Page 36 - Australian Photography Dec 2020

Ihave always been a video guy. As a kid, I would spend my spare time making short films and fun videos with my mates. So when I left school, my path was pretty clear and I embarked on a career in television production. I eventually found my niche in small crew environments and more often than not I now work as a one-man band. This has forced me to refine my skills in all areas of production, but to also build a small, yet efficient camera kit.
Throughout my life, I have dabbled in photography and it wasn’t until I developed the TV series, Snap Happy, that I became more serious about it. I have really enjoyed the creative outlet of shooting stills, and in the process of making the show I have been able take my photography to the next level, which has inadvertently helped me improve my video production, too.
Video is a great communication tool and under- standing how to record it well is a useful asset for any photographer to have in their skill set. As a pho- tographer, you are halfway there to becoming a great videographer, but there are some traps photographers often fall into when crossing over to the video world. But don’t worry, I am here to help!
ABOVE: In my opinion, the Panasonic Lumix S1H is one of the best when it comes to digital hybrid cameras. It is a great base to build on and allows you to add your preferred professional audio, lighting and monitoring devices.
RIGHT: A larger external monitor is a great addition to your video kit. It helps you nail critical focus and in this case, with the Atomos Ninja V, it allowed me to record in the Prores RAW format at 6K resolution.
and stills in the one body. However, even a modern smart- phone is capable of producing professional results – the lesson is don’t be worried your gear isn’t up to scratch, as in most cases it will be more than enough to get started.
1CAMERA
You have probably heard the saying, “the best tool for the job is the one in your hand”. This is a great mantra to live by, particularly in a world where camera technology is advancing so fast. If you own a mirrorless DSLR or compact camera made in the past five years, there is a good chance you already have some powerful video tools at your fingertips. My weapon of choice is the Lumix S1H. It is a great hybrid camera that allows me to shoot high-end video
LENSES
For “run and gun” style documentary
production, a versatile general-purpose
lens is a must. I use a 24-105mm f4
lens for this style of shooting. For static
interviews, my go-to lens is a 50mm
f1.4. Keep in mind if you are shoot-
ing with a wide-open aperture, the
depth of field will often be too shal-
low for a talking head. Any move-
ment back or forth will take your sub- ject’s eyes out of the focal plane. Of course, having 3a variety of focal lengths in your bag is very handy so I keep a 16-35mm and a 70-200mm in my kit at all times.
| 36 | DECEMBER 2020 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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FORMAT
There are a number of file formats you can select in camera. Some are designed for compact file size, others are geared towards an easier workf low, whereas some are designed for a higher quality end result. Select the format that offers the highest bit rate. This is the equivalent to shooting high quality versus low quality JPEG stills. If you are editing on a Mac, select an MP4, MOV or QT
format and if you are on a PC, select an MP4, AVI or WMV format compatible to your workflow.
© SARAH J. MORGANS