Shooting Video? This is new. June - July 2020

I had my location already picked out. I had been going there for about half a year, minus a good few months for Covid-19 lockdown.

Although I had many big plans about making a whole documentary about this wetlands area, there were a few set backs.

First of all would be the first day I went out shooting once I had the camera rig set up. Shot for 3 or 4 hours, got home to start importing the footage and it turns out I formatted the SSD for a mac. Which I do not own. And I was unable to find any way to save the footage and then reformat the drive. So just scratch all that and go back the next weekend.

Pretty much how it went for some of May and most of June. Working 40 hours a week I really only was able to carve out time on the weekends. So out in the early morning I would drive out to a wildlife management area not too far from where I live, hike out to a good spot and set up to record for a few hours. Usually the limits being how much I could record onto a single hard drive. 1TB goes pretty quick as it turns out. Or how long the battery would last. Eventually I’ll upgrade to bigger and more drives that I’ll bring with me. Same with batteries, eventually. Everything costs money.

But the shooting was great. I got to see a bunch of wildlife over the last month or so. I shot for 5-6 weekends, usually 4 to 5 hours at a time. In total I would guess I was out there about 25-30 hours. Not bad, but looking back on the other side I could easily see doubling or tripling that to really get some good shots.

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome was those two limitations, recording space and battery life. I would love to just run the camera the whole time I’m out there so I have really long shots to edit down. But I would be done in about an hour and mostly that would be boring. Capturing something interesting is hard to do, already being recording before the action happens. But also you want enough lead in so the shot doesn’t just cut straight to action.

That’s something I’ll be working on for the next set of videos I make. I’ll need more storage space that’s for sure. Something I’ll cover more in my next blog talking about post production.

For now I’ll just mention the patience from doing still photography over the last few years really helped here. Just from pointing a camera at a wildlife subject I was picking up skills as to how they typically move. Knowing exactly when to press the trigger. All kinds of tips and tricks to keep things steady and get a nice clean shot. I liked comparing these two things as different languages that use the same alphabet. Yeah ISO and aperture are the same for video and stills.(technically so is shutter speed, but I actually like using the shutter angle) But there is a whole other layer to it that I jumped at learning. And will continue to learn as I do this more. Obviously I’ve barely touched the surface to this. There’s so much more that I need to work on. Actually learning some cinematography so I can shoot more pleasing shots would be a good one.

I did spend quite a bit of time over the lockdown watching nature documentaries, that definitely helped spurn this interest.

Something else I want to do is find more places to go with less people. Even going out real early in the morning, by the time I was leaving there would be a few people out using the trails. Can’t blame them, it’s a good area to go. Just not what I want to be around during a pandemic. I always took a face mask and would cover up when I was using the trails to get back to the car. Still had people seeing me and wanting to ask questions about what I was doing. I get that you don’t see that everyday, just hoping I can find more secluded places to go film. One of my last trips out I also switched up spots to one you couldn’t see off the trail. That helped a lot with cutting down on random people yelling “oh look a photographer, hello hello hello” (seriously… why?)

Also it was better for the audio at a different spot. The one I had been using was right next to falling water. That did help cover up any sound I was making getting set up. But made the audio unusable in the final video cut.

I’d also mention some challenges I faced with the actual filming process. I started out with the 70-200 lens, turns out that really isn’t close enough to get the kind of footage I find interesting. Nice clean close up images of the wildlife. Even with the extender on it just wasn’t cutting it. For this location anyway. Although I had a nice spot with fairly open view for when a bird would take off into the sky, it’s at a distance. Quite a distance.

My only frame of reference would be a football field. Not that I ever spent time on one, but I have walked the length of one before. Between 2-300 feet easy. It was hard to capture that kind of reference in a wide shot to use as B-roll. Wasn’t able to get a good angle that could really show the whole scene at this place. But anyone who has done this kind of thing before, or anyone who has used a depth of field calculator, knows how shooting at such a distance creates a few difficulties.

Firstly, when you’re that far zoomed in even the slightest movement shakes the hell out of the lens. When I fully zoomed in and cropped in body for the 120fps shots, I would press record from the phone app and freeze entirely until I thought I got enough of the shot. I noticed my footsteps were enough to give a little shake. Also as I mentioned this was a drawback of the 70-200 I own, no image stabilization.

Fixed that problem by spending more money on the 100-400 with IS. Much much nicer footage comes out of that, so much more reach and that stabilizer makes it nice and smooth.

For photography I know I want to get a nice fast lens, hence the F2.8 on the 70-200. But honestly when I’m shooting video I need as much depth of field as I can get. Because it’s at such a distance from myself to the subject, the depth of field becomes so shallow, and you absolutely have to manual focus. Autofocus is out of the question. I did make this easier after the first few weeks out shooting, by getting a follow focus ring. Nothing fancy, but it helps a lot.

Another thing I had trouble with was heat distortion. We’re in the full heat of summer now, so even though it’ll be cool when I go out at sunrise as I’m out there shooting it’s a race against the heat and how long I can stay out. I never had too much of a problem, I stay in the shade and drink plenty of water. But I didn’t realize the distortion that affects the image quality. Never had to deal with that before.

Nothing I can do anything about unfortunately, I scoured the internet to see if there were any plugins or VFX tips I could edit the videos to help even that out. But no, nothing really. I was stabilizing the footage in post anyway and that helped a little bit. That’s gonna be something I always have when I shoot over a decent size body of water, just how science is.

I think that’s about all I have to cover on the actual shooting process. It’s similar to going out and shooting still images, just requires a lot more gear.

Jumping headfirst into videography - June - July 2020

Because why would I ever do anything one step at a time? It’s been that way for every other step of this entire journey into photography.

Quick note, this post is going to be almost entirely behind the scenes talking about purchases and the equipment I purchased for this new area I explore.

So as I briefly touched on in a previous post, towards the middle of May, I took the extra money I had been setting aside from unemployment benefits and invested in some new equipment. This time specifically for video. I had been doing my research for a while, and I knew more or less what I would need and more importantly what I could afford.

I was making lists over and over, comparing products and prices. I knew it became trouble when I was keeping myself awake doing it. Watching countless videos of reviews and filmmakers comparing products. Once I knew financially I was secured, thanks to the additional income I was receiving and the stimulus check. Which technically I did stimulate one specific part of the economy for videography equipment sellers. I didn’t think about it too hard and dwell like I usually do.

I made my decision and I made the leap. After several discussions with my significant other who helps keep me grounded with big purchases. I placed the orders on Amazon and about a week later after everything arrived I made just about a four thousand dollar payment to a credit card.

Got some good reward points out of it. Which purchased even more equipment I would need. But more on that later.

I knew the camera would be the biggest part of the purchase. Yes technically my DSLR could do video, but that’s not a video camera. So it would be okay but not great. And as the title of this post and my history suggests, I rarely go into a new venture half cocked. Always Full Cock.

I decided on BlackMagic Design, as they were the most affordable to get into and I read plenty good stuff online. Also a huge part of this was finding a camera that uses EF mount. Or having to get an adapter. Not the end of the world but if I can skip that extra cost all the better. The BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k was the end result. And even for a few quirks I’ve been learning to overcome, really happy with this purchase.

Some other things I would need then become rig building. Have to find a way to attach everything to the body and keep it stable. So a cage would be the next thing, followed by a handle so I can carry it.

I knew already from online research that the camera absolutely destroys LPE6 batteries like my DSLR’s use. So that was never an option I considered. From the get go I knew I needed something bigger. A V Mount battery. Which would need somewhere to v mount onto, so a plate for it was added to the cart.

Double checking to see what cables come with the plate, ordering more cables. Can’t forget to get a charger for the battery. Sold separately of course and more than I would have guessed for a battery charger.

Moving on to how you connect one thing to the other. Rails. And a tripod mount with the proper connections. It’s at this point that I realize pictures would be really helpful to show what I’m talking about. So earmark that for the future, I’ll do a full breakdown of the camera rig and what I’m currently using. Just as an overview for now, here’s a picture I took of one of the first times I got everything attached.

Cluttered table aside, this was just taken to show a sibling real quick what I was working on. So you get the idea of where I was going.

Using the 70-200mm F2.8 I already owned, other things to mention would be the shotgun mic and audio recorder. Decided I wanted more control over the entire audio experience instead of just plugging it directly into the camera.

Mattebox, the flaps on the front is apparently quite a debated topic. While providing little use and mostly just to look professional. I’ve found a way better purpose for mine in the final build I’m using. It helps balance out the back weight real well. Which I even got some weights to put on the back because the lens was so fucking heavy. In the end, balance is extremely important.

So, a brief overview of the camera rig like I said. Since this point it has changed more, like for instance I needed a way to record without having to actually touch the button. A drawback to this camera is not being able to add the standard attachment for a remote button like their other models have. Didn’t know this going in, probably wouldn’t have changed my decision anyway but I know what I want in my next upgrade… Many years from now.

Workaround for this is an old phone with a bluetooth app. If I’m shooting high frame rate at a long distance where the slightest bump causes awful shaking of the video I pop the phone off and hit the button without touching the actual camera. It works.

Also the lens was another thing that unfortunately had to be upgraded. Pretty fucking pricey upgrade. But for what I was doing, I needed reach and more importantly Image Stabilization. So just before my birthday in June I bit another bullet for a cost and got a 100-400mm F4-5.6L IS II.

Solved my problem of not being able to zoom in enough, also got much better footage without it being so shakey when you’re that zoomed in. Did cost $1600. Worth it.

Rig looks more like that now. Had to get a new tripod that was much more stable than the one I had been using for photography. And a fluid head that would support upwards of 30 pounds. Which from carrying this whole thing back and forth into the forest I would say 30 is about right. I’ve essentially started strength training just so I don’t get so winded when I’m lugging this stuff out there.

Another thing I’ll mention here since I didn’t put it before, almost everything I could get used I did. The camera that wasn’t an option, no used sellers. But the going price for used was like a few dollars from new. So whatever. But the first monitor I bought was used. Didn’t think anything about it, was from a company I had been getting tons of stuff from over the last few years. And everything I had was fine. But it was never electronic, always a mechanical part.

Well the monitor died JUST outside of the 30 day return window. And because it was second hand and through Amazon there’s no warranty. Out $150 for a monitor that I can’t fix. Took it all the way apart and was testing circuits on the motherboard but I’m in way over my head at that point and there’s no guides online for this specific thing. Just wound up getting another monitor, new this time and actually way better quality and price.

Surprise, I think a lot of people during the lock-downs turned to filming content and getting some of this stuff was actually harder to do than I would have guessed. I know things like webcams and headsets were hard to find as a huge portion of people transitioned to working remote. But I didn’t think entry to mid level recording equipment would be part of that. I was wrong. By June I found a much better selection on monitors that were in stock.

That about sums up the purchasing and assembling experience. I’ll talk more about the actual filming in another post as this one is getting a bit long winded.

And then expect a third post about the editing process. Which I have finally just put the finishing touches on… Well, it’s as good as it’ll get. I’ll talk more about it later but I expect to start uploading some videos this week. As a proof of concept, they work. And I’m happy enough with them to keep going. You’ll read and see more soon.

Pandemic 2020 - March to June

Going outside took a backseat for the last months, apparently not long enough of a lockdown though since cases across the country are spiking here in the last week. Maybe won’t be going back outside for the next few months either.

I did play a lot of video games during the quarantine. With the help of a couple old buddies we managed to 100% Dark Souls II and III. Might have done one as well but we needed a break and moved to Red Dead 2 Online since it went on Xbox game pass. And then I had to start working again, from home thankfully.

That period did give me a chance to catch up on the blog though. So from here on out I’ll be making posts as I create content. Backlog completed!

Now towards the end of May I did make a decision, I wanted to expand my bag of skills and create even better content. An image is great, so what’s better than just a single image? A lot of them. A whole lot of them.

I also wrote in the blog before about watching the Netflix documentaries. I searched out for several more and watched everything I could over the past few months. I decided video was the next logical challenge to tackle. And it goes hand in hand with photography.

So I made a good amount of purchases with the unemployment money I had been receiving. I’ll go over in another post all the things I’ve learned in the last month of shooting video. For now, just know something is coming. Not sure what it’ll look like yet, because rendering is killing my laptop. The next thing to upgrade will absolutely have to be a proper editing PC.

Which brings me to one of other decisions I made, I’ve started a patreon. I want to direct more of my energy and time towards this and unfortunately I’m pretty well putting as much time as I can towards this while still having to work a 40 hour a week job. I would really love to transition into more of a part time position for both. Obviously the long term goal would be great to make photography my full time career. But that’s not entirely up to me, at the least I can make the best possible effort and hope.

So what will this look like going forward? Pretty much the same. I’ll keep updating the blog and writing about what I’m doing. It may be on a delay so patreon supporters can read first or something. Haven’t entirely figured out what should be available for those who choose to support me. Thinking of offering prints, probably exclusive full size images to use as backgrounds. Prints seem really cool, until one gets damaged in the mail or something. And I would have to order them anyway, I can’t print them myself. Been there, tried that. It’s just going to be a thousand times easier to order prints from a professional.

One time I did pull the camera out was towards the beginning of June. As I’ve talked about before we usually get families of Canadian Geese living around the apartment complex each summer. I happened to look out the window at just the right time, ran to grab the camera and captured this moment.

Canon 7D Mark II w/ 300mm +1.4x - 1/800 Sec - F4 - ISO 1250

Isn’t that just the cutest? A big pile of little goslings all snuggled up to sleep.

Not another minute later and they all got woken up by the parent and waddled off together. Right time right place is all I can attribute that one too.