THE STEADY CAMERA

(Hand held)

One of the main differences between professional camera work and that of the amateur is often the appearance of 'THE WOBBLES'. Too much movement in a shot can be distracting. A hand held camera can be used effectively but it's not that easy to get it right!! Using a tripod will get rid of most of this problem, however the tripod also give your work a traditional 'straight' look.

HAND HELD SHOOTING TIPS:

1. When using a hand held camera, as far as possible stay wide on your shot. This reduces the apparent movement of the camera.
2. If there is a convenient object near by lean against it for support. eg a pole, a desk, a chair, the corner of a building, etc.
3. Adopt a stable position making a triangle between your hands and the camera, feet apart helps.
4. Use the movement for affect. Your camera becomes the roving- curious eyes of the viewer . Move the camera around to explore the scene as the action taking place in front of you. Practice makes perfect. This is not an easy skill to master.
5. If you really need a steady shot, use a tripod.

ACTIVITY

1. Using a hand held camera shoot 1 min. of footage in the school playground. Use the camera steadying methods listed above. Ensure the camera is set fully wide throughout the shoot.
2. Repeat the same shot sequence you used in 1) but this time shoot with the zoom control zoomed in half way . Return and view your work.

Comment on the difference in quality of the footage produced in each sequence and how it compares with footage shot from a tripod.

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CHOOSING A SHOOTING STYLE

In planning your shoot consider what style or appearance you would like the end production to have. The answer to this question will be influenced by personal production preferences, genre of your production, target audience, available equipment, the purpose of etc. You can vary your shooting style from formal locked camera operation to rapid hand held movements.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

There are many different types, styles or genre of programs eg. drama, documentary, music video clip, news segment, variety show, etc. What styles of productions would better suit a hand held shooting style and what styles would suit a fixed tripod approach?

Comment on the most suitable shooting style for each genre of program listed above. Can you give a reason for the style suitability?

FOLLOW UP:

Watching T.V. tonight make note of which programs use hand held shots predominantly and which ones use fixed shot. Next time you have access to a camera try to imitate the types of shots you see used:-)