Thank all of you for reading my first post! I'm new into shooting (long time passion) and have just purchased a XLH1 and a G5 with final cut pro HD. I've got everything I need, but I have only begun to scratch the surface with what I need to know.
Where can I find some books on how to shoot? Lighting, focusing .etc?
My first question is this. I'm trying to shoot some stuff at night, yet when I go into the Night mode on my camera, everything lags. I select the Green square ( I think that means Automatic settings ) but it looks awful when I play it back. (very granulated) How can I achieve the dark scenes with the full clarity and non lagging image? I'm not looking for a one line answer, but rather an explanation of the functions that I need to learn how to use. Maybe a resource or a book that I should read?
My point is also this - I'm a big fan of the show prison break on FOX. It's done very well and is also shot with film. I noticed that in the behind the scenes video I watched that the filming of what appeared to be darker scenes in the final version, was somewhat fully lit? How are they achieving that hollywood cinema effect? I'm not talking about film speed or size, I'm simply referring to the color/saturation/hue that makes it look like a major motion picture.
I hope that I have explained what I'm trying to achieve and that you all don't think I'm completely crazy for going out and buying all this stuff. This is something that I want to get good it and will enjoy for years to come.
Thank you for your help.
Cameras don't work all that well in extremely low light situations. When you use the 'night mode' on a camera, I believe it turns up the gain and slows down the shutter speed, which is why you get the choppy video.
Usually when you see a scene that is very dark, it was usually shot with a decent amount of light. This is where aperture and shutter speed settings come in. If you use a smaller aperture size, less light will get through, causing a darker image being recorded. A faster shutter speed will do the same. It can also be done in post with a program like Adobe Premiere (or any other editing software). As for the color, saturation and hue... with your camera, they can be done in-camera (or you should be able to), as well as with filters, or in post. You could darken it in post as well by playing with brightness/contrast settings.
'In the life that man creates for himself, he too, creates his demise... and his legacy.'
'In the life that man creates for himself, he too, creates his demise... and his legacy.'
As apposed to changing the colour in final cut. You can light the scene and put a blue filter over the lights. This will make everything blue and nightime-like
The Green Square on the H1 is for easy mode and you aren't going to get any great night shots doing that. What i suggest is keep the camera at 1/60 and toggle only the iris. All of this is on the M dial (stands for manual) which is normally where you are going to be able to get the best shots. Even if its not fully lit, you will probably have enough image quality to bump everything up in Final Cut.
