Shooting myself, high quality with no cameraman

[dredgy]

Hi all, first post here - looking to learn about photography here. On this instance though, I am after videography advice.

I am shooting an "interview" with myself. You know the ones where is the guy in the office just talking? One of those.

I am reasonably well equipped for an amateur (the stuff I have laying around is bizarre). I have a white/green/black backdrop and stand, though I don't plan on using it. I also have 4 umbrella reflectors/lights. A tripod as well of course.
Camera is Canon EOS 550D. Lens is an 18mm-135mm.

The tricky part of this is I'm filming myself - a complete one man operation on a nearly non-existent budget ($50->$100 at most) so I need tips on everything from lighting to how to look at the camera to distance from the camera to any settings or extra equipment I'll need.

Once it gets to editing I *should* be alright, but any tips there would be much appreciated as well.

Thank you for any help you can offer

 

[brunerww]

Hi dredgy - welcome to the forum! It sounds like you're all set with the video part of your project, but how are you doing with sound? I started with a T2i/550D and the in-camera sound was terrible due to the camera's pitiful internal mic and automatic gain control (AGC), which can cause "hiss" problems during silent portions of your video.

The least expensive fix for this problem is a decent lavalier mic such as the Audio Technica ATR-3550 (about $20 at Amazon US and £24 at Amazon UK as of this post). Clip the mic to your clothing within a couple of feet of your mouth and you'll improve your sound significantly. The mic will be mono, and your camera input is stereo, so you'll also need an inexpensive mono to stereo adapter (about $5 at Amazon US and £2.60 at Amazon UK as of this post).

You may also want to try the free Magic Lantern firmware upgrade to deal with the AGC problem. You can download Magic Lantern here: Magic Lantern | Downloads

With a lavalier mic and Magic Lantern, you can get the results seen here:

[video=vimeo;18507408]http://vimeo.com/18507408[/video]​

Your other problem with this camera will be the lack of a swivel LCD. You won't be able to see yourself to position your image properly within the frame. One possible solution is to use the free EOS Utility software that came with your camera. With this software, you can connect the camera to your laptop via USB - and use the laptop screen as an external monitor. Here's how to do it: How to Use Your Laptop as a Free External Monitor for a Canon DSLR « No Film School

A few additional tips for shooting interviews:

1. Use the "rule of thirds". Place yourself on the left or right third of the screen and look at something off camera. Don't sit in the middle of the frame and look at the camera, unless this is a 'how-to' video. Even then, put yourself on the left or right and leave room for graphics.

2. Use your lights to provide some "three dimensionality" and separate yourself from the backdrop, just as you would for a photo shoot - e.g., key, fill, background and hair.

3. The big advantage of using your DSLR over a small sensor camcorder is control over depth of field. Use it. Crank your ISO down and your aperture up. Move your camera back a few feet and increase the focal length to create a little background blur.

You may also want to invest in a good book on video basics. I recommend "How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck" (less than $10 at Amazon US and less than £10 at Amazon UK). Highly recommended.

Hope this is helpful!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

 

[dredgy]

Thanks bruner for your insight, it was certainly most helpful.

Originally I was going to rent (or even buy) one of those big external microphones that goes on the top of the camera. I didn't realise I could pick up a microphone for that cheap. I'm unable to buy online at the moment so trying to source something locally, though haven't had much luck. It seems the microphone is the only thing I'll have to get, I'll have to try and track down specialty stores though. It's the huge annoyance of living in Australia - tracking down stuff that is cheap and easy to buy everywhere else!

Thanks for all the tips with depth of field and three dimensionality, definitely wouldn't have thought of it, I'm brand new at all but the most basic configurations. And that video was a great example as well.

Thanks again, have to try all this stuff out, hopefully I can get it all underway soon.

 

[412 Burgh]

quick side note: I'll be so close to the Gold Coast. As I am going to Brisbane in February for school.

 

[dredgy]

Gold Coast is an incredibly photogenic place - the beaches and skyline are great, but there are loads of national parks and awesome sights hidden off the road. Brisbane is....similar to Pittsburgh, kind of. A great place to live though - excellent dining and cultural options, so I'm sure you'll love it here

 

[brunerww]

...I'm unable to buy online at the moment so trying to source something locally, though haven't had much luck. It seems the microphone is the only thing I'll have to get, I'll have to try and track down specialty stores though. It's the huge annoyance of living in Australia - tracking down stuff that is cheap and easy to buy everywhere else...

Sorry, dredgy, didn't realize you were in Oz. If you have access to eBay Australia, there are a few ATR-3350s listed for about $25AUS. Most of the inexpensive listings would have to be shipped from the States, but there is one local listing (marked up by about $40AUS): Audio Technica ATR-3350, $69AUS plus postage from CC's Light and Sound in Melbourne via eBay.

Again, hope this is helpful.

Bill

 

[dredgy]

Thanks yea I did a search and got the same stuff. I also found an online store which luckily has its showroom based here.

I searched and got this.

The second lavalier is $50, which is doable, but is designed for phones and tablets - will it work on my camera?

And failing that, after digging through some classifieds I found a "Rode VideoMic" shotgun microphone for $65...will that do the job as effectively?

Thanks for all your help

 

[brunerww]

The Rode SmartLav is a nice little device that works well when paired with the iPhone (see video below), but it has a 4 pole TRRS jack and will not work if you plug it into the 3 pole TRS jack on your 550D without something like this $8.40AUS 4 pole to 3 pole adapter.

​

The Rode Videomic will certainly work, and will be an improvement over your in-camera microphone, but, unless you get it off the camera and closer to your mouth, it won't give you the "presence" of a lavalier.

Again, hope you find this useful!

Bill

 

[dredgy]

Thanks.

Found a mic for $10, so snapped it up even though the input is all wrong. A female mini XLR.

A similar mic to the one I have, if not the same is: ESP Technology UHF2 Lapel Microphone - ESP Technology UHF2L

Trying to find an adapter online, am I right in thinking this will work?

Thanks again