Monday, 7 October 2013

Production Gear

A motion picture camera captures a rapid sequence of pictures on a roll of film, called a strip of film. Louis le Prince first patented the motion capture camera in 1888 it originally had to be manually turned.

Early movies had a frame rate of 14-20 frames per second. Kodak in 1923 launched 16mm film stock for cameras as a lower cost alternative than 35mm. This was used by many amateur filmmakers. In the 1930's where made with digital cameras by the BBC, using cathode ray tubes. Most colour cameras came about in the 50's and 60's. Over time cameras became smaller and more compact.
The development of sorting information changed drastically over the years. In the 20th century we relied on videotape based analogue formats such as VHS and Betamax. Early 2000's MiniDV was a digital type based format but was soon followed by DVD, hard disk drive and finally SD card/compact/solid state flash based recording. MiniDV allowed for 720x576 (Standard definition) recording in PAL (0.4 megapixels). Current consumer cameras allow for full high definition which is 1920x1080 (2 megapixels). The current including film standard is 35mm, which dependant on quality, can range between 10-24 megapixels or even higher. The current industry digitally standard is 4K which is 12 megapixels. However, some films are currently being shot at 6K (19 megapixels)
Film is inside of the camera (Completely dark at this point). The shutter opens, and light travels though the lens, exposing the film or sensor. The shutter closes, and the light is focused onto the film.
The sensor size of a digital camera has a big impact on the look big impact on the look and quality of an image. This is why DSLR's have made such a huge impact on the film industry. It has allowed for affordable filmmaking.
The general rule rule of sensors are...
If its smaller, it will have a higher frame rate capability, but produce more gain in darker situations. If its larger it will produce a better quality images and handle dark situations much better.
There are three main functions of controlling the way an image is exposed correctly with a camera. shutter speed (How quickly an image is captured) Aperture (Controls DoF) ISO (sensitivity).

Lighting is the important for film, as it makes the image more interesting. It creates depth, creating the illusion of a three dimensional image subject inside the frame (two dimensional). If your shooting out side the best option is to use reflectors.
The most common lighting setup is the "3 point"



The key for good sound is to ensure the microphone is facing your actor, and that your sound levels on the recording are peaking, but not hitting maximum, otherwise the sound will distort.
There are three microphones commonly used.
Shotgun microphone - it is highly directional and picks up the most sound from where its pointing
Dynamic microphone - roughed and resistent to moisture mostly used for on stage performances
Condenser microphone


Tuesday, 17 September 2013

Television Standards


PAL is stands for Phase Alternating Line. Walter Bruch was the engineer who invented the PAL system in the early 1960’s. It broadcasts in most countries at 576i. It has a refresh rate of 50Hz and runs at 25 fps. Two advantages to the PAL system are Greater number of scan lines and more picture detail. A disadvantage to PAL is more flicker because it has a lower frame rate.

SESCAM stands for Squentiel couleur a memoire, which is French for Sequential Colour with Memory. Invented in the 1960’s in France by a team, lead by Henri de France. SECAM is used in France, Russia, parts of Asia and parts of Africa. SECAM has a resolution of 625 lines and a refresh rate of 50Hz and runs at 25fps. Two advantages of SECAM are stable Hues and contrast saturation and shares its ability to render images with the correct hue with PAL. One disadvantage is half of the colour information is lost on each line since only one colour signal is transmitted on each line.

NTSC stands for National Television System Committee. It is used in mostly North America. Created by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in 1940, it didn’t have colour. It has a resolution of 340 lines a refresh rate of 60Hz and runs at 30fps. One advantage for NTSC is. One disadvantage for NTSC is when PAL or NTSC is used on it, the video stutters.Satellite television was created in 1962 by Arthur C. Clarke. The broadcasting company sends the signal to satellites orbiting space, the satellites then send the signal back to the satellite dish on houses. Satellite TV can be accessed almost all over the world, due to the fact that it can be fitted by anyone and isn’t needed to be connected to any other place. Two advantages of satellite TV are High-quality audio and picture display and access to hundreds of channels worldwide. One disadvantage is it can malfunction in bad weather.