Digital Video Hacks | O'Reilly Media

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Although every aspect of digital video production is important, none can save you more time and money than preparation. Being prepared, whether with technical know-how or physical tools, enables you to calmly deal with the real problems that inevitably occur. Throughout the various stages of producing a project, you should be prepared for a stage before you reach it.

Always keep in mind the project as a whole, from preproduction to delivery, as opposed to seeing a bunch of separate little projects that come together in the end. Anything you do during a project affects it from that point forward, and if you make a mistake, it carries through and continues to cause you problems until it is fixed.

Following a series of steps enables you to successfully complete a project, in the least amount of time and at the least expense .

When it comes to completing a project, post-production is often an area of trouble for people. Getting a project through the editing process can be challenging. It can be difficult because of a lack of experience and/or knowledge, a feeling of intimidation by the technical jargon and equipment, or simply burning out in the final phase of a project. Fortunately, an easy-to-follow process can help you get through it.

This hack is meant to be a quick hit list of steps you should follow at the very least. Cross-references to other hacks are for your use as you see fit. I've witnessed people (professionals, no less) needlessly spend tens of thousands of dollars because they didn't follow these guidelines in order .

Putting labels on your tapes is a no-brainer. But how you number your physical media [Hack #3] can make a world of difference in post-production. A simple numbering mistake early on can translate into having to renumber your entire library or reedit a project because the numbers are cut off by creating an edit decision list (EDL).

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Although every aspect of digital video production is important, none can save you more time and money than preparation. Being prepared, whether with technical know-how or physical tools, enables you to calmly deal with the real problems that inevitably occur. Throughout the various stages of producing a project, you should be prepared for a stage before you reach it.

Always keep in mind the project as a whole, from preproduction to delivery, as opposed to seeing a bunch of separate little projects that come together in the end. Anything you do during a project affects it from that point forward, and if you make a mistake, it carries through and continues to cause you problems until it is fixed.

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Following a series of steps enables you to successfully complete a project, in the least amount of time and at the least expense .

When it comes to completing a project, post-production is often an area of trouble for people. Getting a project through the editing process can be challenging. It can be difficult because of a lack of experience and/or knowledge, a feeling of intimidation by the technical jargon and equipment, or simply burning out in the final phase of a project. Fortunately, an easy-to-follow process can help you get through it.

This hack is meant to be a quick hit list of steps you should follow at the very least. Cross-references to other hacks are for your use as you see fit. I've witnessed people (professionals, no less) needlessly spend tens of thousands of dollars because they didn't follow these guidelines in order .

Putting labels on your tapes is a no-brainer. But how you number your physical media [Hack #3] can make a world of difference in post-production. A simple numbering mistake early on can translate into having to renumber your entire library or reedit a project because the numbers are cut off by creating an edit decision list (EDL).

Avoid the pain and follow a couple simple rules:

Don't duplicate numbers.
Keep the labels simple.

You can get creative with your labeling, but don't go overboard. If you create a system that people have to repeatedly ask questions about, you're costing yourself time and effort. Simply put, do it right the first time and put a little thought into it.

Keep a running tally of your media. You should be able to reference something to know what your tape numbers are and what they contain. Whether you use a database, a spreadsheet, or a notebook is up to you.

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As you continue to edit your project, your timeline will inevitably become more complicated. By following a few organizational rules you will avoid confusing yourself .

Editing is an artistic process. The key word in that sentence is process . Unfortunately, many people, including professional editors, overlook the process only to discover they are confused by their own work. As a side effect, they tend to blame their editing systems for problems, instead of blaming themselves.

Keeping your timeline clean will help you work more efficiently, and therefore faster. To keep your timeline clean, you need to place your audio and video on specific tracks, based upon the use of your media. For example, you should place all of your title media, such as credits, on video track 5 (V5). Figure 1-1 shows a complex but well-organized Avid timeline.

Figure 1-1: Keeping tracks organized in Avid

There are no rules you can apply to every project, because each one is different. By keeping your tracks organized, you will be able to easily spot media you want to work with by what layer it resides on.

As a starting point, consider organizing your video tracks like this:

Acquired: V1 and V2
Mattes and Effects: V3 and V4
Titles: V5 and V6

And here are some suggestions for organizing your audio:

Dialogue and Narration: A1 and A2
Natural Sound and Ambiance

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How you number your tapes can have long-term effects.

Just as you want continuous, nonrepeating timecode [Hack #4] on each of your tapes, you also want a unique number assigned to each tape. Although tape numbering is an easy task to accomplish, more often than not, I hear about people who have duplicate tape numbers or no tape numbers at all!

You should choose a numbering scheme that makes sense to you and the people you work with. Your numbering scheme should be easy to understand and allow you to glance at a tape and understand what the number represents. In order to make any of the following numbering schemes work, you should have a spreadsheet or database to track additional information, including the date shot and a brief synopsis of the footage.

Imagine trying to physically look through 100 MiniDV tapes, while trying to read what you printed on a small 1"x2" label. I can guarantee you will not be able to put all of the information you would like in such a small space. A spreadsheet or database can become an invaluable resource, especially when you are trying to locate footage.

Tracking information in a system that can be searched and sorted will help you manage your library over time. It is not uncommon for an independent project to amass one hundred or more hours of raw footage. Some professional projects can amass tens of thousands! Save your sanity and take an extra few minutes to enter the information in a central location.

If you are working on a project with more than just a few people, I recommend using a centralized system. Whether you create a method of checking in/out a tracking spreadsheet, use WebDAV to lock/unlock a set of files, or even design a database and place it on a server, you need to create a central location for tracking. This is because you need to take extra precautions to make sure people don't change other people's information, or enter conflicting information. If you do not take such precautions, you could find yourself completely confused by your own project.

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You can avoid problems with digitizing your footage by prerecoding timecode on your tapes before you record footage on them .

Digital video provides you with a professional level of accuracy while editing through the use of timecode. A movie is simply a series of still images, or frames, displayed quickly and in succession. Timecode is a method of referring to, and tracking, each of those frames. The frame rate of the video is the measurement of how many frames are displayed per second.

Timecode is measured in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. The accepted notation is HH:MM:SS:FF. So, if someone provides you with a timecode of 42:21:33:04, you know the image occurs at 42 hours, 21 minutes, 33 seconds, and 4 frames.

There are two types of timecode: drop frame (DF) and non-drop frame (NDF). The accepted notation is to use a semicolon (;) to indicate drop frame, and a colon (:) for non-drop frame. Some people also use a period (.) to indicate drop frame. Here are some examples:

01;00;00;00—drop frame
01:00:00;00—drop frame
01:00:00.00—drop frame
01:00:00:00—non-drop frame

The type of timecode is important for editing systems, and the vast a majority use drop frame as a default.

Timecode is used as a reference point for editing. If you have the same timecode occur on a tape more than once, you will have an exceptionally difficult task determining which image to use. Therefore, you want each frame of your video to be associated with a unique timecode.

Many cameras generate timecode, starting at 00:00:00;00, whenever they are turned off and turned on again. This can become a problem during production, because you might be attempting to conserve battery power while recording and consequently turning the camera off and on frequently. Because of this, you could wind up with a tape with numerous duplicate timecodes.

An easy way to tell if you have regenerated timecode is to simply look at the current timecode of the tape in your camera's viewfinder. For example, if you have recorded 10 minutes of footage, turned off and on your camera, and then notice the timecode is at

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Logging your footage provides you with a searchable reference of your content .

Regardless of the size of your project, from a few hours of footage to a few thousand, you need to know what content you have acquired. Although there are many specialized applications to help you log your footage, you can just as easily use a simple spreadsheet.

If you do not have a spreadsheet program, you can create a tab-delimited text document that will accomplish the same goal. A tab-delimited file is a way to separate what you type into columns. In such a file, each tab is a column and each line is a row.

Before you start, make sure all of your tapes are uniquely labeled and numbered [Hack #3] . You also need to be sure the timecode on your tapes does not regenerate [Hack #4] . Although you can catch these problems while logging and fix them [Hack #48] before you begin editing, it is easier to fix these problems early in the process.

Logging your footage is a time-consuming but worthwhile endeavor. As you progress, you will become intimate with your footage. While you're editing, you will discover that you recall seeing a particular shot, but you will not know on what tape or at what timecode the shot occurred. In such a situation, your logs will provide the necessary information.

To set up your spreadsheet assign a column name for each of the following:

Avid: Clipname, Tape, Start TC, End TC, Tracks
Final Cut: Reel, Clipname, Media Start, Media End, Description
Premiere: Tape, In, Out, Clipname, Log Notes, Description, Scene, Shot/Take

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Using free photo software, a digital camera, paper, and a pencil, you can create a digital storyboard .

Storyboarding is an important step in producing a movie. The process requires you to envision what images you plan on capturing to tell your story and put them to paper. Although it can be a tedious process, the positive effect it has when shooting is huge, because it helps communicate your vision with the people you are working with, including yourself.

Even if you are artistically challenged, you can still create a storyboard. To get started, you simply need paper and a pencil. If you have a script, break it out, because you'll need to refer to it quite often.

You can also use a computer program to create your images, or even professional storyboarding software. StoryBoard Quick! (http://www.storyboardartist.com; $279.99) offers a library of over 300 people and objects to help you design a storyboard.

Section 1.7.1.1: Deciding what to draw.

The process of storyboarding requires you to draw out each scene as you intend to capture it. For example, if you have a scene in which two people are talking in a car, you will probably want to start with an image of a car driving down a road. This would be your establishing shot. You would then draw a picture of two people talking, as viewed from the hood of the car, so your shot would capture the people from their shoulders up. Next, you would focus on one person, probably close up so you can see only his face. Figure 1-7 shows a sample, hand-drawn storyboard.

Figure 1-7: Drawing a storyboard by hand

Depending on how ambitious you are, you can use a full sheet of paper for each image, fold the paper in half, fold the paper in quarters, or use index cards. I prefer the simplicity and portability of index cards and a pencil. I also like the fact that I can write notes on the back of the cards.

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Two-column scripts clearly separate the audio and video portions of a scene. This approach provides more detail to help during the preproduction and editing processes .

Most people have seen a script at some point in their lifetime, whether for a play, a television show, or a movie. These are the traditional form of script, or screenplay , which focus on dialogue. They make mere mention of the actions the actors should perform.

A two-column script focuses on both the dialogue of the scene and the specific shots to be used. The two-column format provides visual instructions, allowing directors, editors, and everyone else on the crew to know what should appear on screen. Two-column scripts can be created before or after shooting and are especially helpful when working on a documentary or reality-style project.

Dialogue in a traditional screenplay typically looks like this:

LAFEU.
He cannot want the best.
That shall attend his love.
COUNTESS.
Heaven bless him! Farewell, Bertram.
[Exit COUNTESS.]

Although you can envision this scene in your mind, it is difficult to ensure we all imagine the same setting. Storyboards are one method of communicating what you "see" in your mind [Hack #6] . A two-column script provides another method. The dialogue in the previous example might look like Table 1-1 in a two-column script.

Table : Dialog in a two-column script
Video	Audio
TWO SHOT Lafeu is on a blue velvet couch and Countess is standing to his left.	Lafeu: He cannot want the best. That shall attend his love.

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Apple boxes—simple wooden boxes, commonly found around television and film sets—can be used for a variety of purposes on any shoot. They're also easy to build .

Some common items you might find lying around your home can become indispensable tools when shooting your video. Items such as clothespins [Hack #25] are not only cheap, but highly functional as well. The same holds true for scrap pieces of wood.

Apple boxes are wood boxes that are used for everything from propping up cameras to being used as stepstools, and they are practical workhorses on any shoot. Using some scrap wood, or wood bought from a lumberyard, you can build your own. If you don't want to build your own apple boxes, they can be purchased from places such as FilmTools (http://www.filmtools.com; $31.00) or B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com; $34.95).

The supplies necessary to build an apple box are pretty limited. If you have some scrap wood lying around, use it. Otherwise, purchase the required wood at a local home improvement store or lumberyard. The price of the wood will vary depending on the type of wood and current market conditions. However you go about getting your wood, you will need six pieces per apple box, two pieces in each of the following dimensions:

1/2" x 7" x 11"
1/2" x 7" x 20"
1/2" x 12" x 20"

The resulting full apple box should measure 8 inches high, 12 inches wide, and 20 inches long. You could also build smaller half (4 inches high), quarter (2 inches high), and eighth apple (1 inch high) sizes. Figure 1-9 shows pieces of scrap wood, cut to size for a full apple box and placed together to check the dimensions.

Figure 1-9: Checking the pieces to ensure a proper fit

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Using a small dry-erase board, you can keep track of your footage visually .

A slate is a record of information that is visually recorded onto video. In the physical sense, a slate is usually a plastic or wooden board with areas marked off for someone (usually a camera assistant) to write. When shooting on film, the slate will often have a small moving plank on top of it to make a clack sound and is sometimes referred to as a clapboard .

Clapboards are used so the audio and film images can be synchronized. Film captures only an image, so the audio is recorded separately. When you are watching the image, you can visually see the plank hit the slate, which indicates where the clack sound should be heard. When you synchronize the sound of the clack and the image of the plank hitting, the audio and film images are "in sync."

The reason to use a slate is simple. When you are watching footage, it is helpful to know what you are watching. For example, if you were to pick up a videotape, place it in a deck, and press the Play button, it would be helpful if something were to appear on screen to inform you what you were about to watch. This is why movies and television shows have opening title sequences and why your raw footage should have a slate as well.

There are a couple of ways to make your own slate.

Section 1.10.1.1: Using household supplies

If you're looking to be crafty and save as much money as you can (maybe to feed your crew?), you can use a few common household items:

One small piece of cardboard (around 8" x 11")
One black marker
One roll of wax paper
One roll of tape

You will use the pen to draw sections onto the cardboard, almost like creating a grid. These sections will need to be labeled appropriately (as noted later). After creating and labeling your sections, cover the cardboard with the wax paper and then tape it so that it is taut. The wax paper should be tight enough against the cardboard so you can see the sections through it.

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It isn't difficult to control every aspect of your camcorder from some distance away. In fact, you can shoot video without having to touch your camcorder .

Sometimes, you need to take the camcorder out of your hand and stick it somewhere. For instance, you might be trying to film an animal that doesn't like people, or you might want to film a party from the far corner of a room, while remaining in the shot yourself. Whatever the reason, being able to control the camcorder remotely makes recording more flexible.

Most camcorders come with a remote control that allows you to control many of the features they offer remotely. But these remote controls aren't generally that good; many of the ones I've used worked only from a few feet away. Fortunately, there are ways to get around this limitation: use a programmable remote control or use an infrared (IR) extender.

Section 1.11.1.1: Programmable remotes.

As the name implies, programmable remote controls are smarter than the average remote. They can learn the special codes that camcorder understands, allowing you to control the camcorder without the original remote. The more sophisticated models, such as the Philips Pronto range (http://www.pronto.philips.com/), can be programmed by a PC and configured to control several devices. These remotes can even string several commands together in a macro, so, you could, for instance, create a macro to switch the camcorder to low light mode and start recording from one touch of the remote—a big timesaver.

Programmable remotes can be a real boon if you've lost the remote, because many web sites offer downloadable configuration files for a huge range of devices. Check out sites such as Remote Central (http://www.remotecentral.com). The IR emitters in these remotes are also usually much stronger than the ones in the remote that came with the camcorder, which means that you can control the camcorder from further away.

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Knowing what you are recording while you shoot can save you hours, and even days, of frustration and money during the editing process .

Practically every video camera has audio and video outputs, but most people use them only when transferring video after it's been shot. By using these outputs while you shoot, you can monitor what is being recorded. Not only does this allow you to take care of troubles immediately, such as fixing a bad audio connection, but it also enables you to take field notes that you can refer to when editing.

There are a variety of connections for carrying an audio and/or video signal. If you plan on monitoring your camera while you're recording, you should run out to your local Radio Shack and grab the necessary cables and adaptors for your camera ASAP. While you're there, pick up a couple of spares, since you'll lose or break one at the most inopportune time.

Section 1.12.1.1: Video.

Monitoring your video requires you to send your camera's signal to a television or professional monitor. Some cameras have simple RCA jacks for audio and video, while others have either a combined A/V/Phones jack or something proprietary. Whatever your situation is, you will need to transmit the signal from your camera to your monitor.

Although the image of what's being recorded is important, you should also turn on the camera's display so that the current timecode appears superimposed over the image. By displaying the timecode, you will be able to reference it in your notes. Without it, your notes will be less useful. Figure 1-15 shows a Canon XL-1 and a JVC 3-inch LCD monitor connected together via an RCA cable, which allows for great mobility.

Figure 1-15: Connecting to a small monitor

Unless you're setting up in a location for a long period of time, portability is key. A small, 13- to 15-inch television works well in most situations. However, if you plan on following a cameraman around—to shoot a documentary, for example—you should use a smaller, portable LCD monitor in the 3- to 7-inch range.

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Build an inexpensive enclosure to protect your outdoor security cameras from the weather .

A few years ago, my home burned down while I was out of town. As a longtime home automation enthusiast, I used the opportunity to rebuild my home with as much automation equipment and provisions for future expansion as I could. One of the additions was to have security video cameras scattered all around the property and outside the home. With that in mind, I installed more than two miles of RG-6 cable and Category 5 wire, one length of each to every potential camera location so that I can expand my system simply by adding cameras.

My current video setup consists of eight cameras connected to a 16-camera video controller, a 960-hour time-lapse VHS recorder, and a video-to-TV modulator for each camera. With this system, I can view the video from the cameras on my television sets, as shown in Figure 1-18.

Figure 1-18: The video command center

Each camera is connected to an input on the video controller, and each output from the controller is connected to a TV channel modulator. Each modulator rebroadcasts the camera picture on a different TV channel, so to view a camera I simply turn on a TV and tune in. The modulators are programmable and can broadcast on any channel from 14 through 64, so it's easy to set them to use unused channels on your cable system.

ChannelPlus (http://www.channelplus.com) makes a wide variety of TV modulators and camera controllers.

The cameras I use don't have microphones, but the Category 5 wire that runs to each camera could carry sound back to the modulator if I decide to buy cameras that do have microphones. Currently, I use two wire pairs, of the four available in the Category 5 cable, to run electrical power to the cameras. The camera power supplies are plugged in near the video command center, as described earlier.

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If you have 100 hours of footage to capture and only two days to capture it, using more than one computer to transfer the footage will buy you more time .

Although digital video has promised the ability to transfer footage from tape to disk faster than real time, no editing systems have included the feature. To overcome a shortage of time, many people use multiple editing systems to transfer their footage from tape to disk. The problem is, unless you have a shared disk array and the software to share it among your computers, there's no way for one computer to "see" the footage digitized on another machine. Fortunately, you can work around this limitation by following a few easy steps.

Unfortunately, to use this hack, you can't overcome the fact that you need more than one computer and an equal number of video cameras or decks. So, gather as many as you can and set them up just as you would if they were going to be used to edit. There are two approaches to configuring your systems, depending on how you plan to edit. Both involve how you name the drives where you will be digitizing your footage.

If you have a lot of external hard drives and plan on using them to edit, make sure each drive is named differently. All of the drives will be attached to your editing system when you are finished, so you do not want conflicting drive names.
If you do not have a lot of external drives, or if you plan on keeping your footage on a single drive (or array), give your drives the same name. Taking this approach will allow you to transfer your footage to a new drive, while tricking your editing system into reading the footage off the new drive.

On average, the time it takes to digitize your footage is 1.25 to 1.50 times longer than the length of footage you have acquired. For example, one hour of footage takes up to one and a half hours to digitize. This average takes into account the physical act of loading a tape, rewinding it if necessary, organizing bins, dealing with timecode breaks, and so on.

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You can build a large—in this case, 24' x 8'—removable, disposable blue screen for under $30 .

As a child in the late 70s, I was first introduced to the concept of using a blue screen in film and video while watching The Making of Star Wars . The compositing technique of filming action against a solid blue background, which could be replaced by any environment or other action filmed later, opens endless possibilities to the filmmaker. Today, off-the-shelf software provides consumers with the ability to put this technique to use in amateur films.

Professional-grade compositing material can be costly, but almost any solid color material can serve as a small blue screen. One popular solution is to use fluorescent green or blue poster board to create small backdrops suitable for close-ups, but what about larger scenes?

Building your own blue screen is actually easy, and the whole project can be completed within a couple hours. The finished screen constructed in this hack is about 24 feet wide (including the wraparound to a second wall) by 8 feet high. Being made of cheap, common materials, the screen is also disposable.

The materials are lightweight, making it possible to build a portable version if needed. In fact, I produced a martial arts instructional DVD that actually employed a portable, green screen version of this setup.

I strongly recommend attempting to shoot a few shots against a small piece of material and testing how well you can composite with it using your lights [Hack #22] , camera, and software [Hack #70] before spending the time and energy to build a large screen. Once you're confident that it will work, go ask your parent or spouse for permission to cover one or two walls with the stuff. Most of all, have fun!

In order to construct your blue screen, you'll obviously need a set of materials. This will require a run to your local strip mall to pick up the following supplies:

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Using a monopod, your video camera, and a 5- to 10-pound weight, you can create your own shot stabilizer .

If you have ever attempted to walk and record video at the same time, you have probably noticed the inevitable jiggle in you footage. In order to overcome this highly distracting result, a number of companies have brought products to market. Most notable is the SteadiCam, which is a professional solution to allow the cameraperson to move around freely while maintaining a smooth image. The problem is, SteadiCam gear is quite expensive and the knowledge of how to use it is not readily available.

Fortunately, you can couple a monopod and a standard weight (the type you might find in a gym) to create a solution to stabilize your shots. By attaching a weight to the bottom of a monopod, you will be able to counterbalance your camera when it is attached to the top. There are a great number of monopods available, but I prefer those by Bogen-Manfrotto (http://www.bogenimaging.us/) because you can really abuse them and the end cap is removable on certain models.

Once you have selected and purchased your monopod, you will want to attach a weight to the bottom of it. If your modopod has a removable end cap, you can remove the end-cap from the monopod, slide the weight onto the bottom, and reattach the end-cap. Figure 1-27 shows the result.

If your monopod doesn't have a removable cap on the bottom, then you can drill a hole through the bottom portion of the monopod, slide the weight on, and then place a bolt through your hole to keep the weight attached.

Figure 1-27: A monopod with a small weight attached

It is important that you attach the weight to the bottom of the monopod; otherwise, you will not counter the weight of your camera.

Once you have assembled your monopod and weight, place your camera on top of the monopod and secure it appropriately, as shown in Figure 1-28.

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A pair of wheels, and a way to roll around on them, can make a great dolly .

When attempting to capture a scene where your subjects are separated from the background, the camera needs to be moving. If you have ever tried to record footage while walking, you have probably noticed you get a very shaky shot. Your footage is probably the equivalent of step-shake-step-shake…

Most digital video cameras come with a feature to help stabilize your footage, which is especially useful for when you are standing in one place and holding the camera. When walking, however, you usually do not wind up with the shot you envisioned—even with the stabilization feature turned on.

Many professional camerapeople use a dolly to capture footage when they need to be moving. A dolly is basically a small, wheeled cart on which a cameraperson can sit while rolling along a given path. A variety of sporting goods, or even a wheelchair, can easily be substituted for the real thing.

Many of us do not have the luxury of having a dolly, but we can make do with a pair of rollerblades and a trustworthy friend. Strapping on a pair of rollerblades and hitting the Record button on your video camera might seem like a simple feat, but there are a few caveats of which you should be aware.

Peter Smokler, an Emmy Award–winning cameraman, is known to throw on a pair of rollerblades, instead of using a dolly, to film some of his moving shots.

Section 1.17.1.1: Trusting your friends.

If you plan on skating and shooting, think long and hard about where you will be concentrating. Looking through the eyepiece of your camera will greatly restrict your vision. Even looking at an LCD monitor will probably distract you from noticing any obstacles in your path. Figure 1-29 shows a cameraperson on rollerblades being pulled backward by an assistant.

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Lighting is important to video, especially if you are trying to create a more professional look. Even though you can effectively light a scene "naturally" by using what's available, if you use specific techniques, you can bring out details (or avoid distractions) in your footage. Best of all, you can light most scenes for very little money.

Put together a bare-bones, super-cheap lighting package for digital video.

As most of us know, lighting is key to capturing a good-looking image. While preparing to shoot an independent film on location in Thailand and Cambodia, I realized that most of our gear had to be carried on our backs as we moved from location to location. I knew I was going to be lighting mostly with standard lights and using any available light source when possible, so I needed a portable and highly functional kit.

Thailand and Cambodia both use 220-volt current, so I decided to buy most of my lighting elements in Bangkok. Before I left Los Angeles, however, I purchased the following items at a great place called The Expendables Recycler:

3/4 full roll of 12" black wrap (black tinfoil used to block out and shape light)
CTO (color temperature orange gel)
CTB (color temperature blue gel)
ND (neutral density gel in 0.6 and 0.8)
Full Blue (a vivid blue gel)
Diffusion (both 216 and opal, with opal being more transparent)
Gaffer tape in both black and white (a strong 1" cloth tape)
A bag of clothespins (used to clip gels, diffusion, and black wrap to lights)

Here are the additional items I felt I needed to have in my kit, but didn't bring with me due to the difference in voltage:

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Lighting is important to video, especially if you are trying to create a more professional look. Even though you can effectively light a scene "naturally" by using what's available, if you use specific techniques, you can bring out details (or avoid distractions) in your footage. Best of all, you can light most scenes for very little money.

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
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Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

Put together a bare-bones, super-cheap lighting package for digital video.

As most of us know, lighting is key to capturing a good-looking image. While preparing to shoot an independent film on location in Thailand and Cambodia, I realized that most of our gear had to be carried on our backs as we moved from location to location. I knew I was going to be lighting mostly with standard lights and using any available light source when possible, so I needed a portable and highly functional kit.

Thailand and Cambodia both use 220-volt current, so I decided to buy most of my lighting elements in Bangkok. Before I left Los Angeles, however, I purchased the following items at a great place called The Expendables Recycler:

3/4 full roll of 12" black wrap (black tinfoil used to block out and shape light)
CTO (color temperature orange gel)
CTB (color temperature blue gel)
ND (neutral density gel in 0.6 and 0.8)
Full Blue (a vivid blue gel)
Diffusion (both 216 and opal, with opal being more transparent)
Gaffer tape in both black and white (a strong 1" cloth tape)
A bag of clothespins (used to clip gels, diffusion, and black wrap to lights)

Here are the additional items I felt I needed to have in my kit, but didn't bring with me due to the difference in voltage:

Two clamp lights with flexible necks (the kind you can clamp to your bedpost for reading)
Two dimmers (to control the amount of light coming off the lights)

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"Work lights" are very bright lights, often 500 to 1000 watts, that are sold in home improvement stores. They make great video lights.

Unless you plan on a career that involves lighting, or you're really serious about making the next great independent movie, purchasing a professional set of lights just isn't worth the cost. If you're lucky enough to live somewhere where you can rent lighting packages, you always have that option. But if you don't, or if you're stuck somewhere between renting often (expensive) and purchasing (expensive), you might be looking for a way to light you video without a great expense.

Practically every home improvement store sells very bright, portable lights, often called work or shop lights. The lights range in power, from small 50-watt lights to large 1000-watt lights. The range of power makes them a great choice for the aspiring moviemaker, because you can grab a few across the range. What's better is their price: you can often find them for less than $25 each. Figure 2-3 shows a 500W work light.

Figure 2-3: A work light

Using one really bright, powerful light, along with a small light kit [Hack #17] , can fulfill most of your needs. By using your bright light as your key light (the light most focused on your subject) and then using smaller lights as fill and back lights (lights to cut down shadows and balance out the key), you can effectively light a scene. Figure 2-4 shows a shot lit by a key light only, contrasted with one that uses key and a fill light. A key light can cause shadows; a fill can reduce them.

The technique of using a key light along with a fill light and a back light is called three-point lighting. Your key light should always be brighter than your other lights; a good rule of thumb is that it should be twice as bright. Both your key and fill lights should be aimed from the same direction as your camera, somewhat opposite of each other and slightly above your subject. Your back light, as its name implies, should be aimed from behind and slightly above the subject you are shooting. Figure 2-5 shows a diagram of a three-point lighting scenario.

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Cheap paper lamps can be used to effectively light a scene.

Lighting a scene can make a dramatic difference in the look of your video. The problem for most people is that professional lighting kits are expensive, difficult to use, and not easy to transport. Fortunately, a few low-cost paper lamps can help bring a more professional look to your video. When purchased in sets of varying sizes, they are a perfect complement to a cheap, home-assembled lighting kit [Hack #17] .

Asian paper lamps are often spherical in shape and come in a variety of sizes, up to 30 inches in diameter. They can be purchased from numerous places online, some home improvement stores, and even lighting stores. They cost anywhere from less than $3 to slightly more than $30, depending on the size and quality of the lamp. When illuminated from inside, paper lamps cast a soft, diffuse light. Figure 2-7 shows a frame of video without lighting and one lit by paper lamp (with a 100W bulb).

Figure 2-7: Lighting without (left) and with (right) a paper lamp

Most paper lamps do not include a cord and socket for a light bulb. Such assemblies cost around $5 and are almost always available when purchasing paper lamps. They practically go hand-in-hand and the distributors know this fact. An additional benefit of the cord/socket assembly shown in Figure 2-8 is that you can use it by itself, as well.

Figure 2-8: A cord and socket assembly

For additional control over the light, you can attach a dimmer. You can also use higher wattage bulbs or even use a colored bulb for effect. If you are trying to light an actor who is moving around, you can attach the light to a long pole and hang the light above him (much like a microphone boom [Hack #53] ). In the end, paper lamps are highly functional, easy to transport, and best of all, cheap.

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Lighting is an important aspect of capturing good video images, but you need some control over it.

When shooting on the go—during a wedding reception, a nightclub party, or for a documentary, for example—it helps to have portable lighting. Many companies offer lights that attach to your camera and draw power from it. However, these lights offer little control, if any, over the beam of light provided.

Camcorder lights are usually very small, yet very bright, lights that sit atop your camera. Although some lights provide some control over the light, through the use of barndoors, most do not provide any control. It's light or no light.

Barndoors usually consist of four metal flags attached to the sides of the light, and are common on professional lights. By closing a flag, partially or completely, you can change the amount of light emitted. Barndoors still don't solve the problem of the sometimes harsh light emitted.

Herbert Wetherford, an independent producer in Los Angeles, introduced me to a trick he uses when shooting independent movies. Placing Scotch tape in front of the light will knock down the light, as well as soften it. You effectively diffuse the light with just a few strips of tape. Figure 2-9 shows the results of this effect.

Figure 2-9: Adding a little scotch tape to provide the needed diffusion

Scotch tape is not fireproof. Do not place it in close proximity to the light. If you have to fashion something to hold the tape off of the light, do it. The tape can, and will, melt.

If you need to, you can use clothespins [Hack #25] to position the tape away from the light.

Adding diffusion to a light causes it to become softer, thereby reducing harsh shadows and casting light evenly across an area. If you have control over your environment, using paper lanterns

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All sorts of interesting things happen in the dark, but how do you take video of them? These tips will help you take video in even the darkest places.

It could be a mystery animal rustling in your garden or the phantom cookie thief who keeps sneaking into the kitchen in the dark of night. Whatever it is, you want to take some video for proof. But how do you do this without turning on the lights? Neither the mystery animal nor the cookie thief is likely to come out if you leave all the lights on and your camcorder running.

It might seem like an insurmountable problem, but there are a couple things you can do to take video in poorly lit or dark places. You can either make the most of the light you have, or you can add more light that only your camcorder can see.

By slowing down the shutter speed of your camera, you give it more time to collect the available light, making more of the light that is out there. In many situations, such as under streetlights or other indirect lighting, using this slower shutter speed mode can be enough to produce usable video, and most camcorders offer a special Slow Shutter Speed mode. The resulting video can often be rather jerky and blurry, though; much like a still camera, a slower shutter speed exaggerates both camera shake and the movement of the things that you are capturing. Figure 2-10 is a frame from a video captured using the Color Slow Shutter Speed mode of a Sony camcorder in low light.

You can't do much about the blurring from moving objects, but you can minimize the camera shake by mounting the camcorder on a tripod or holding the camcorder in both hands and leaning against a wall or building.

Figure 2-10: A blurry image captured with a slow shutter speed

The other trick is to add more light. While this might seem illogical, there are types of light that your camcorder can see but that you (or your subjects) can't. Specifically, your camcorder can see infrared (IR) light, which is invisible to the human eye. Most animals can't see

Table of Contents

Section 1.7.1.1: Deciding what to draw.

Section 1.10.1.1: Using household supplies

Section 1.11.1.1: Programmable remotes.

Section 1.12.1.1: Video.

Section 1.17.1.1: Trusting your friends.