Tag Archives: video workflow

New Jersey Videography: Lint

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I was strumming my acoustic guitar over the weekend (as I often do), and when I come up with a little progression that I think sounds good I will flip on my DSLR and try to make a quick video out of it.  This video that I put together over the weekend was the first time I’ve incorporated creative blending modes to make some interesting opacity effects in my video edits.  I first recorded the passage on guitar with my Tamron SP 90mm VC macro lens directed into my dusty lint-filled soundhole.  Next I played the same guitar bit again, but this time I had the macro lens focused closely on my face to see what happens.

Using my own judgement I spliced up bits of the two video streams to add to the visual interest of my end product.  The HD audio was recorded straight to my Canon EOS 60D via my RODE Videomic GO shotgun microphone.  I had to adjust the manual audio recording level to avoid clipping the punchy treble tones from my Washburn acoustic guitar.

Please leave any comments and questions you do have about the video or post-processing.

Do you need filming or video editing done for your small business or family functions?  I’m available!

DSLR Nature Cinematography: Snowy Egret

by in Bird Photography, DSR Video Tips, Gear, Wildlife Videography and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I recently shot a few very short HD DSLR Video clips of one of the more common and easily recognizable wading birds in New Jersey, a Snowy Egret.  My personal goal for wildlife still photography had as been 2 archival quality captures of any subject that I found interesting.  Archival quality captures to me means focus is spot-on, exposure will not require significant post-processing, and the composition is pleasing to my eyes.  I also try to avoid repetition in my photos.  I’ve “upped the ante” on my nature shooting goals, and will now also try to film 1 or 2 quick sequences when I am in the outdoors.

Back to the point, I had been shooting all of my recent photos with a ballhead on my tripod.  Having no experience with fluid tripod heads, but realizing their importance in the video industry I started doing some research.  I already have Manfrotto RC2 quick release plates attached to most of my cameras and lenses so I wanted a fluid head that was designed for the RC2 plate.  I wound up purchasing a Manfrotto 128RC Micro Fluid Head and it has remained atop my 055x ProB tripod ever since.  This allows me to perform the steady panning motions needed for dynamic video work.

The above video was filmed using the Tamron SP 150-600mm VC Lens and the Canon EOS 7D.  Manual video mode settings include: ISO 100 F/14 and the Shutter Speed set to 1/80th.  I muted original audio from the clips in post-processing because of the loud hissing of the wind.  Guitar playing is me strumming my Washburn D10 Guitar, and I ended up recording this with my Samsung cellular phone.  Audio post-processing involved noise reduction, addition of a Phaser Effect, and overall Volume Reduction.  Video post-processing included trimming video segments, cross-fade transitions between shots, contrast enhancements, and split-tone color processing.

Fingers and Fretboard

by in Music, Video and tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A short guitar video (of myself) that I recorded and edited recently in New Jersey.

Manually prefocusing two cameras on the position my guitar would be at was a challenge in itself.  I actually took a cardboard box from a photography light stand and laid it in place as a marker for focusing.  Took me about 3 tries to really guess exactly where my Ibanez guitar would be.  I had external microphones from both cameras wired fairly close to where my small guitar amplifier was on the ground.

After setting the manual video exposures on both cameras, I started rolling and slid myself into position.  Took me about 7 minutes on this take to get a 45 second musical passage that I was happy enough with.

Video post-processing first involved syncing the full 7 minute clips by matching peaks on the audio waveforms.  After that, it was a matter of cutting to whichever video feed I wanted to be viewed for the guitar part being played.  I did some color corrections, highlight tweaks, and selective saturation before rendering out the AVI file.

 

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