An Education in Video Production
Photography has been an active hobby of mine for most of the time I've been disabled. I continue to learn more about the ever-changing photography world each day and, more importantly, I look forward to learning more each day. Now I am beginning an education in video production as well.
I upgraded my computer in the past few days with a beefier power supply and a new graphics processor... I downloaded the appropriate software that I'll be using for video editing... and, about a week ago, I enrolled in a somewhat basic videography course geared toward specific software applications for video editing and color grading.
Just like with photography, this education began with learning to use the camera effectively. If you record video improperly, there isn't much you can do about it in editing. The same holds true for photography and I learned many years ago that capturing exactly what you envision is the key to beautiful photography. Just like in photography, the first step to good videography is knowing how to effectively use your camera and gear.
Videography shares some similarities to photography but not nearly as much as people would think. Actually, not to diminish the immense amount of knowledge and experience which is needed for photography but, photography knowledge is only the tip of the iceberg for learning videography.
Understanding light is the same... composition is the same... utilizing leading lines is the same but now in three dimensions... hmmm... this is about where the similarities end.
How shutter speed is chosen and handled is drastically different in video. The choice of shutter speeds is extremely limited in video capture.
ISO settings can be even more problematic in video than in stills for a number of reasons but pretty much is only limited by camera capabilities.
Aperture is handled the same but being able to use wider apertures could be difficult in video requiring more techniques or added gear. Sometimes wider apertures are simply impossible in video. Sometimes narrower apertures are impossible.
We need to understand and add 'frame rate' to the equation for video and learn all the variables this affects.
Accurate focus in video is really only attained by using manual focus and this requires a lot of practice and experience. This is something I have been working on for some time now but I would still consider myself a beginner in the big scheme of things.
Post editing... the computer requirements are immensely greater for video than in photography. The software for video is much more complex and requires years to master. Each frame of video is like dealing with a single photograph so, unlike photography, in videography I am editing hundreds or thousands of frames in a single short video clip.
White balance and color grading is exceptionally important for a polished final product. Okay... this is the same in photography too but in video I'm dealing with color corrrecting and color grading hundreds or thousands of frames at a time.
Unlike in photography, we need to add audio to our video... preferably good audio because poor audio can ruin an otherwise good video. Attaining good audio is a complex endeavor. Fortunately, my experiences in music have helped me here. I'm still limited, however, by not having the appropriate gear at my disposal.
My latest coursework is aimed at teaching me how to effectively utilize CyberLink's Director Suite including PowerDirector, ColorDirector and AudioDirector. Also, I am learning about colorgrading and LUT's (lookup tables) in Davinci Resolve and ColorDirector.
Beyond all of the above is learning different camera techniques to attain desired mood and effects.
This will be interesting!
I upgraded my computer in the past few days with a beefier power supply and a new graphics processor... I downloaded the appropriate software that I'll be using for video editing... and, about a week ago, I enrolled in a somewhat basic videography course geared toward specific software applications for video editing and color grading.
Just like with photography, this education began with learning to use the camera effectively. If you record video improperly, there isn't much you can do about it in editing. The same holds true for photography and I learned many years ago that capturing exactly what you envision is the key to beautiful photography. Just like in photography, the first step to good videography is knowing how to effectively use your camera and gear.
 |
| Cyberlink ColorDirector for color grading. |
Videography shares some similarities to photography but not nearly as much as people would think. Actually, not to diminish the immense amount of knowledge and experience which is needed for photography but, photography knowledge is only the tip of the iceberg for learning videography.
Understanding light is the same... composition is the same... utilizing leading lines is the same but now in three dimensions... hmmm... this is about where the similarities end.
How shutter speed is chosen and handled is drastically different in video. The choice of shutter speeds is extremely limited in video capture.
ISO settings can be even more problematic in video than in stills for a number of reasons but pretty much is only limited by camera capabilities.
Aperture is handled the same but being able to use wider apertures could be difficult in video requiring more techniques or added gear. Sometimes wider apertures are simply impossible in video. Sometimes narrower apertures are impossible.
 |
| Davinci Resolve for color grading and LUT's. |
We need to understand and add 'frame rate' to the equation for video and learn all the variables this affects.
Accurate focus in video is really only attained by using manual focus and this requires a lot of practice and experience. This is something I have been working on for some time now but I would still consider myself a beginner in the big scheme of things.
Post editing... the computer requirements are immensely greater for video than in photography. The software for video is much more complex and requires years to master. Each frame of video is like dealing with a single photograph so, unlike photography, in videography I am editing hundreds or thousands of frames in a single short video clip.
 |
| Cyberlink PowerDirector's interface for video editing. |
White balance and color grading is exceptionally important for a polished final product. Okay... this is the same in photography too but in video I'm dealing with color corrrecting and color grading hundreds or thousands of frames at a time.
Unlike in photography, we need to add audio to our video... preferably good audio because poor audio can ruin an otherwise good video. Attaining good audio is a complex endeavor. Fortunately, my experiences in music have helped me here. I'm still limited, however, by not having the appropriate gear at my disposal.
My latest coursework is aimed at teaching me how to effectively utilize CyberLink's Director Suite including PowerDirector, ColorDirector and AudioDirector. Also, I am learning about colorgrading and LUT's (lookup tables) in Davinci Resolve and ColorDirector.
Beyond all of the above is learning different camera techniques to attain desired mood and effects.
This will be interesting!
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