PANASONIC AG-HMC150 |basic| HOW TO shoot like a PRO RULES what’s allowed, what’s not Is this thing on? Easy-to-follow chart for successful sound 4 steps for avoiding over overexposure CLASS CURRICULUM FREE Northwest Community Television 763.533.8196 www.nwct.
on the cover How to shoot like a pro 10 Is this thing on? Easy-tofollow chart for successful sound 6 4 steps for avoiding overexposure 8 Rules: what’s allowed, what’s not 2 Your best shoot ever! A preproduction checklist 20 Help! 7 common problems solved 18 5 SOUND MICROPHONES Everything you need to know about selecting sound inputs and setting and monitoring audio levels.
Portable camera policies The purpose of these policies is to manage NWCT equipment in a fair and equitable manner. Follow these rules and you’ll never have to worry about losing your membership privileges! 1. Only certified members are permitted to operate equipment. 2. Members must be on time for appointments. You must call if you are going to be more than 30 minutes late—if you are more than 60 minutes late, we will consider you a “no show” and give away your equipment. 3.
Portable camera checkout form 3
Power DC AND AC DC POWER Attaching the battery To attach the battery, lift up the viewfinder, place the battery in the battery compartment toward the top, and push down—the battery will click into place. õ 1 3 2 ò Battery life The battery should last approximately 200–300 minutes. Remaining battery life can be read on the LCD monitor. Removing the battery To remove the battery, FIRST TURN OFF THE CAMERA.
Sound IS THIS THING ON? Selecting sound inputs Two sources of audio can be recorded to the camera simultaneously. Sound can be gathered from the camera’s internal microphone, an external microphone, a line level source such as an audio mixing board or CD player, or any combination of two of those sources. Routing audio signals is controlled by two switches behind the LCD monitor and two switches on the front of the camera.
Audio setup chart 6 Audio source INPUT jacks and INPUT settings CH 1 SELECT and CH 2 SELECT settings Audio records on Internal microphone N/A CH 1 SELECT: INT(L) CH 2 SELECT: INT(R) CH 1: Built in mic CH 2: Built in mic External microphone INPUT 2 jack INPUT 2: MIC CH 1 SELECT: INPUT 2 CH 2 SELECT: INPUT 2 CH 1: External mic CH 2: External mic External line level source INPUT 2 jack INPUT 2: LINE CH 1 SELECT: INPUT 2 CH 2 SELECT: INPUT 2 CH 1: Line level source CH 2: Line level source Two
Microphone selection Northwest Community Television has several different types of mics available. Desktop and floor mic stands are available for checkout. STANDARD ISSUE These three microphones come standard with every portable camera.
Video image FIRST THINGS FIRST Determining the dominant light source Before shooting, determine whether most of the light in the scene is coming from the sun or from artificial lights. For best color results, try to reduce the light coming from the less dominant source. You can do this by covering windows (if your primary light source is artificial) or by turning off incandescent and fluorescent lights and placing your subject close to a window (if your primary light source is sunlight).
3 Selecting the right neutral density filter Neutral density filters allow the camera to operate correctly outdoors in sunlight. A neutral density filter does for the camera what sunglasses do for your eyes—it reduces the amount of light that can pass through without changing the color of that light. Once the iris is set to auto or manual, the camera will tell you if a neutral density filter is needed with an indicator in the middle of the LCD monitor.
Shooting better video Critical focus If you’re shooting with manual focus, it’s important that you get a critical focus (also called a calibrated zoom) of your subject every time you get a new shot. HOW TO SHOOT LIKE A PRO HEAD ROOM LOOK SPACE Here’s how to perform a critical focus: Zoom in all the way on your subject, focus, and then Head room and look space When shooting people, it’s best to follow two simple guidelines in framing.
TYPICAL INTERVIEW SETUP SHOOTING BETTER VIDEO Next, we’ll get closer and show the interviewer (on the left) and the subject (on the right) together at the table. In our example, this would be a good shot for the interviewer to deliver her first question. 4 4 We’ll begin with a wide shot which helps the viewer understand where this interview is taking place. Wide shots are often used to establish location and are sometimes referred to as “establishing shots.” Third, we’ll get a close-up of our subject.
SPECIALTY SHOOTING SHOOTING BETTER VIDEO Use high and low angles A high angle shot can make your subject appear weak and vulnerable or it can simply add a new dimension to your scene. Conversely, a low angle shot makes your subject appear powerful and “larger than life.” Create depth in your shots A television screen is a two-dimensional piece of glass so extra effort needs to be made to create depth for your audience.
SDHC cards EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW CHOOSING THE RIGHT CARD There are two things to keep in mind when purchasing SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards: the Class (speed) of the card and the size of the card. SPEED CLASS SDHC cards are broken down into Class 2, Class 4, Class 6 and Class 10 cards. Class 2 cards offer a minimum sustained data rate of 2 megabytes per second (MBps), Class 4 4MBps, Class 6 6MBps and Class 10 10MBps.
1080 720 24P i 6030 FORMATTING THE CARD To format the card in the camera, press the MENU button, then, using the operation lever, scroll down and select CARD FUNCTIONS (screen 2 of 3). In the submenu, select CARD FORMAT, then select YES. Select YES again. It will take a moment or two, but then the card will be formatted and ready to go! NOTE: Formatting does delete everything previously recorded on the card.
RECORDING Once you select a record format, all you need to do is press the red record button—one is located with the power switch on the back of the camera, while the other is toward the front of the camera on the handle. To use the record button on the handle, move the REC selector switch on the side of the handle from OFF to ON. NOTE: If you do not select a record format, the camera will default to the last user’s record settings.
Default menu settings To access the various camera menus, press the MENU button. Moving the operation lever up and down lets you scroll through all the options. To access a menu, pull the operation lever toward you; to select an item, push in the lever. Below is a list of all the default menu options in CAM mode with scene file F1 selected. If you’re having a problem that isn’t solved by the instructions in this booklet, go through the menu settings and make sure they are set correctly.
Quick setup checklist for recording £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Set up camera and equipment Light Power on camera Hook up and set audio levels (No audio meters? Press the DISP/MODE CHK button.
Help! TROUBLESHOOTING SOLUTIONS TO COMMON PROBLEMS THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION The LCD monitor displays a blue screen. Press the MODE button until the lamp for CAM (camera) is lit (PB is playback). THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION The camera won’t zoom. Set the ZOOM switch on the side of the camera to SERVO, unless you’re using the zoom ring, then set the switch to MANUAL.
HELP! CONTINUED THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION The video is STILL dark . . . Press the SHUTTER button until SHUTTER OFF displays in the LCD monitor. IT’S STILL TOO DARK! If you’re recording in low light, set the GAIN switch to M (medium) or H (high). THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION The video is too bright. If you’re outdoors, set the ND FILTER switch to either 1/4, 1/16 or 1/64. The video’s still too bright . . . Set the AUTO MANUAL switch to AUTO. My video is still too bright.
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Date _______________________________________________________ Program ____________________________________________________ Producer ____________________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________________ Print name __________________________________________________ A I hereby idemnify you and your licensees respecting my claim or action against you, your licensees or your officers and agents, arising out of my acts or statements out of the program.
