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Make an improvised stand for your material on a table and lean the "stand" back to around 45 degrees. I use a large coffee table book as a backing board leaning it back against other coffee table books or a couple of telephone books (good for something these days). The photos should rest nicely here with the odd strip of gaffer tape on the back to prevent them slipping.

The camera should be on your tripod set to a distance that allows you to focus without having to turn the focus ring all the way to minimum focus. You need some focus breathing room. Camera should be set to a height that results in the picture having even focus from top to bottom. It’s better to be seated behind the camera as these can turn into long sessions – be comfortable so you can make accurate camera moves over small areas. It's very demanding at these high magnification levels.

In the case of photos, you need to frame your shots WITHIN the photo. Don’t reveal the edges of the photos as this takes away any atmosphere that images evoke. Frame a shot that takes in as much of the photo as the wide 16:9 permits and shoot a static shot for a minimum of twelve seconds. This amount of time allows for dissolves and narration. Factor this in as you can always chop it in the edit. Lock the pan and tilt on the tripod so there is absolutely zero camera movement. Happy with this shot? Now explore the detail in the photograph by panning from say, face to face – tilting up from shoes to faces or moving slowly across landscapes to reveal something interesting or a feature in the landscape.

Zooms work well here too and as you pull out, don’t be too concerned that you’ll reveal the edges of the prints as you can reverse the shot later or dissolve out before you reach the end of the zoom. When you’re shooting, try to imagine how the shot might be used. Think of the mood as you record as this is where the a lot of impact can be set in place. Do the moves at two speeds.

Lighting should be flat on photos and bright enough to get you a camera aperture of around f5.6. A light on each side of the camera at the similar angle; about 45 degrees. If there is a flare from a light on a glossy print, move it further away from the camera to the side (almost reaching 90 degrees to the camera) but at the same time make sure you don’t introduce unwanted shadows into the print. This is caused by the photo not being completely flat. Some old photographs are a bit curly.

Newspapers 

Set the lights so that one of them is skimming along the paper at an angle of almost 90 degrees . As opposed to the advise above, this creates shadows in any minor ripples in the paper itself and gives it real texture rather than looking like computer generated graphic of some sort. Switch the camera to a warm colour balance – light it with tungsten lamps and set the camera to a daylight (outside) white balance. This will “brown up” the newspaper and give it an old newspapery look. Cutting light off other areas of the newspaper will draw the audience into the part of the text you want them to notice.

Pan or tilt up out of black to reveal the text or even a photo on the page. In other words, find your shot, focus, set aperture, then look for somewhere to come out of to reveal. Out of black is always a winner. The magic of this becomes apparent when you add music or narration. You must imagine the mood and motive of what you are doing right here and now. It will pay off later.

Television screens. Set the white balance to a daylight setting. Most TV screens output at daylight and this records as a blue tint if the camera is set to tungsten or inside. Tempting as the TV is usually inside, but just set the camera to daylight and it will look normal I promise.
Pieter de Vries ACS 

Most of the important videos that you will ever create in your life will be crucially dependent on the quality of sound that is captured at the time of recording. Whether it is the vital dialogue, key selling point, memorable quote or even just the atmosphere of the occasion, sound will play an essential part.

To ensure that you get a great result you need to plan for your sound acquisition carefully before you leaving for your location.

Camera Menu Settings

You should familiarise yourself with all the different audio recording menus in your camera as each will need to be set correctly.

Internal Microphone/XLR's

Selects either the internal or built-in microphone, or inputting audio via the XLR inputs.

Mic/Line Level

Selects whether the input is set at mic level (i.e. there is a microphone plugged in) or at line level (if the camera is plugged into a mixer)

AGC (Automatic Gain Control) or Auto AGC

Automatically adjusts the gain control on the camera to constantly provide consistent recording levels to tape.

Unfortunately, this process does not account very well for the dynamic nature of dialogue, and provides a strange sounding result. If you are unable to get satisfactory results by manually setting the gain control, or are not in a situation to constantly monitor and adjust levels, this may be a last option.

Inconsistent levels are better dealt with in post-production.

Noise Reduction

Noise reduction is a basic equalization (EQ) tool designed to reduce constant noise such as mains power hum (A/C).

Results are generally limited and tend to affect the recording quality. This is normally better handled in post production.

Wind Reduction

Very similar to noise reduction with similar limited results. Wind noise can be more easily dealt with by using wind protection on the microphone itself.

Channel 1 Record Select

Channel 1 Record Select enables Channel 1 to be recorded onto both audio tracks.

This is fine when using one mono microphone plugged into the camera, however when two microphones are plugged in, only one would be recorded onto both tracks.

48 kHz or 32 kHz

Always set to 48 kHz. 32 kHz enables a four track recording onto the camera, to facilitate laying a voiceover over pre-recorded audio. It is always better to record at the higher quality and lay any additional voice tracks in post-production.

External Camera Settings

Looking at the switches and controls on the camera body itself, we have:

+48v (Phantom Powering) 

Better quality microphones (known as condenser microphones) require 48 volt power to operate.

Leaving this switched off is a common cause of not being able to record sound. To be safe, most microphones that do not require +48v will work fine with this being switched on, but it can cause some noise with a small percentage of microphones.

Mic/Line Switch

As in menu setting Please note that some cameras have this option as an external switch on the body of the camera.

Auto/Manual Switch

Refers to the AGC (Automatic Gain Control) as discussed in menu settings. Once again, with correct gain level control, this should not be used if possible.

Setting Gain

Finally it is critical to find and set the gain controls on your camera to a “safe” recording zone. Ideally, dialogue should be peaking between –20 (soft) to –10 (loud) on your camera's level meters, maximising the dynamic range. 

If these settings are too low then you run into the problems of noisy recordings from the camera?s audio circuitry. Set too high it could potentially distort the camera.

Whilst much can be done in post-production to fix up your recordings, stay with these basic levels on location and you will have a good start to a great recording.

Three points worth remembering

1. Plan for your sound before you leave for your location
2. Ensure your camera is set to record audio at 48 kHz, not 32 kHz
3. When recording dialogue, set your levels for between -20 and -10 to optimise your cameras dynamic range

Thanks to sound recordist and sound tutor James Nowiczewski for these notes. James is an internationally experienced sound recordist, and he conducts audio for video training courses. 

Supplementary lens adaptors are designed to supplement the existing optical range of the built-in zoom. They widen the field of view through out the entire zoom range. I is not technically easy for a zoom lens to perform brilliantly at the telephoto-end of the zoom at any time.

Adding a piece of glass designed to widen the field of view makes this task even harder as you extend the zoom to try an magnify the image. Without the wide angle adaptor on the front, you do not have to stretch the zoom so far. This is why you had a disappointing result.

© 2013 Pieter de Vries ACS

For the smallest file size, the ideal subject would probably a talking head against a plain and boring background in a noise free studio. This is not very practical so please consider the following guidelines.

• Try to shoot on a tripod when possible. If you shoot video with the camera in your hands, every slight move you make is translated into change between frames and generates more data to compress. The more similar each frame is to the next, and the one before it, the better the final product.  It’s all about keeping the data rate lean.

• A word about wardrobe. Stripes, dots and checks are not so good. When you can plan ahead, ask your talent to wear low contrast solid colours. You might be tempted to set your subject up in front of a tree swaying gently in the breeze, but you’ll need a lot of file size to capture the movement of the leaves online. Try finding a stationary background that can be easily compressed and still look good.

• High contrast busy backgrounds are also unhelpful. Plain walls will compress better than busy wallpaper

• If you don't have a choice of location then shallow depth of field will come in handy. Open the camera's aperture (f2.4 – f5.6) and place the camera further away and increase the focal length to reduce depth of field. A neutral density filter (ND filter) will help to prevent over exposure. Your subject can be kept in focus while the background is blurred, reducing the amount of detail that has to be compressed.

• High contrast lighting is also not useful. Use a soft-light indoors or put a diffuser in front of a hard light. Shooting at midday in bright sun will cast dark shadows under chins and into deep set eyes

• In a web browser’s small viewing window, close-ups give the viewer a better chance of working out what is going on than wide shots.

• In addition, make sure you use large enough titles, as the screen will most likely be reduced to a 360×240 (or smaller) size. You can size down your preview window in Premiere or Final Cut Pro to that size and that will help you preview your logos and titles

• To obtain the cleanest and clearest sound the microphone needs to be very close to the subject. An on-board microphone does not achieve this so an external microphone and a skilled sound recordist will produce the best results. Minimize background noises. Good clean audio produces better results in compression

Source: www.urbanfox.com

Finding a location where your subject has lots of space behind is the easiest way to get the look that you are after. This is because it's not always easy to set the camera a long distance from the subject.

The best way to achieve this look is to set a good distance from the subject. Here are some things to keep in mind.

If the best place is the lounge room, use a sofa or lounge chair; it’s a natural place to sit and tend to make it look a little less staged.

If the sofa is positioned against a wall, slide it out and ask them to sit at one end turned, with their back facing more towards the background rather than the back of the sofa.

A high back on a chair can also be unfortunate so in this case, position the camera so that you’re shooting along the length and looking into the background. A cushion placed into the corner will make them more comfortable and less likely to slump.

If it’s an office situation and there’s only office chairs in abundance, then preferably use one that has arm rests, doesn’t swivel and doesn’t have a high back – again, you need to see as much as you can into the background.

Place the chair about three meters from your camera position, turn it so that it’s orientated at around 30 degrees to the camera. When your subject is seated, this easily turns the shoulders so that they’re not square on in the frame, looking a bit like the coat hanger. There’s a few other reasons why this orientation works.

The subject is now able to look comfortably to the interviewer without having to turn their head; they’re already facing them. Your interviewer must be positioned in a similar chair around the same height and be close to the camera. It’s critical that you see both eyes of your subject, so an eye-line just off the camera-line is perfect. This makes an engaging interview.

Look for a place in a room where there’s space and depth behind. Sliding a sofa to a position where you can see deep into the rest of the room is the best idea. One reason for doing this is to take advantage of this distance behind by framing your subject on a longer lens. This will give you a beautifully defocused background. This approach will also give you the space to hide a kick-light and a background light.

As part of your background choice, look for an area of the room that reveals to your audience some clues about your subject. A bookcase full of books or sideboard displaying photographs is good value, and you’ll be able to use them as a way to balance the overall composition. An interview has to be well framed – you can spend a lot of time look at them.

Don’t ever be happy to settle for a position where your subject is seated with a wall immediately behind.
 

© 2013 Pieter de Vries ACS

You should always be aware of the background when you set up an interview. If the area behind the subject is relevant and appealing, you might wish to take in as much of it as you can. On the other hand, if it’s unsightly, distracting, or bears no connection to the topic of the discussion, you may wish to exclude much of background. In this case, a narrow field-of-view will hide a world of nasties. How can you do that?

The zoom lens is a very nifty inclusion on a digital video camera and there is a direct connection between the focal length used (the degree of magnification) and the resulting field-of-view. Framing your subject where you use the telephoto end of the zoom lens is the best way to get a narrow field-of-view. 

Place the tripod further away from the subject so that you make use of the telephoto end of the zoom. In the viewfinder, the size of the subject would be the same as would be the case on the wide angle end of the zoom, however, what is included in the background will be greatly reduced. 

A once distracting background will also now be beautifully diffused mainly due to the fall off in focus that accompanies a greater magnification by the lens.

© 2013 Pieter de Vries ACS

I always try to have the sections of the document required to be filled out by me, completed before arriving in the country. Usually on the plane as I'm about to land. I find that it's good to have the document already out and in full view of customs officers giving directions to the area for processing.

Have the rest of the crew follow you and they will usually slide through the procedure in your 'wake'. You will probably know more about the procedure that the customs officer in some countries. 

Have the number of items listed (eg 1 thru 86) written clearly in that part of the document and insist on stamps where they are needed. Have the total value of the carnet written in the local currency of the country you are entering. This tiny bit of thoughtfulness impressed the hell out of tired and weary Customs officials. Typo's can be corrected on the way out with a pen and stamped by the customs people there. 

Don't accidentally fill out and tear off an exportation voucher instead of an importation voucher when entering the country. Done that! We lost a carnet in Italy (house keeping threw it out!) and had to wait a week to get the equipment from customs in Milan while we waited for a hard copy of the carnet to be DHL'd from Australia. Could have been worse – a week of sitting about in Moderna, Italy drinking coffee etc! 

Some production companies ask you to reduce the value of your items listed on the carnet document in order to reduce the bond they have to pay to the authority. I suggest that you don't agree to do this as in the event of an insurance claim, these marked down values can be used as a guide to the replacement costs. 

Finally, allow 3 hours to get yourself and the gear out of Tel Aviv. You will be subjected to an extensive interview with your equipment laid out in front of you. Your interviewer may be no older than 24 and be very pleasant and apologetic.

© 2013 Pieter de Vries ACS

If your video camera has a Zebra function then it’s handy to understand a little about it. It’s a way of setting the correct exposure. 

The slanted striped pattern (hence, Zebra) that you see is set to overlay on areas of the viewfinder/LCD image that are of particular brightness – commonly somewhere between a value of 70 and 80 IRE* of the whitest white that’s possible to record. There are two basic types of zebra display, 100 IRE and another that’s often adjustable, 70-80 IRE.

Notice that this electronically generated striping plays on different parts of the image as you close down or open up the iris. This is because as you lighten or darken the image, elements in the scene fall into this 70-80 IRE value. Caucasian skin highlights occur at about 80 IRE, so you should adjust the iris to display the zebra pattern on the highlighted areas of the subject’s face. Just for practice, try this:

Frame the camera on someone as if you were shooting a portrait. Making sure that the Zebra is set to 70 IRE (or “percent” as it’s sometimes written), turn the iris adjustment so that the zebra striping is active all over the face. Now close down the iris so that the striping starts to disappear. 

Leaving a stripe or two on a highlight area – a cheekbone or top of the forehead is usually the best setting. The skin tone is now correctly exposed and this ensures that everything else in the scene is also correctly exposed.  

Another useful way to use Zebra function is to use it as an exposure meter. With your camera set to Auto mode, frame the camera at the scene to be recorded and note on which parts of the scene the Zebra stripes are active. Switch the camera to Manual operation and adjust the iris control so that the Zebra stripes overlay in the same place that they were in Auto. 

This way, your manual exposure setting is going to be at least in the right zone. I usually then close down another stop to give the picture a little more saturation. Remember, the slanted striped pattern is not recorded on the tape.

If your camera doesn’t have a Zebra exposure control but you’d like to have manual control of the iris, then this is what I suggest: with the camera set to Auto mode, frame it at the scene to be recorded, make a note of what the overall brightness level looks like in the viewfinder. 

Switch to Manual operation and adjust the iris so that the image brightness matches what you saw in Auto mode. In it’s basic form you’ve used the Auto mode as an exposure meter.

© 2013 Pieter de Vries ACS