Pro DSLR Video Tips From David Harry Stewart at PopPhoto

PopPhoto.com has a great interview with photographer filmmaker David Harry Stewart where he shares his pro DSLR video tips.

The article is an interesting read and there are a couple of things that really stand out to me. Chronologically, the first is the mention of an editing book from Walter Murch which I ordered from Amazon before even finished reading the article. I’ve been trying to wade through the list of technical and artistic filmmaking books without a filter and it’s a big help to know that someone from the stills background like myself recommends this book.

I really recommend reading Walter Murch’s In the Blink of an Eye. He’s a genius. Moviemaking is deeply psychological—your brain makes this leap. Murch’s thesis is your eyes blink and your brain is making edits. He also talks about the soundscape. Those things are totally foreign to a still photographer. But the study of cinema is a mature science—it’s been going on for 100 years. There’s a wealth of information out there.

David also talks about editing software and answers the number one question I hear from people new to shooting video:

I started with Final Cut Express for four months, but that was a mistake because you can’t just upgrade from Express to Pro.

My experiences match what David says about shooting wide for run-and-gun shots. When operating a shoulder rig, it seems easier or more intuitive for me to get a good shot by matching the pace and keeping a fairly steady distance than by pulling focus while in chase.

I used a 21mm f/2.8 Zeiss lens on my Canon EOS 7D in my palm, running after these kids. I set it to f/5.6. There’s huge depth of field, 6 to 8 feet or more. I don’t want to pull focus.

This is a must read for photographer filmmakers. There are so many great tips about shutter speeds, ISO, shooting under incandescent lights, in camera sharpening and color correction.

I use a color meter all the time. You have to get the exposure and the color temperature exactly right. It’s like shooting transparencies all over again. H.264 files are 8-bit color. You can’t go from daylight to tungsten in the same shot. It’s not RAW.

If you are a regular reader, you know how I feel about mimicking feature film workflow on every project by shooting flat and correcting color in post. I’m not saying that David Harry Stewart validates my opinion, but I did get all warm and fuzzy when I read the above quote.

Read the whole story on PopPhoto.com