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Camera
The Canon XL1 3CCD Digital Video
Camcorder
The Canon XL1 camera was the most advanced camera when it was released in the early 1990s. Since
then it has been overtaken by other cameras but still performs well because of its various modes. The
beauty of this camera is the ease with which variables can be manipulated. Cameras before the XL1
did not allow this level of manipulation of functionality and as such this camera is extremely useful for
the television journalist.
How it
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3. FRAME MOVIE this is useful for high‐resolution stuff. In this mode the picture is non‐ interlaced but is very sharp. (This setting is good for big scenes, e.g. a sunset; or if you printing to 35mil There are basically five modes, Auto, Manual, VCR Tv and Av of which Tv and Av are new modifications. All of these (barring VCR which is for playback), offer various degrees of manipulation for the user. Depending on the mode you can change certain things on the camera. These settings are
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‐ Sensor: This is for use with the remote control and allows you to control the camera remotely…very useful if you are shooting on your own ‐ Tally lamp: this is a tricksy little button which allows you to turn off the red button at the front of the camera that shows its recording so that whoever you’re filming cannot see it. This can be used to your advantage ‐ The Mic attenuator (Mic Att on the camera) is used to either pump up or down certain sounds depending on what you want to come ou
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Tips & Terminology • The line‐in has a high resistance and a high impedance Rifles • A good distance to hold the rifle mic from one’s subject is no more than 1.5m Shure Mixer • The round dials on the mixer are called pots, which is an abbreviation of potentialitors General • CCD = Charge Couple Device: this is temporary info storage in the camera • The higher the shutter speed, the less light that comes through • The greater the shutter speed, the more distinct the frames are for pl
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DEPTH OF FIELD Manipulating depth of field can lend complexity to a shot and can often change the mood or connotation of the shot. It is therefore a useful tool to use but can be difficult to get right. When you do get it right however, it lends the piece a certain edge. Basically a great Depth of Field (DOF) means a greater area of focal possibilities. There are three ways to manipulate DOF: 1. Iris This manipulates the amount of light coming in and there is a direct relationship betwee
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During a shoot you’d make decisions according to what’s important in the shot. In other words, your choice in depth of field would be determined by your outcomes for the shot. The cinematographer/director needs to ask what the shot is being composed for; what purpose it is to serve; what message it is to get across. Various connotations can be achieved by manipulating depth of field in this way. 3. Camera to Object Distance In terms of DOF: ‐ The closer the camera is to the object, the
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‐ Manual Focus Turn the ring anti‐clockwise for closer objects and clockwise for objects that are further away. COMPOSITION FRAMING It is very important to adhere to framings in a piece. Consistency between framings is crucial. In other words, keep your close‐ups, mediums and wides, etc. the same throughout your piece. 1. Extreme Close‐Up ‐ In this shot the subject fills the frame ‐ Convention holds that the distance between the mouth and the bottom of the frame be greater than
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‐ In every camera movement the shot should be broken up into three shots this provides your editor with shots to work with (still‐move‐still). Tip: Cover up any zooms you may need to do with pans. A good cameraman will practice until the zoom is virtually imperceptible underneath the pan.
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Hardware CABLES There are oodles of different types of cables which we’ll utilise in the industry. They can be loosely divided into three main categories: video, audio, and control according to what type of information they carry. Essentially cables carry signals via a medium from one point to another and therefore can further be divided in terms of which type of signal they carry: i.e. analogue or digital. VIDEO AUDIO CONTROL Kettle Plugs These can be either mini or full
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‐ Features: not subject to a lot of interference. The male point is attached to the device and the females connect these ‐ Extra: * see bottom [analogue] RCA ‐ Identification: this is the black cable with the red jack‐ looking end (like the ones used for DVD players) ‐ Usage: Carries video and audio signals ‐ Features: This is not a professional cable and offers more resistance than BNC cables [analogue] Firewire 1394 ‐ Identification: The cord with the computer‐fitting bit on one
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control info XLR ‐ Identification: This is the male to female cable, which has three prongs on one side and three holes on the other. ‐ Usage: It operates on three channels, which are common, left and right. ‐ Features: Therefore, this cable can take stereo. Jack ‐ Identification: This is a jack and has the jack‐looking silver prong attached to a cable. ‐ Usage: The females are plugs and receptacles for male jacks, connecting and creating a pathway. ‐ Features: A black rin
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Video Paths There are various video pathways which determine the quality of the signal. Generally the better the cable that is used, the better the picture will be. So if a bad cable is used there’ll be more crawl and noise, whereas a more advanced cable can help to produce a cleaner picture. 1. Composite Analogue This is just video and produces pretty crappy, noisy, slow picture. 2. Component Analogue More advanced and produces a better, more professional picture 3. Remote C
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SOUND The audio pathway between the camera and its various input/output devices is as follows: input Mic XLR cable shure mixer output device (camera) output In out (cans) camera There are four different types of mic which we will use: 1. Stereo mic (this is the mic fitted to the front of the camera) 2. Rifle mic 3. Lapel 4. Sennheiser hand‐held mic Rifle Mic A ri
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When using the rifle mic it is advised not to stand more than 1.5m away from the subject The Shure Mixer Basically the shure mixer serves as an interface between the camera and whatever mic you choose to use. Its purpose is to regulate the levels so as to ensure that you attain the best possible sound. Before using the shure mixer one should callabrate the tones to ensure that the sound levels are all in synch. This makes sure that the recording levels on the mixer are callabrated with
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XL1 AUDIO GUIDE Digital Audio Recording CANON DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDING Canon’s XL1 records in the (relatively) new DV format. This format makes for greatly expanded audio capabilities because of its use of Pulse Code Modulation (PCM). this type of recording differs from analogue recording where sound waves are recorded as changes in the magnetic field on the tape. with digital audio recording, sound is recorded as a 0 or 1, which is then converted to a pulse code. [binary vibe].
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An analogue system has an infinite range of values which it can record Digital systems can record only a finite number of those values This means that digital systems have some inevitable mismatch in the recording, and every such mismatch adds noise and distortion to the signal. ‐ Digital systems use binary code – 1’s and 0’s. each digit added doubles the number of possible values (i.e. a 1 digit number has 2 values, a 2 digit has 4, a 3 digit has 8, etc.) each time a digit is a
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3. 12‐bit Stereo (32 kHz, 4 channels) ‐ Simultaneous recording on 4 channels (1 and 2) ‐ Can use camera sound and 2 remote mics – all on separate channels ‐ Post‐production selections can be made XL1 MICS ‐ MA‐100 attachment allows the use of 2 professional XLR mics or 2 wireless mics ‐ XL1 records sound in ‘unlocked audio’ completely in sync with video, but sample rate isn’t fixed unlocked allows for slight variation sin the number of samples per frame ‐ Audio Monitor only whe
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Lighting There are three basic shots: 1. Pack Shot This is a perfectly lighted shot, but the lighting is subtle Clear lighting Pleasing to the eye and de‐narrativised More neutral colour temperature Examples include magazine covers [TIP: White umbrella technique – this scatters the rays of light and is good if you’ve only got one light] 2. Standard Three‐point interview Not very stylised Often used for documentaries Good for giving the correct depth and feat
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the back light gives Back depth and this can be altered by angling it higher subject Key the key light is Fill the strongest light and sits at about a 45 degree angle
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3. Night/ Moonlight For a more dramatic and moody effect This is a more narrational approach Requires a different colour balance Then, for lighting when there is natural light available: ‐ Ambient lighting With ambient lighting, one should try to mimic, for example, the standard three point technique using whatever natural light is available. For example one may use light coming in from the window as key, and then lights turned on in the room as the fill and back lights. D
