Camera Workshop 1 with Fergus - Wednesday 28th September

Today we had a 3 hour workshop with Fergus and Dan about setting up cameras and a general introduction on what to do with them.

After a short presentation we had to get into groups of three and get to know the cameras. As we had never used the kit before we did have problems with the tripod but Sam showed how to get it level and setup much better than we had attempted, including the stabiliser which would make it a lot easier to use the tripod correctly.

We then got to work with the cameras and trying to play around with the focus. With Oli and Andrew we tried different shots, including standing still in and out of focus as well as moving focus, whilst keeping the person in the correct shot.

We also tried out sound and we used the big boom mics attached to the cameras. Whilst you don't notice too much sound quality difference inside I can really see how it would make a massive difference outside with a lot more wind and background noise.

We learnt a lot about how the cameras work in a very short amount of time. As I start the course this is what most interests me about TV (video operations) alongside video editing so this really did help me get a good feel for the industry I want to work in.

We also had a look at white balancing, holding up a piece of paper to determine what was "white" and that would mean would have realistic skin tones. Whilst it was a lot of information all at once I did feel I took most of it in, but no doubt I will have to double check next time to make sure I am getting it right!