Intro to cameras lesson

During the lesson on Tuesday we learned a lot of new ways of controling and using the camera. As an example i have learned some totally new words that I havent even heard. 

One of the first things we have learned is using tripod. Tripod is a general term for a stand or support

with three legs. It is often used to support a camera, it is also used  to stabilize and elevate a camera, a flash unit, or other photographic equipment. The other important thing that we have learnt is the White Balance.

White balance is a process when you are removing unrealistic colour cast, so objects which appear white in the person are rendered also white in the photo. Also “colour temperature” of a light must be taken into account. We can easily judge what is white under different light sources, but digital cameras are having huge difficulties with auto white balance, and can create blue, orange colour casts. Learning white balance would cause us less problems with doing mistakes on colour casts.

We have also learned exposure and framing. Exposure is the amount of light allowed to fall on each area. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, which can be computed from exposure value.

 Framing is a way of using natural surroundings to add more meaning to a picture. Anything can be included, like window, door, trees or grass, ect. It is necessary not to focus on what’s framing the subject; it is the main subject that must be focused

One of the most important rules is “The rule of Thirds”. It means that the frame can be divided into three horizontal sections and also vertical sections.  So when the both sections intercept, they make an ideal location for more important parts of the picture.  It is also useful if there is more than one important subject.  Dividing can also be helpful in setting a picture, because it can help to determine how much horizon is wanted.Other rule which is also important is the “Rule of 180 degree”. The 180 degree rule based on a line between two points. If you are to If this rule is not followed, all the shots will be on one side of the line. One of the main reasons to follow the rule, is the keep audience oriented

In a dialogue scene between two characters, Justin (orange shirt, frame left in the diagram) and Drew (blue shirt, frame right), the camera may be placed anywhere on the green 180° arc and the spatial relationship between the two characters will be consistent from shot to shot, even when one of the characters is not on screen. Shifting to the other side of the characters on a cut, so that Drew is now on the left side and Justin is on the right, may disorient the audience.

We divided ourself into groups and started to film short sequences. We filmed three types of shoots: Wide shoot, medium close up and close up. We had an officer token on our table. We were filming the three types of shoots. Anna, one of our people in the group had to walk towards the table, grab the token and than put it back. We did it three times, so we would have all three types of shoot. The second task i had to go forward the computer, type something on the keyboard and come back. We filmed it again three times but using also different types of shoot, like having the camera angle looking from the back, or the shoulder of the actor.

All in all as i think it is quit hard at the beggining when you just start to learn it, but as the time passes on you start to understand everything. It is also quit interesting to people who are just started learning all about it.

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