
interchanged depending on the camera or sometimes they’re permanently fixed to the
camera.
The Body – The main part of the camera. It comes in different shapes and sizes depending on
the camera you buy.
The Aperture – The aperture changes the size of the lens opening to allow more or reduce
the amount of light going into the camera.
The Memory Card – The memory card stores all of the pictures/video you take. Different
cards hold different amounts of information.
The User Controls – The user controls differ depending on the camera. It has settings that
help adjust the camera depending on the environment and other custom settings.
Also, the benefits of turning off automatic are that you have more control over the camera you’re using.
You’ll have more control over things like the shutter speed and the aperture.
When you make a video and upload it to your computer, it will have a certain format. For example, it
could be in .wmv, .flv, .mov, or .avi. Each of these formats is used in a different way:
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.wmv – Stands for Windows Media Video and is usually used for things like DVD and Blu-ray
.flv – Stands for Flash Video and is used when using Adobe Flash Player
.mov – A Quicktime video format used when using Quicktime video player
.avi – An older Microsoft format that was popular, but is used less now
When you watch a movie, you’ll see it jump back and forth between scenes or characters. These are
different shots from different cameras. They help get a fuller picture of the movie and show you more.
There are names for these different shots and different purposes for them:
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Wide shot – This is when the subject of the film takes up most of the frame.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uho_3ZSweJw)
Close Up – In a close up shot, a certain part of the movie subject takes up most of the frame.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp26Iv4B47A)
Two shot – In a two shot, there are two people who take up the frame. (Image example:
http://media3.onsugar.com/files/2013/11/09/971/n/1922507/8cb812ab725db59d_Screen_Sho
t_2013-11-09_at_2.17.34_PM.preview.jpg)
Those were only a few different shots, but another thing you may have noticed would be the way the
camera moves when switching scenes or shots. There’re names for these too such as:
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Tilt – A tilt is when you have the camera still in one position and move it up and down.
Pan – A pan is when you have the camera fixed in one position and move it from left to right.
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Zoom – A zoom actually doesn’t need the camera itself to move, instead the camera lens
adjusts to bring something in view closer.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9JWgU9YVcU)
Along with these there’s also something called depth of field. Super simply, it’s the part of the
film/picture that’s in focus. It’s the distance between the furthest and closest objects in focus.
Now, if you’re going to be able to see what’s going on in the film, you’re going to need light. Lighting
in a film is important because depending on how you do it, it’ll give your film a certain feel and
atmosphere. If you use very little light, your film will feel dark and foreboding or sad. If you use lots of
light, your film will feel very happy and/or exciting. Lighting can also be used to highlight different things
you want your audience to focus on.
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Mood – The lighting will change depending on what mood the movie is trying to convey. Of
course, depending on the scenes, it could change as well. If it’s sad, there will be very little light.
This could also be the case if it’s trying to scare you. If it’s a happier mood, there will be lots of
light to make it feel more positive.
Clarity of Images – If you’re filming in a dark location, you want to use enough light so that the
camera can film clearly. If you’re in a bright location, you could use extra lighting just to
highlight where you want the focus to be when you’re filming. Your camera needs to be able to
see where it’s filming, so you need enough light that it can lock onto.
There’re different ways of using lighting in scenes. Each of them affects the scene, depending on how a
director wants it to feel:
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Ambient – Ambient light is the light that is already naturally available. It’s more of a fixed light
and can’t really be adjusted, so the director has to work with it the best way.
Manipulated – A light that can be adjusted to whatever situation it needs to.
One point – Only one light is used and it’s usually the main light
Two point – Two lights, one main light and one fill light
Three point – Three lights: one main, one fill, and one background light
Video.MOV
(This video cycles through no light, ambient light, one point, two point, and three point
lighting.)
When recording audio for a single system video production, there are some challenges involved. It’s
really tough to get it sound like what the audio does in the movie because your equipment probably
won’t be Hollywood quality. So the voices of your actors might be a bit muffled or might echo
depending on the space you’re shooting in. You’re most likely not going to separately record the same
audio to put over the video, so it won’t be the clearest. That’s probably the biggest challenge in
recording audio.
Video (1).MOV
This video shows a simple exit cut.