Behind the Scenes: Lights, Cameras & Us

Equipment: 

We are luck that DLSU provides High Definition Hybrid Cameras for Communication students. Since we’ve paid significantly large fees for the use of all the equipment, we must abuse them! So there, we borrow the camera every week :)

For the Audio recordings, we use either a Sennheiser Lapel mic, boom mic or a shotgun mic, which ever is available. But since we often use HD Cameras, we use it’s partner mic- Sure Shotgun Mic!

“The Audience can forgive you for bad visuals, but not for bad audio”

On some cases, lack of equipment pushes us to the limits of our minds. Haha! When there’s no shotgun mic & HD Cam available, we opt to use any microphones-lapel, boom or uni directional mics and record the audio thru Mac’s garage band. This is a stressful method ‘cause you still need to sync in the audio with video during post production. 

Also it will be of great help if you have a quality headphones to monitor the sound recording. The more padded, the better, so you could eliminate sounds you hear beyond what the headphones give you. 

“Cameras and Lenses aren’t just machines, they capture your own perspective of the subject”

For practicality purposes, we shoot with multiple cameras. Since we do not have the luxury of time, we shoot something all at once (if possible). Different cameras for different angles and talents. 

Here’s an example. HD Cam is used for side shots, mainly for audio. DSLR1 on right, medium shot. DSLR2 on left, close up on her face. DSLR3 (not seen on photo) close up on food. 

We use 3 units of Nikon D5000. These are mine, Nicole’s and Chey’s. Each has different lenses. One has a telephoto lens (50-200mm), basic lens (35-80mm) and primary lens (50mm). We often shoot using the Manula Focus. We love the rack focus effect-changing focus from one subject to another & deliberately defocusing on the subject. 

And we have an extra Canon 1000D for stills and behind the scenes photos :)

We seldom use tripods, since we’re always on the go, we want our cameras in our hands. We hate the hassle of having to set up a tripod and screw in your camera while everyone else is watching you and while the time runs. 

“The only difference of a porn from a sexy movie, is the lighting”.

We seldom use lights. Obviously we can’t use them when we’re shooting on location. That’ll be stressful. But we use them mostly on indoor shoots like inside the house or in a studio. Good lighting is the key to a good visuals. We often use Red Head lights (natural lights/yellow lights/halogen lamps) provided by the school. 

We often use a three-point light set-up for indoor shoots, just improve the lighting and kill the shadows. 

But on some rare cases, like our interview shoot with Dave, we used 5 Red Head lights to achieve the color we want. One more thing, these lights are really hot! And this room with a 5-light set-up was a hell for everyone! Lights are the primary reason why everyone loves the director’s ‘cut’. haha!

This is how we do things. This may vary ‘cause of your own personal choices, or due to lack of equipment, time and changes in different variables. In shooting, it’s not enough that you got equipments and people who know how to use them. Of course you need them, but they are useless without the right skills. All of us in the group could switch positions when the need arises. When we only shoot with three people I, usually works as a camera handler and audio man; Chey as a camera handler and script writer; Nicole as a camera handler and cinematographer. Anyone of us with the mastery of the subject acts as the director. 

But since we’ve got awesome friends, we have better job distributions. I usually handles the HD Hybrid camera; Nicole, Chey & Kendell handles the DSLRs; Alison does the audio recording & monitoring; Aline, the talent! haha! 

It’s always important that there’s someone who directs, someone who sees, someone who records audio and someone who writes. Nicole has the best talent in capturing things through her lens, so we rely on her eyes when we shoot. Chey has mad writing skills, she always writes the instant scripts. And I do the directing and organizing stuff. Alison, Kendel & Aline aren’t paid for doing these things. They just love us! So if you want to make your own videos or films, be sure you’ve got amazing friends to support you!

One important thing: DAPAT MAY DISKARTE! I couldn’t find a better sounding english translation of DISKARTE. Most of the time, we shoot segments and features, and most of the time you can’t think you’re too prepared for the shoot, ‘cause you aren’t. There are times talents wouldn’t show up, so right there and then, whatever it takes, go find a new talent. There are times it’d rain, but we need to shoot, so we cover our cameras with umbrellas and hankies and go shoot. There are times your permit won’t get approved, or you wouldn’t have the time to even get a permit, so you just sneak around and shoot. Whatever it takes, no matter how those security guards chase you down, you need to shoot! There are times you’d need to use your charm or whatever you have, just so you could shoot. This is more than a job, this requires more than just the skills, you must have the passion and drive to do what you have to do, whatever it takes! 

Create/Find your own style and explore! :)