UNIT- 01
1. Introduction to video cameras
Kinds of Video Camera
Cameras are generally identified on the basis of their electronic make as analogue or digital or are known as per their use in Studio or field productions as Studio and field Camera. The field camera is further known as electronic news gathering or electronic field production cameras. Cameras are classified in terms of different formats also as per their make and use. There is Mini DV, DV Cam. High Definition, Digi Beta, Betacam and host of other type cameras available. All these cameras are with certain specific qualities which make them different from one another. The main types of cameras used in TV Production and or otherwise by the general consumers are as under:
1 Analogue versus Digital: All cameras regardless of their being digital or analogue type, start out with an analogue video signal. The light that is transported through the lens to the beam splitter and from there to the imaging device remains all along analogue. Even after the translation of the three RGB(RED BLUE GREEN) light beams by the CCD(charge couple device) the resulting video signal remains still analogue. But from there analogue and digital part company. In analogue camera the video signal remain analogue inside the camera and at the time of recording the video signal too. In digital camera RGB signals are digitized and processed right after leaving the CCD.
2. Studio Camera: These are heavy duty mostly pedestal mounted high quality video cameras. Mostly now high definition cameras, used mostly in production of studio News and Current Affairs, Fiction, Non-Fiction and reality shows. This set up can be taken out side studio also to cover a huge event like some sports event or an Independence Day. These cameras have high quality lenses and CCDs and are generally controlled by a remote control Video Operator in Studio CCU (camera control unit) in PCR. Particularly when transmitting live programmes two or more cameras are often needed to give greater productional flexibility several standard arrangements are widely used such as outer broadcast OB Vans can be used for live coverage from out side studio.
Single Camera
3. ENG/EFP Cameras: These cameras are usually carried by a camera operator in field, which means they are portable and can be mounted on a tripod. These cameras are easy to use and carry because of their being light weight and high quality. These type of cameras are used both for News and documentary and other event or fiction and non fiction shoots. These are called field production cameras also. The VTR comes either inbuilt with the camera or can be attached to it. Electronic News Gathering (ENG) or EFP (Electronic Field Production) camera has all operating features similar to small consumer cameras. These cameras can form a part or whole of studio set up too. These are used mostly by professionals for their powerful video audio quality. The video 3ccd makes good quality pictures.
4. Consumer Camera: The main difference between a consumer and a professional video camera is that the former comes with a restricted and limited input and out put audio video quality. When professional cameras have 3ccd and larger better quality lenses, most of the consumer camera is single ccd and low quality small size lens. Professional camcorders have better audio system the same cannot be observed in a low end consumer camera. Professional cameras have liberty to use manual conventional operating methods whiles these are not provided with same liberty in consumer camera. Professional cameras come with larger batteries which last for long shooting time. Zoom and focus control is very smooth in pro camcorders as compared to consumer.
4. Prosumer Camera: These cameras are basically fitted with certain professional features such as 3CCD and good quality zoom lens with a wide angle mount. These can be used in News coverage and covering important events and documenting a feature or a soft story for TV.
2. Parts of video camera and their functions
Functions of TV Camera
A TV camera contains an electronic image sensor rather than a photographic film. The lens focuses an image on an electronic CCD chip. A camera has electronic circuitry, which generates color, and sync pulses. Most of the portable cameras are equipped with full complement of audio circuitry e.g microphone, audio amplifier and additional audio electronics. In order to obtain better quality images a professional camera has three CCD one for each basic color. Most professional cameras have a gen lock input which allows the camera to be synchronized to an external source. Some cameras also include basic character generators for titling purposes. Let us take a look at the main features of the camera
• The lens system which projects a small image of the scene on to the cameras pick- up device.
The light sensitive pick up device converts the lens image into a corresponding video signal. An increasing number of video cameras use a solid state CCD (charge coupled device) or an CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) chip in less expensive cameras.
• Its view finder which displays what the lens sees and enables the cameraman to asses the picture.
• The way your camera is supported
• The cameras power supplies.
• The microphone which is often attached for general sound picks up on portable cameras.
• The supplementary controls which affect picture quality.
The most camera operation is as under:
Zoom: This is the function which moves your point of view closer to or farther away from the subject. The effect is similar to moving the camera closer or farther away, without moving the camera. Two most common Zoom mechanisms are available.
• Manual zoom(ring)
• Servo zoom lever.
Focus: Auto focus is strictly amateurs unlike still photography there is no way auto focus cat meet the needs of a serious video camera operator. Many people find manual focus difficult but if you want to be any good at all good focus control is essential. The most common manual focus mechanism is a ring at the front of the lens housing. Turn the ring clockwise for closer focus anti clockwise for more distant focus.
Lens: The lens selects a part of the visible environment and produces a small optical image of it. In a still or movie camera the said image is then projected onto film; in digital still camera and video or TV camera it is projected on to imaging device. Lens can be with fast and slow speed. The lens speed depicts to what amount a lens can pass light and not with how much speed it can do so. Fast lens passes greater amount of light than a slower one.
The Iris: A light controlling device in camera decides how much light is needed to pass on through the lens. The mechanism resembles a human eye. It is called lens diaphragm also. This iris consists of a series of metal blades that form a fairly round hole which opens and closes with the movement of a ring called iris ring. It creates a round hole through which the light enters camera.
The Aperture: The hole that is created by moving the iris ring is called aperture. It has a minimum and maximum opening and closing size. When it is opened to full we call it maximum aperture and when it is closed to full we call that minimum aperture. At maximum aperture that is setting lens at a maximum aperture it admits maximum amount of light with the closing of the lens the metal blades of the iris form a small hole and with its opening form a comparatively bigger hole, varying the amount of light to pass.
The f-Stop: The standard scale that indicates as to how much light goes through the lens, regardless of the lens type, is the f-stop. For example in camcorder of two different size lenses on the f-stop scale will let same amount of light at similar f-stop to go through the different lens type. F-stops come in a series of somewhere between f/1.4 to f-16. The lowest f-stop that is f-number1.4 lets in the most amount of light as compared to minimum f-number 16. If we close lens at number “c” no light will pass and camera will be closed.
Frame Rate: This indicates the frame speed or rate at which you allow camera to open and close to take a single picture frame. It has got much to do with the science of persistence of vision. The video standard frame rate in pal system is 25-30 frames per second for a balanced persistent picture. By varying this speed rate you can either enhance or slow the movement at which the picture moves in the shot. An enhanced frame rate will slow the motion in the picture and slowing down the rate will fasten the movement. That means recording at a 40 frames per second can slow the motion and 16 frames per second can make the action much faster.
In this day and age of constantly changing gear and technology, there’s a growing set of vocabulary that we video creators are all expected to learn. With so much jargon being thrown around, it can be easy to forget certain concepts or confuse them for other ones. A prime example of this is demonstrated by the confusion between frame rates and shutter speeds. Let’s taken a minute to clarify.
Now let's recap: Although frame rate and shutter speed are related, they are completely separate concepts.
Frame rate refers to the number of individual frames that comprise each second of video you record, also known as FPS (frames per second.) The most common frame rates in video are 24, 25 and 30 frames per second.
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time that each individual frame is exposed for. In video, the shutter speed you use will almost always be a fraction of a second. The number used in setting a camera’s shutter speed refers to the denominator of that fraction of a second. For example, if you set your camera’s shutter speed to 60, that means that each frame is being exposed for 1/60th of a second.
People often make the mistake of equating frame rate with shutter speed. In other words, some people determine that if they are shooting with a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, that they are in turn shooting 100 frames per second. This is not the case. Depending on the camera you are using and the frame rate you have selected, you are probably shooting at either 24, 25 or 30 frames per second and exposing each individual frame for 1/100th of a second.
The shutter speed you choose can have a very noticeable effect on the style of your video, particularly when it comes to motion. A fast shutter speed such as 1/400th of a second will produce a series of crisp frames that have a choppy look when played back. A slow shutter speed such as 1/30th of a second, on the other hand, will produce a series of slightly blurred frames that have a smoother look when played back. As a rule of thumb, you want the denominator of your shutter speed to be approximately double the number of frames per second that you are recording. In other words, if you are recording at 30 frames per second, you want your shutter speed to be 1/60th of a second.
White balance: White balance means color balance. It is a function, which tells about the camera what each color should look like by giving it a “true white” reference. If the camera knows what white looks like and then it will know what all other colors look like. Thus camera can give you right balanced color view. Although almost all cameras come with auto white balance and it works well too but in some conditions the auto white will not give good results. Incorrect white balance can cause distortion in color and hue saturation to a damaging effect.
Beam Splitter: The beam splitter through its various prisms and filters separate white light that passes through the camera lens into three beams- usually referred to as RGB (Red Blue Green) these three primary colors are then electronically mixed into many colors we see on the TV. Consumer camera have single CCD and professional cameras have 3 CCD one each for RGB.
Imaging Device: Once the white light that enters the lens is divided into primary colors each light beam is transformed into electrical signal. The principle electronic component that covert light into electrical signal is called imaging device. This imaging or pick-up device consists of small solid state device (about the size of a button on a standard telephone) is normally called a chip or technically speaking a charge coupled device (CCD). A CCD normally contains hundreds of thousands or for a high quality CCD, millions of image sensing elements called pixels (pix+els = picture elements) that are arranged in horizontal and vertical rows. These pixels are again reconverted into picture on view finder or a TV screen. The more pixels the imaging device contains, the higher the resolution of the video image will be. Pixels function much like tiles that make up a complete mosaic image. Relatively more mosaic tiles will form a sharp image and lesser tiles will contain little picture detail. Each pixel is a discrete image element that transforms its color and brightness information into a specific electric charge. The electric charge from all pixels eventually becomes the video signal for primary three colors. These RGB signals make the chrominance (color) information or the C signal the luminance or the black and white information is provided by the Y signal.
View finder: Camera has got a view finder which depicts the seen or the field of view as seen by the camera. It is at the back of camera and you can view the shot falling into the field or view of the lens. It gives you the actual picture to be shot by the camera. The electronic viewfinder or optical viewfinder (in case of film camera) is a component to see the field of view. An EVF in video camera has a cathode ray tube (CRT) similar to that as used in TV sets, in camcorders a miniature CRT is used, it acts as a picture writer on the screen of TV or viewfinder and LCD (liquid crystal display).The important operation features and indicators giving a variety of information and warnings ---small meters, liquid crystal panels, indicator lights, switch markings. Most of the indicators are on the body of the camera, but because of your concentration on the viewfinder during shooting of scene these indicators appear on the viewfinder screen. Viewfinder indicator can include the fallowing indications:
• Tally light to tell you are on air or the tape is running.
• Low battery warning
• Minutes of tape remaining
• Color balancing status
• Low light or exposure status
• Indoor/outdoor filter in place
• Zoom lens setting indication, how much further you can stretch it
• Auto/Manual Iris status
• F-stop setting
• Shutter speed setting
• Audio level meter
• Tape footage counter
• A zebra pattern for setting maximum video levels
• Superimposed masks for safe area and 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios
• Camera warm up warnings and diagnostics.
Audio Circuits: Most portable video cameras are fitted with a microphone intended for general program sound pick-up. It may be a built in or a removable.
A foam sponge or cloth wind shield/wind gag cover over the mike reduces low pitched wind rumbles. To position the microphone more effectively, it can some times be attached to a telescopic “Boom” which can extend its reach out in front of camera.
The sound pick-up can be mono or stereo. You should continuously asses the sound quality being recorded and balance background etc.
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Camera comes with a host of other feature such as operational switch, the servo and manual zoom, white balance knob, ND filter to change the amount of light without changing the color of the scene, different video effect features such as wipe, fade, mosaic, push. And host of other features. Camera has on frontal camera mike and one to two external audio input jacks. Some cameras come with inbuilt VTR and some come with separate VTR.
3. Camera Movement and Equipment: It is better to mount your camera on some support to avoid shakes jerks and unnecessary uncanny and jerky shots. Even otherwise also not just heavy weight camera only but smaller camera also, if used continuously shoulder held can cause you discomfort fatigue and displeasure in shoot. Unless unavoidable and very necessary it is always advisable to use camera mount for support to shoot a smooth and fine quality video. There are basic camera mounts for achieving the desired movement and precision in your shooting.
The most common camera mounts are tripod, the tripod dolly, and the studio pedestal. The more elaborate camera mounts are jib arms, studio cranes, monopod, stabilizer, body mounts and robotic devices, big cranes etc. You can hold camera in hand (lightweight domestic use camera) and hold it on to your shoulder too.
Hand held or shoulder mounted camera: You can lift and lower a camera in your hand tilt it up and down swing it around walk or run shooting with it. But you still need a tripod because you will be able to operate camera for a longer time on tripod. However, today’s professionals can hold cameras on shoulder or in hand for longer time and shoot steadily by using certain new support gadgets.
The Fundamentals of
Camera Movement
Video camera movement is used for many purposes. It may be used to make an object appear to be bigger or smaller.
It may be used to make things blurred, scary, or just different. Camera movement techniques are often used, however, to tell a story.
Learning camera movement fundamentals isn't hard. The various camera movement techniques are done either with a mounted camera, a moving camera - where the camera and the photographer move together, or movement of just the camera lens.
Practicing the various camera movement fundamentals will help you learn which camera movement techniques work best for you.
Technique 1: Mounted Camera Pan
Mounting the camera on a tripod, simply move the camera horizontally from left to right. Pan shots are used to show the viewer more of the scenery. This technique is also often used to show views from high places, such as overlooks. Pan shots should begin with a still shot, then pan, then finish with a still shot. You should practice panning at various speeds until you find the speed that works best for you.
Technique 2: Mounted Camera Tilt
A tilt done with a mounted camera is quite simple. You just move the camera up or down, without lowering or raising the position of the camera. This is must like panning, only it is done vertically. This video camera technique is used to follow the subject that you are photographing, or to show the viewer a large object from top of bottom - or from bottom to top.
You should note that when you tilt from bottom to top, the object looks larger or thicker. When you tilt from top to bottom, the object looks smaller or thinner. As with panning, you should begin with a still shot, tilt, then stop on a still shot. Again, practice this technique at various speeds until you find what works for you.
Technique 3: Mounted Camera Pedestal
This video camera technique is pretty much the opposite of the tilt technique. You do not tilt the camera, but you either raise or lower the position of the camera. This technique is simply used to get the proper view that you are looking for.
If you wanted to shot pictures of a baby, you would want to lower the camera. If you wanted to shot a tall person, you would raise the height of the camera. The purpose would be to make it appear that the subject is 'eye to eye' with the viewer.
Technique 4: Moving Camera Dolly
This video camera movement technique involves the use of a camera dolly, like the camera dolly's you might see on a movie set. You can make your own dolly with a wheelchair, a scooter, a skateboard, a rolling cart, or many other devices that have wheels.
This video camera movement technique is used to follow your subject. The use of a dolly opens up many possibilities, especially when used in conjunction with other techniques. Remember that you will want to be able to roll backwards as well as forward. Practice using this technique, and once you have it down, try mixing it with other techniques.
Technique 5: Moving Camera Floating Stabilizer
Floating stabilizer devices are used to follow a subject around twists and turns. The stabilizer is strapped to the photographer, and the camera is mounted to the stabilizer with metal jointed which are controlled by gyroscopes.
This video camera movement technique is a step up from the dolly technique. The movement of a dolly is limited, floating stabilizer devices remove those limitations. As with the dolly technique, you should learn the video camera movement fundamentals of this technique, then try mixing it with other techniques to get different effects.
Technique 6: Moving Camera Boom
A camera boom is a smaller version of the cranes that are used for construction. A camera boom is used to get a view of subjects or scenes from above. These are commonly used in filming movies, and the boom moves up, down, and around.
Technique 7: Moving Camera Handheld
Using this technique, the photographer simply holds the video camera, and moves wherever, and however, he needs to move to get the shot that he wants. When using this technique, you should avoid using the zoom feature on your camera. Zooming while using the handheld technique will make your shot appear to be shaky. Instead of zooming, move closer to the object you are shooting.
Technique 8: Camera Lens Zoom
You can get many different effects when using the zoom feature on your camera. This works well when combined with other video camera movement techniques. You should practice zooming at different speeds, as different situations will call for different speeds of zooming.
Zooming can create many different illusions, which can effect the viewers perception of size and distance. Alternately, zooming can be used to more adequately portray the size or distance to a viewer. It is recommended that you use a tripod when using the zoom technique.
Technique 9: Camera Lens Rack Focus
This is an interesting video camera movement technique, which can give your shots more impact. This technique calls for focusing the camera on one object in a close up shot, causing everything in the background to be out of focus, then causing the object itself to become out of focus while the background becomes in focus.
This is done by changing the focal length so that one object will go out of focus while another comes into focus. The two objects must be at a correct distance away from each other for this technique to work, and you will want to use a tripod for this type of shot.
Conclusion
Learn how to use all of the features on your camera, then combine the use of those features with different movements to get the most out of your shots. Video camera movement techniques can really spice up your home movies, and give them the style and flair that you see in Hollywood movies!
4.Lens Functions and Types:
“Never make a mistake of thinking that Lens is a mere accessory to the camera. Lens has the primary role in shaping the image and giving it critical performance attributes that, in turn will determine ultimate performance of your camera”
Lens System:
1. Prime Lens: Prime lens have a fixed focal length, that is there focal length or scene coverage cannot be varied. It is particularly useful when:
• The highest optical quality is required
• Creating a special effect such as an extremely wide angle or fish eye lens view.
• Shooting in low-light situations because of obtaining quality image in low light conditions.
Because its focal length is fixed, the prime lens can cover only specific angle of view according to which it is designed. Such as a wide angle or a narrow angle and normal angle lens. Its focal length cannot be changed. You can change the lens angle only after changing the lens.
2. Zoom Lens: Most Studio camera come with the familiar zoom lens system, which very flexible production tool. A zoom lens system has great advantage over the fixed lens system. Its focal length is adjustable. You can change the coverage of the scene simply by turning the manual zoom ring wide or tight or by operating the servo button. The operation gives the subjective impression that the camera is nearer or farther from the subject thus modifying the apparent perspective. The zoom lens can act according to the given focal length as wide, normal or a close angle lens.
Lens Control: There are three separate lens adjustments that can be controlled manually or semi-automatically.
• Focus: Adjusting the distance at which the image is sharpest.
• f-stop : Adjusting a variable iris diaphragm in side the lens system.
• Zoom : Altering the focal length according to the size of the scene the shot covers.
These lens controls will have the fallowing effects. 1. How sharp the detail in the image will be determined by focusing.2. The depth of field will depend on the selection of the right exposure f-stop. 3 How much the scene appears in the shot (focal length/ angle of view) will be determined by the lens angle selection.4. The distance and the brightness and clarity etc will come by the collective features applied of the above three.
Focal length: The distance between the optical center of the lens and the image sensor (CCD or CMOS, charge couple device / or Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, which is a low-power, low-heat semiconductor technology used in contemporary camera, computers etc) in camera when focused at a great distance such as infinity. Focal length is simply an optical measurement and is generally measured in millimeters (mm). In a Prime lens, the focal length is fixed and in a zoom lens it is adjustable within limits. How much of the scene and a subject the camera will show will depend on several factors.
• The size of the subject.
• The distance between the camera/lens and the subject.
• The focal length of the camera being used.
• The size of the camera’s image sensor (CCD or CMOS) 2/3, 1/2 inch is used.
Some times shooting with a telephoto or zoom lens we go close to a distant subject without readjusting the distance in camera and the subject. The increased focal length can shallow the depth of field and while the subject may look twice as bigger as looked before, the shot may have excluded important scenic details you would require with the close short. Only half the previous overall height and width is now shown. And if you would have changed the shot to more wider angle the things in the scene would appear more far away and only half as big as before. Thus a long focal length (telephoto lens) covers only a narrow segment of the scene and shows a correspondingly larger image or the subject and a narrow focal length (Wide angle Lens) gives you a wide view of the scene but subject appear quite small and far away.
Using Lens Angle : Lens angles have a distinct impact on the final image. There are three basic types of angles normal, telephoto and wide angle.
Normal lens angle: A normal lens angle gives you a view point that is very close to what is seen by the normal human eye. It has very little distortion.
Telephoto or Narrow-angle Lens: It is designed to have long focal length. The subject appears much closer than normal lens angle. You can see only smaller part of a scene. Depth and distance look unnaturally compressed in the shot.
It has got the fallowing major advantages.
• You can bring a subject close to your view without moving the camera.
• Your time in moving the camera is saved.
• You can shoot close a subject which otherwise is beyond your reach.
Disadvantages of the narrow angle shot are
• Depth can look unnaturally compressed
• Distant subject look much closer and larger than actual.
• The length and the width shrink.
• Camera handling becomes increasingly more difficult because any movement in the subject can alter the focus and the depth of field thus distorts the entire shot.
• Light diffractions are often caused which create overall shimmer that distorts the picture.
• In hot weather close shots taken by telephoto or narrow angle lens can cause haze and thus distort the picture.
Wide Angle Lens: A wide angle lens has a short focal length that includes correspondingly more of the scene. However subjects look smaller in size and look too far away.
A wide angle can exaggerate perspective. Depth and space are over emphasized. Subject in the image look further away than they really are, any one approaching or walking away from a wide angle lens seems to be moving much more quickly than normal. This distinction can be used to ones advantage while shooting for some drama or special subject interest. Even small room can look very spacious while shooting with a wide angle. Never use wide angle lens for close shot of geometrical subjects such as pages of print, graph paper, or sheet music.
Fast Lens: Fast lens allows more light to enter camera and is used in low light conditions or certain deliberate effects.
Slow lens: Allows lesser amount of light enter the camera can be used to diminish the impact of intense light.
Assignment for self test
1. Briefly explain video camera functions
2. What are camera mounts and movements?
3. Write short notes on
a) Lens System
b) Image sensor
c) Viewfinder
d) Depth of field and focal length
4. Briefly explain parts of video camera.
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The Camera
We're well on our way to the world of fully automatic "point and shoot" television cameras. Smart cameras are great most of the time and they certainly cut down on the common mistakes most people (even pros) make from time to time. When automatic operation doesn't work, though, the results can be pretty bad. Knowing what the conditions were that fooled your "smart" camera will help you to know when to turn these features off and do it the old-fashioned way. But before you do, you need to know what cameras do and how they work.
The television camera changes light into an electronic signal that can be stored (using video tape, optical disks, or computer memory, transmitted, and displayed on a television receiver or monitor. Television cameras are probably easier to operate well than film or still cameras because you can watch and control the camera output as you record. There are few electronic controls, and the manual controls on the lens will be familiar to anyone who has used a good still or motion picture camera. Since video cameras can, as a rule, produce sharper, clearer pictures than the recording media they were designed to work with, the quality of your camera is seldom an excuse for fuzzy pictures. Understanding how to use the camera correctly will help you avoid poor results.
Lens Controls
The modern television lens has three controls: iris, focus, and zoom. On a fully automatic camera you may not have to adjust the focus or iris except under unusual conditions, but you should know what's going on so you can use manual settings with confidence.
Iris
The ring closest to the camera body controls the amount of light passing through the lens to the light-sensitive surface of the pickup tube or chip. It is called the iris, aperture, or f-stop control and is marked off in f-numbers. The lowest f-stop lets in the most light, and the highest f-stop lets in the least. Some lenses even have a "C" setting after the highest f-stop which means the lens is completely closed, letting no light through at all.
More light------------- Less light
1 1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22 32
STANDARD F-NUMBERS
Composition and Camera Movement
Composition
Composition exists in a context. That context is the frame, which is itself an element of picture composition. In 1894 Thomas Edison introduced the Kinetoscope motion picture format, with an aspect ratio (ratio of picture width to height) of four units wide to three units high, or 1.33 to 1. For the next fifty years most film used the 1.33 aspect ratio. Sixteen millimeter, eight and “super eight” millimeter film formats and NTSC, PAL, and SECAM television standards all share the 1.33 ratio.
4 x 3 or 1.33 Aspect Ratio
From an optical standpoint, the most efficient rectangular format would be square, since it would use as much of the lens area as possible. So why don’t we have square pictures?
Artists and mathematicians from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians have focused on the “golden rectangle” as the perfect shape. The aspect ratio of the golden rectangle is 1.618. One might presume (although I’ve found no evidence so far) that the 1.33 aspect ratio is a compromise between the most efficient ratio and the most esthetically pleasing.
Over the years a number of standard sizes with different aspect ratios became popular. The 8x10 photograph (1.25), the 4x6 photograph (1.5), and the 35mm slide (1.5) are a few examples. Film evolved, too. Cinerama (2.5 - 3.0), Cinemascope (2.55), and Panavision (1.78 – 2.4) are a few standards among many. High definition television has an aspect ratio of 16 by 9, or 1.78. The shape of the frame is the first consideration in composition.
16 x 9 or 1.78 Aspect Ratio
Ideally, every shot in a television program should be composed as carefully as a still photograph. While this is not often possible, some general rules of composition should be kept in mind.
The face of the typical television screen has been surrounded by a frame called a shadow mask, which hides about five per cent of the picture.. The composition of the same image will be different with and without the shadow mask. The presence of the shadow mask has always caused a problem for films transferred to video because they were generally composed to be shown “edge to edge.” Now the same problem occurs when images are composed using a digital (LCD) monitor without taking the shadow mask into consideration.
The red border around the frame represents the shadow mask. It is unlikely the viewer will see anything in this area. The gold and green areas combined are referred to as the safe action area. Anything that takes place here is likely to be visible to the viewer. The green area is known as the safe title area. It is virtually certain that any text in the green area will be visible to the viewer.
Notice the difference in "head room" in the pictures below this text. If you are using a camera with a monitor that shows the entire picture, be sure to allow for the shadow mask when you are composing your shots. Some viewfinders have "safe area" masks or lines to help you.
Unless your subject is perfectly symmetrical, the screen should never be divided exactly in half by strong horizontal or vertical lines. Instead, it should be divided approximately into thirds. For example, the horizon (if you're shooting a corn field) should be either a third of the way from the bottom of the screen or a third of the way from the top. With the exception of titles, composition should not be perfectly symmetrical, but should rather balance positive and negative (filled and empty) space.
When framing people, there are several additional concerns. By placing someone too high or too low in the frame, the individual can be made to seem taller or shorter than he actually is. The tendency is to place people too low.
When shooting a profile (side view) of a person, it's important to allow empty space in the direction the subject is looking. This extra space is called "nose room."
Nose room applies not only to people, but to anyone or anything pointing or moving. There should be relatively more empty space in the direction of the pointing or movement.
The kind of framing a writer or director wants is usually described in terms of wide, medium, or close-up.
A close-up is used to isolate the most important part of the subject. For a speaker, this is generally the head. For an entire football team, a close-up might be a shot of the quarterback only.
An extreme close-up focuses on one important detail of the subject, perhaps the mouth alone, or just the eyes, if the subject is a person. The object is to focus on important detail either to increase the drama or impact on a situation or to allow the viewer to see necessary picture information more clearly.
In shooting a group of people, we have a few special terms. A "one shot" is a medium shot of a single person. A "two shot," would still be a medium shot, but the "subject" is made up of two people and the shot is framed tightly around those two. We also use terms such as "head shot," "head and shoulders shot," and "waist-up shot."
Camera Movement
In the age of hand-held camcorders it must seem odd that there's an elaborate vocabulary describing how a camera can be moved. If you can do it, the industry has a technical term for it.
Pan
Tilt
The two camera movements you use routinely are the "pan" and "tilt." A pan is a turning of the camera to the left or right. A tilt involves tilting the camera up or down.
Pedestal Up
The stand for a heavy studio television or film camera is called a "pedestal." That's why the term for raising the camera is "pedestal up," and the term for lowering the camera is "pedestal down." These terms have nothing to do with adjustments to the "pedestal," or setup of the black level of the picture, which is an electronic adjustment, not a camera movement.
Truck Right
In moving a camera from side to side you "truck right" or "truck left." To move the camera closer to the subject, you "dolly in." To move it farther away you "dolly out." Of course, whenever the camera-to-subject distance changes, the focus must be adjusted.
Dolly In
Purists will point out that dolly shots (in or out) are fundamentally different in effect from zooming in or out. They're right. But professionals will go to extreme lengths to get a smooth dolly shot, to the point of laying special tracks to roll the dolly on. People with more modest means have mounted cameras on bicycles, shopping carts and, of course, cars to get their dolly shots.
Finally, in situations where important parts of a scene are not the same distance from the camera, it's possible to change the emphasis of a shot from one part of the scene to another by changing focus alone.. The instruction to do this is "rack" focus "in" or "out" for a particular object in a scene. "Rack focus into the cup on the table," would be an example. Such instructions are rarely used and are generally given for artistic effect.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TEXT SENT TO YOU IS NOT TO BE MERELY COPIED BUT TO BE COMPLETELY COMPREHENDED AND REPRODUCED IN YOUR OWN IDEAS AND WORDS. The details given here are merely indicative and not exhaustive. So it is better to study in detail and write down your notes.
WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
Maharaj Shah
(FACULTY)
UNIT 02
VISUALIZATION
BY Maharaj Shah For Students of TV Media
1. Introduction to video cameras
Kinds of Video Camera
Cameras are generally identified on the basis of their electronic make as analogue or digital or are known as per their use in Studio or field productions as Studio and field Camera. The field camera is further known as electronic news gathering or electronic field production cameras. Cameras are classified in terms of different formats also as per their make and use. There is Mini DV, DV Cam. High Definition, Digi Beta, Betacam and host of other type cameras available. All these cameras are with certain specific qualities which make them different from one another. The main types of cameras used in TV Production and or otherwise by the general consumers are as under:
1 Analogue versus Digital: All cameras regardless of their being digital or analogue type, start out with an analogue video signal. The light that is transported through the lens to the beam splitter and from there to the imaging device remains all along analogue. Even after the translation of the three RGB(RED BLUE GREEN) light beams by the CCD(charge couple device) the resulting video signal remains still analogue. But from there analogue and digital part company. In analogue camera the video signal remain analogue inside the camera and at the time of recording the video signal too. In digital camera RGB signals are digitized and processed right after leaving the CCD.
2. Studio Camera: These are heavy duty mostly pedestal mounted high quality video cameras. Mostly now high definition cameras, used mostly in production of studio News and Current Affairs, Fiction, Non-Fiction and reality shows. This set up can be taken out side studio also to cover a huge event like some sports event or an Independence Day. These cameras have high quality lenses and CCDs and are generally controlled by a remote control Video Operator in Studio CCU (camera control unit) in PCR. Particularly when transmitting live programmes two or more cameras are often needed to give greater productional flexibility several standard arrangements are widely used such as outer broadcast OB Vans can be used for live coverage from out side studio.
Single Camera
3. ENG/EFP Cameras: These cameras are usually carried by a camera operator in field, which means they are portable and can be mounted on a tripod. These cameras are easy to use and carry because of their being light weight and high quality. These type of cameras are used both for News and documentary and other event or fiction and non fiction shoots. These are called field production cameras also. The VTR comes either inbuilt with the camera or can be attached to it. Electronic News Gathering (ENG) or EFP (Electronic Field Production) camera has all operating features similar to small consumer cameras. These cameras can form a part or whole of studio set up too. These are used mostly by professionals for their powerful video audio quality. The video 3ccd makes good quality pictures.
4. Consumer Camera: The main difference between a consumer and a professional video camera is that the former comes with a restricted and limited input and out put audio video quality. When professional cameras have 3ccd and larger better quality lenses, most of the consumer camera is single ccd and low quality small size lens. Professional camcorders have better audio system the same cannot be observed in a low end consumer camera. Professional cameras have liberty to use manual conventional operating methods whiles these are not provided with same liberty in consumer camera. Professional cameras come with larger batteries which last for long shooting time. Zoom and focus control is very smooth in pro camcorders as compared to consumer.
4. Prosumer Camera: These cameras are basically fitted with certain professional features such as 3CCD and good quality zoom lens with a wide angle mount. These can be used in News coverage and covering important events and documenting a feature or a soft story for TV.
2. Parts of video camera and their functions
Functions of TV Camera
A TV camera contains an electronic image sensor rather than a photographic film. The lens focuses an image on an electronic CCD chip. A camera has electronic circuitry, which generates color, and sync pulses. Most of the portable cameras are equipped with full complement of audio circuitry e.g microphone, audio amplifier and additional audio electronics. In order to obtain better quality images a professional camera has three CCD one for each basic color. Most professional cameras have a gen lock input which allows the camera to be synchronized to an external source. Some cameras also include basic character generators for titling purposes. Let us take a look at the main features of the camera
• The lens system which projects a small image of the scene on to the cameras pick- up device.
The light sensitive pick up device converts the lens image into a corresponding video signal. An increasing number of video cameras use a solid state CCD (charge coupled device) or an CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) chip in less expensive cameras.
• Its view finder which displays what the lens sees and enables the cameraman to asses the picture.
• The way your camera is supported
• The cameras power supplies.
• The microphone which is often attached for general sound picks up on portable cameras.
• The supplementary controls which affect picture quality.
The most camera operation is as under:
Zoom: This is the function which moves your point of view closer to or farther away from the subject. The effect is similar to moving the camera closer or farther away, without moving the camera. Two most common Zoom mechanisms are available.
• Manual zoom(ring)
• Servo zoom lever.
Focus: Auto focus is strictly amateurs unlike still photography there is no way auto focus cat meet the needs of a serious video camera operator. Many people find manual focus difficult but if you want to be any good at all good focus control is essential. The most common manual focus mechanism is a ring at the front of the lens housing. Turn the ring clockwise for closer focus anti clockwise for more distant focus.
Lens: The lens selects a part of the visible environment and produces a small optical image of it. In a still or movie camera the said image is then projected onto film; in digital still camera and video or TV camera it is projected on to imaging device. Lens can be with fast and slow speed. The lens speed depicts to what amount a lens can pass light and not with how much speed it can do so. Fast lens passes greater amount of light than a slower one.
The Iris: A light controlling device in camera decides how much light is needed to pass on through the lens. The mechanism resembles a human eye. It is called lens diaphragm also. This iris consists of a series of metal blades that form a fairly round hole which opens and closes with the movement of a ring called iris ring. It creates a round hole through which the light enters camera.
The Aperture: The hole that is created by moving the iris ring is called aperture. It has a minimum and maximum opening and closing size. When it is opened to full we call it maximum aperture and when it is closed to full we call that minimum aperture. At maximum aperture that is setting lens at a maximum aperture it admits maximum amount of light with the closing of the lens the metal blades of the iris form a small hole and with its opening form a comparatively bigger hole, varying the amount of light to pass.
The f-Stop: The standard scale that indicates as to how much light goes through the lens, regardless of the lens type, is the f-stop. For example in camcorder of two different size lenses on the f-stop scale will let same amount of light at similar f-stop to go through the different lens type. F-stops come in a series of somewhere between f/1.4 to f-16. The lowest f-stop that is f-number1.4 lets in the most amount of light as compared to minimum f-number 16. If we close lens at number “c” no light will pass and camera will be closed.
Frame Rate: This indicates the frame speed or rate at which you allow camera to open and close to take a single picture frame. It has got much to do with the science of persistence of vision. The video standard frame rate in pal system is 25-30 frames per second for a balanced persistent picture. By varying this speed rate you can either enhance or slow the movement at which the picture moves in the shot. An enhanced frame rate will slow the motion in the picture and slowing down the rate will fasten the movement. That means recording at a 40 frames per second can slow the motion and 16 frames per second can make the action much faster.
In this day and age of constantly changing gear and technology, there’s a growing set of vocabulary that we video creators are all expected to learn. With so much jargon being thrown around, it can be easy to forget certain concepts or confuse them for other ones. A prime example of this is demonstrated by the confusion between frame rates and shutter speeds. Let’s taken a minute to clarify.
Now let's recap: Although frame rate and shutter speed are related, they are completely separate concepts.
Frame rate refers to the number of individual frames that comprise each second of video you record, also known as FPS (frames per second.) The most common frame rates in video are 24, 25 and 30 frames per second.
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time that each individual frame is exposed for. In video, the shutter speed you use will almost always be a fraction of a second. The number used in setting a camera’s shutter speed refers to the denominator of that fraction of a second. For example, if you set your camera’s shutter speed to 60, that means that each frame is being exposed for 1/60th of a second.
People often make the mistake of equating frame rate with shutter speed. In other words, some people determine that if they are shooting with a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, that they are in turn shooting 100 frames per second. This is not the case. Depending on the camera you are using and the frame rate you have selected, you are probably shooting at either 24, 25 or 30 frames per second and exposing each individual frame for 1/100th of a second.
The shutter speed you choose can have a very noticeable effect on the style of your video, particularly when it comes to motion. A fast shutter speed such as 1/400th of a second will produce a series of crisp frames that have a choppy look when played back. A slow shutter speed such as 1/30th of a second, on the other hand, will produce a series of slightly blurred frames that have a smoother look when played back. As a rule of thumb, you want the denominator of your shutter speed to be approximately double the number of frames per second that you are recording. In other words, if you are recording at 30 frames per second, you want your shutter speed to be 1/60th of a second.
White balance: White balance means color balance. It is a function, which tells about the camera what each color should look like by giving it a “true white” reference. If the camera knows what white looks like and then it will know what all other colors look like. Thus camera can give you right balanced color view. Although almost all cameras come with auto white balance and it works well too but in some conditions the auto white will not give good results. Incorrect white balance can cause distortion in color and hue saturation to a damaging effect.
Beam Splitter: The beam splitter through its various prisms and filters separate white light that passes through the camera lens into three beams- usually referred to as RGB (Red Blue Green) these three primary colors are then electronically mixed into many colors we see on the TV. Consumer camera have single CCD and professional cameras have 3 CCD one each for RGB.
Imaging Device: Once the white light that enters the lens is divided into primary colors each light beam is transformed into electrical signal. The principle electronic component that covert light into electrical signal is called imaging device. This imaging or pick-up device consists of small solid state device (about the size of a button on a standard telephone) is normally called a chip or technically speaking a charge coupled device (CCD). A CCD normally contains hundreds of thousands or for a high quality CCD, millions of image sensing elements called pixels (pix+els = picture elements) that are arranged in horizontal and vertical rows. These pixels are again reconverted into picture on view finder or a TV screen. The more pixels the imaging device contains, the higher the resolution of the video image will be. Pixels function much like tiles that make up a complete mosaic image. Relatively more mosaic tiles will form a sharp image and lesser tiles will contain little picture detail. Each pixel is a discrete image element that transforms its color and brightness information into a specific electric charge. The electric charge from all pixels eventually becomes the video signal for primary three colors. These RGB signals make the chrominance (color) information or the C signal the luminance or the black and white information is provided by the Y signal.
View finder: Camera has got a view finder which depicts the seen or the field of view as seen by the camera. It is at the back of camera and you can view the shot falling into the field or view of the lens. It gives you the actual picture to be shot by the camera. The electronic viewfinder or optical viewfinder (in case of film camera) is a component to see the field of view. An EVF in video camera has a cathode ray tube (CRT) similar to that as used in TV sets, in camcorders a miniature CRT is used, it acts as a picture writer on the screen of TV or viewfinder and LCD (liquid crystal display).The important operation features and indicators giving a variety of information and warnings ---small meters, liquid crystal panels, indicator lights, switch markings. Most of the indicators are on the body of the camera, but because of your concentration on the viewfinder during shooting of scene these indicators appear on the viewfinder screen. Viewfinder indicator can include the fallowing indications:
• Tally light to tell you are on air or the tape is running.
• Low battery warning
• Minutes of tape remaining
• Color balancing status
• Low light or exposure status
• Indoor/outdoor filter in place
• Zoom lens setting indication, how much further you can stretch it
• Auto/Manual Iris status
• F-stop setting
• Shutter speed setting
• Audio level meter
• Tape footage counter
• A zebra pattern for setting maximum video levels
• Superimposed masks for safe area and 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios
• Camera warm up warnings and diagnostics.
Audio Circuits: Most portable video cameras are fitted with a microphone intended for general program sound pick-up. It may be a built in or a removable.
A foam sponge or cloth wind shield/wind gag cover over the mike reduces low pitched wind rumbles. To position the microphone more effectively, it can some times be attached to a telescopic “Boom” which can extend its reach out in front of camera.
The sound pick-up can be mono or stereo. You should continuously asses the sound quality being recorded and balance background etc.
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Camera comes with a host of other feature such as operational switch, the servo and manual zoom, white balance knob, ND filter to change the amount of light without changing the color of the scene, different video effect features such as wipe, fade, mosaic, push. And host of other features. Camera has on frontal camera mike and one to two external audio input jacks. Some cameras come with inbuilt VTR and some come with separate VTR.
3. Camera Movement and Equipment: It is better to mount your camera on some support to avoid shakes jerks and unnecessary uncanny and jerky shots. Even otherwise also not just heavy weight camera only but smaller camera also, if used continuously shoulder held can cause you discomfort fatigue and displeasure in shoot. Unless unavoidable and very necessary it is always advisable to use camera mount for support to shoot a smooth and fine quality video. There are basic camera mounts for achieving the desired movement and precision in your shooting.
The most common camera mounts are tripod, the tripod dolly, and the studio pedestal. The more elaborate camera mounts are jib arms, studio cranes, monopod, stabilizer, body mounts and robotic devices, big cranes etc. You can hold camera in hand (lightweight domestic use camera) and hold it on to your shoulder too.
Hand held or shoulder mounted camera: You can lift and lower a camera in your hand tilt it up and down swing it around walk or run shooting with it. But you still need a tripod because you will be able to operate camera for a longer time on tripod. However, today’s professionals can hold cameras on shoulder or in hand for longer time and shoot steadily by using certain new support gadgets.
The Fundamentals of
Camera Movement
Video camera movement is used for many purposes. It may be used to make an object appear to be bigger or smaller.
It may be used to make things blurred, scary, or just different. Camera movement techniques are often used, however, to tell a story.
Learning camera movement fundamentals isn't hard. The various camera movement techniques are done either with a mounted camera, a moving camera - where the camera and the photographer move together, or movement of just the camera lens.
Practicing the various camera movement fundamentals will help you learn which camera movement techniques work best for you.
Technique 1: Mounted Camera Pan
Mounting the camera on a tripod, simply move the camera horizontally from left to right. Pan shots are used to show the viewer more of the scenery. This technique is also often used to show views from high places, such as overlooks. Pan shots should begin with a still shot, then pan, then finish with a still shot. You should practice panning at various speeds until you find the speed that works best for you.
Technique 2: Mounted Camera Tilt
A tilt done with a mounted camera is quite simple. You just move the camera up or down, without lowering or raising the position of the camera. This is must like panning, only it is done vertically. This video camera technique is used to follow the subject that you are photographing, or to show the viewer a large object from top of bottom - or from bottom to top.
You should note that when you tilt from bottom to top, the object looks larger or thicker. When you tilt from top to bottom, the object looks smaller or thinner. As with panning, you should begin with a still shot, tilt, then stop on a still shot. Again, practice this technique at various speeds until you find what works for you.
Technique 3: Mounted Camera Pedestal
This video camera technique is pretty much the opposite of the tilt technique. You do not tilt the camera, but you either raise or lower the position of the camera. This technique is simply used to get the proper view that you are looking for.
If you wanted to shot pictures of a baby, you would want to lower the camera. If you wanted to shot a tall person, you would raise the height of the camera. The purpose would be to make it appear that the subject is 'eye to eye' with the viewer.
Technique 4: Moving Camera Dolly
This video camera movement technique involves the use of a camera dolly, like the camera dolly's you might see on a movie set. You can make your own dolly with a wheelchair, a scooter, a skateboard, a rolling cart, or many other devices that have wheels.
This video camera movement technique is used to follow your subject. The use of a dolly opens up many possibilities, especially when used in conjunction with other techniques. Remember that you will want to be able to roll backwards as well as forward. Practice using this technique, and once you have it down, try mixing it with other techniques.
Technique 5: Moving Camera Floating Stabilizer
Floating stabilizer devices are used to follow a subject around twists and turns. The stabilizer is strapped to the photographer, and the camera is mounted to the stabilizer with metal jointed which are controlled by gyroscopes.
This video camera movement technique is a step up from the dolly technique. The movement of a dolly is limited, floating stabilizer devices remove those limitations. As with the dolly technique, you should learn the video camera movement fundamentals of this technique, then try mixing it with other techniques to get different effects.
Technique 6: Moving Camera Boom
A camera boom is a smaller version of the cranes that are used for construction. A camera boom is used to get a view of subjects or scenes from above. These are commonly used in filming movies, and the boom moves up, down, and around.
Technique 7: Moving Camera Handheld
Using this technique, the photographer simply holds the video camera, and moves wherever, and however, he needs to move to get the shot that he wants. When using this technique, you should avoid using the zoom feature on your camera. Zooming while using the handheld technique will make your shot appear to be shaky. Instead of zooming, move closer to the object you are shooting.
Technique 8: Camera Lens Zoom
You can get many different effects when using the zoom feature on your camera. This works well when combined with other video camera movement techniques. You should practice zooming at different speeds, as different situations will call for different speeds of zooming.
Zooming can create many different illusions, which can effect the viewers perception of size and distance. Alternately, zooming can be used to more adequately portray the size or distance to a viewer. It is recommended that you use a tripod when using the zoom technique.
Technique 9: Camera Lens Rack Focus
This is an interesting video camera movement technique, which can give your shots more impact. This technique calls for focusing the camera on one object in a close up shot, causing everything in the background to be out of focus, then causing the object itself to become out of focus while the background becomes in focus.
This is done by changing the focal length so that one object will go out of focus while another comes into focus. The two objects must be at a correct distance away from each other for this technique to work, and you will want to use a tripod for this type of shot.
Conclusion
Learn how to use all of the features on your camera, then combine the use of those features with different movements to get the most out of your shots. Video camera movement techniques can really spice up your home movies, and give them the style and flair that you see in Hollywood movies!
4.Lens Functions and Types:
“Never make a mistake of thinking that Lens is a mere accessory to the camera. Lens has the primary role in shaping the image and giving it critical performance attributes that, in turn will determine ultimate performance of your camera”
Lens System:
1. Prime Lens: Prime lens have a fixed focal length, that is there focal length or scene coverage cannot be varied. It is particularly useful when:
• The highest optical quality is required
• Creating a special effect such as an extremely wide angle or fish eye lens view.
• Shooting in low-light situations because of obtaining quality image in low light conditions.
Because its focal length is fixed, the prime lens can cover only specific angle of view according to which it is designed. Such as a wide angle or a narrow angle and normal angle lens. Its focal length cannot be changed. You can change the lens angle only after changing the lens.
2. Zoom Lens: Most Studio camera come with the familiar zoom lens system, which very flexible production tool. A zoom lens system has great advantage over the fixed lens system. Its focal length is adjustable. You can change the coverage of the scene simply by turning the manual zoom ring wide or tight or by operating the servo button. The operation gives the subjective impression that the camera is nearer or farther from the subject thus modifying the apparent perspective. The zoom lens can act according to the given focal length as wide, normal or a close angle lens.
Lens Control: There are three separate lens adjustments that can be controlled manually or semi-automatically.
• Focus: Adjusting the distance at which the image is sharpest.
• f-stop : Adjusting a variable iris diaphragm in side the lens system.
• Zoom : Altering the focal length according to the size of the scene the shot covers.
These lens controls will have the fallowing effects. 1. How sharp the detail in the image will be determined by focusing.2. The depth of field will depend on the selection of the right exposure f-stop. 3 How much the scene appears in the shot (focal length/ angle of view) will be determined by the lens angle selection.4. The distance and the brightness and clarity etc will come by the collective features applied of the above three.
Focal length: The distance between the optical center of the lens and the image sensor (CCD or CMOS, charge couple device / or Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, which is a low-power, low-heat semiconductor technology used in contemporary camera, computers etc) in camera when focused at a great distance such as infinity. Focal length is simply an optical measurement and is generally measured in millimeters (mm). In a Prime lens, the focal length is fixed and in a zoom lens it is adjustable within limits. How much of the scene and a subject the camera will show will depend on several factors.
• The size of the subject.
• The distance between the camera/lens and the subject.
• The focal length of the camera being used.
• The size of the camera’s image sensor (CCD or CMOS) 2/3, 1/2 inch is used.
Some times shooting with a telephoto or zoom lens we go close to a distant subject without readjusting the distance in camera and the subject. The increased focal length can shallow the depth of field and while the subject may look twice as bigger as looked before, the shot may have excluded important scenic details you would require with the close short. Only half the previous overall height and width is now shown. And if you would have changed the shot to more wider angle the things in the scene would appear more far away and only half as big as before. Thus a long focal length (telephoto lens) covers only a narrow segment of the scene and shows a correspondingly larger image or the subject and a narrow focal length (Wide angle Lens) gives you a wide view of the scene but subject appear quite small and far away.
Using Lens Angle : Lens angles have a distinct impact on the final image. There are three basic types of angles normal, telephoto and wide angle.
Normal lens angle: A normal lens angle gives you a view point that is very close to what is seen by the normal human eye. It has very little distortion.
Telephoto or Narrow-angle Lens: It is designed to have long focal length. The subject appears much closer than normal lens angle. You can see only smaller part of a scene. Depth and distance look unnaturally compressed in the shot.
It has got the fallowing major advantages.
• You can bring a subject close to your view without moving the camera.
• Your time in moving the camera is saved.
• You can shoot close a subject which otherwise is beyond your reach.
Disadvantages of the narrow angle shot are
• Depth can look unnaturally compressed
• Distant subject look much closer and larger than actual.
• The length and the width shrink.
• Camera handling becomes increasingly more difficult because any movement in the subject can alter the focus and the depth of field thus distorts the entire shot.
• Light diffractions are often caused which create overall shimmer that distorts the picture.
• In hot weather close shots taken by telephoto or narrow angle lens can cause haze and thus distort the picture.
Wide Angle Lens: A wide angle lens has a short focal length that includes correspondingly more of the scene. However subjects look smaller in size and look too far away.
A wide angle can exaggerate perspective. Depth and space are over emphasized. Subject in the image look further away than they really are, any one approaching or walking away from a wide angle lens seems to be moving much more quickly than normal. This distinction can be used to ones advantage while shooting for some drama or special subject interest. Even small room can look very spacious while shooting with a wide angle. Never use wide angle lens for close shot of geometrical subjects such as pages of print, graph paper, or sheet music.
Fast Lens: Fast lens allows more light to enter camera and is used in low light conditions or certain deliberate effects.
Slow lens: Allows lesser amount of light enter the camera can be used to diminish the impact of intense light.
Assignment for self test
1. Briefly explain video camera functions
2. What are camera mounts and movements?
3. Write short notes on
a) Lens System
b) Image sensor
c) Viewfinder
d) Depth of field and focal length
4. Briefly explain parts of video camera.
QUICK LOOK
EXTRA STUDY
INTERNETDOWNLOAD
The Camera
We're well on our way to the world of fully automatic "point and shoot" television cameras. Smart cameras are great most of the time and they certainly cut down on the common mistakes most people (even pros) make from time to time. When automatic operation doesn't work, though, the results can be pretty bad. Knowing what the conditions were that fooled your "smart" camera will help you to know when to turn these features off and do it the old-fashioned way. But before you do, you need to know what cameras do and how they work.
The television camera changes light into an electronic signal that can be stored (using video tape, optical disks, or computer memory, transmitted, and displayed on a television receiver or monitor. Television cameras are probably easier to operate well than film or still cameras because you can watch and control the camera output as you record. There are few electronic controls, and the manual controls on the lens will be familiar to anyone who has used a good still or motion picture camera. Since video cameras can, as a rule, produce sharper, clearer pictures than the recording media they were designed to work with, the quality of your camera is seldom an excuse for fuzzy pictures. Understanding how to use the camera correctly will help you avoid poor results.
Lens Controls
The modern television lens has three controls: iris, focus, and zoom. On a fully automatic camera you may not have to adjust the focus or iris except under unusual conditions, but you should know what's going on so you can use manual settings with confidence.
Iris
The ring closest to the camera body controls the amount of light passing through the lens to the light-sensitive surface of the pickup tube or chip. It is called the iris, aperture, or f-stop control and is marked off in f-numbers. The lowest f-stop lets in the most light, and the highest f-stop lets in the least. Some lenses even have a "C" setting after the highest f-stop which means the lens is completely closed, letting no light through at all.
More light------------- Less light
1 1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22 32
STANDARD F-NUMBERS
Composition and Camera Movement
Composition
Composition exists in a context. That context is the frame, which is itself an element of picture composition. In 1894 Thomas Edison introduced the Kinetoscope motion picture format, with an aspect ratio (ratio of picture width to height) of four units wide to three units high, or 1.33 to 1. For the next fifty years most film used the 1.33 aspect ratio. Sixteen millimeter, eight and “super eight” millimeter film formats and NTSC, PAL, and SECAM television standards all share the 1.33 ratio.
4 x 3 or 1.33 Aspect Ratio
From an optical standpoint, the most efficient rectangular format would be square, since it would use as much of the lens area as possible. So why don’t we have square pictures?
Artists and mathematicians from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians have focused on the “golden rectangle” as the perfect shape. The aspect ratio of the golden rectangle is 1.618. One might presume (although I’ve found no evidence so far) that the 1.33 aspect ratio is a compromise between the most efficient ratio and the most esthetically pleasing.
Over the years a number of standard sizes with different aspect ratios became popular. The 8x10 photograph (1.25), the 4x6 photograph (1.5), and the 35mm slide (1.5) are a few examples. Film evolved, too. Cinerama (2.5 - 3.0), Cinemascope (2.55), and Panavision (1.78 – 2.4) are a few standards among many. High definition television has an aspect ratio of 16 by 9, or 1.78. The shape of the frame is the first consideration in composition.
16 x 9 or 1.78 Aspect Ratio
Ideally, every shot in a television program should be composed as carefully as a still photograph. While this is not often possible, some general rules of composition should be kept in mind.
The face of the typical television screen has been surrounded by a frame called a shadow mask, which hides about five per cent of the picture.. The composition of the same image will be different with and without the shadow mask. The presence of the shadow mask has always caused a problem for films transferred to video because they were generally composed to be shown “edge to edge.” Now the same problem occurs when images are composed using a digital (LCD) monitor without taking the shadow mask into consideration.
The red border around the frame represents the shadow mask. It is unlikely the viewer will see anything in this area. The gold and green areas combined are referred to as the safe action area. Anything that takes place here is likely to be visible to the viewer. The green area is known as the safe title area. It is virtually certain that any text in the green area will be visible to the viewer.
Notice the difference in "head room" in the pictures below this text. If you are using a camera with a monitor that shows the entire picture, be sure to allow for the shadow mask when you are composing your shots. Some viewfinders have "safe area" masks or lines to help you.
Unless your subject is perfectly symmetrical, the screen should never be divided exactly in half by strong horizontal or vertical lines. Instead, it should be divided approximately into thirds. For example, the horizon (if you're shooting a corn field) should be either a third of the way from the bottom of the screen or a third of the way from the top. With the exception of titles, composition should not be perfectly symmetrical, but should rather balance positive and negative (filled and empty) space.
When framing people, there are several additional concerns. By placing someone too high or too low in the frame, the individual can be made to seem taller or shorter than he actually is. The tendency is to place people too low.
When shooting a profile (side view) of a person, it's important to allow empty space in the direction the subject is looking. This extra space is called "nose room."
Nose room applies not only to people, but to anyone or anything pointing or moving. There should be relatively more empty space in the direction of the pointing or movement.
The kind of framing a writer or director wants is usually described in terms of wide, medium, or close-up.
A close-up is used to isolate the most important part of the subject. For a speaker, this is generally the head. For an entire football team, a close-up might be a shot of the quarterback only.
An extreme close-up focuses on one important detail of the subject, perhaps the mouth alone, or just the eyes, if the subject is a person. The object is to focus on important detail either to increase the drama or impact on a situation or to allow the viewer to see necessary picture information more clearly.
In shooting a group of people, we have a few special terms. A "one shot" is a medium shot of a single person. A "two shot," would still be a medium shot, but the "subject" is made up of two people and the shot is framed tightly around those two. We also use terms such as "head shot," "head and shoulders shot," and "waist-up shot."
Camera Movement
In the age of hand-held camcorders it must seem odd that there's an elaborate vocabulary describing how a camera can be moved. If you can do it, the industry has a technical term for it.
Pan
Tilt
The two camera movements you use routinely are the "pan" and "tilt." A pan is a turning of the camera to the left or right. A tilt involves tilting the camera up or down.
Pedestal Up
The stand for a heavy studio television or film camera is called a "pedestal." That's why the term for raising the camera is "pedestal up," and the term for lowering the camera is "pedestal down." These terms have nothing to do with adjustments to the "pedestal," or setup of the black level of the picture, which is an electronic adjustment, not a camera movement.
Truck Right
In moving a camera from side to side you "truck right" or "truck left." To move the camera closer to the subject, you "dolly in." To move it farther away you "dolly out." Of course, whenever the camera-to-subject distance changes, the focus must be adjusted.
Dolly In
Purists will point out that dolly shots (in or out) are fundamentally different in effect from zooming in or out. They're right. But professionals will go to extreme lengths to get a smooth dolly shot, to the point of laying special tracks to roll the dolly on. People with more modest means have mounted cameras on bicycles, shopping carts and, of course, cars to get their dolly shots.
Finally, in situations where important parts of a scene are not the same distance from the camera, it's possible to change the emphasis of a shot from one part of the scene to another by changing focus alone.. The instruction to do this is "rack" focus "in" or "out" for a particular object in a scene. "Rack focus into the cup on the table," would be an example. Such instructions are rarely used and are generally given for artistic effect.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TEXT SENT TO YOU IS NOT TO BE MERELY COPIED BUT TO BE COMPLETELY COMPREHENDED AND REPRODUCED IN YOUR OWN IDEAS AND WORDS. The details given here are merely indicative and not exhaustive. So it is better to study in detail and write down your notes.
WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
Maharaj Shah
(FACULTY)
UNIT 02
VISUALIZATION
BY Maharaj Shah For Students of TV Media
