AudioMedia - November 2008 - (Page 62)

video guide A Sound Pro’s Guide To Video Camera Support & Movement KEVIN HILTON finds out how spiders and dollies help to move the camera, and the audience. SOUND PRO'S VIDEO GLOSSARY A Panning With the tilt, the pan is the easiest camera movement to achieve, but is also still highly effective in giving the audience a sense of where the action is taking place and what is happening. At its most basic the camera moves horizontally from one side of a scene to the other, rotating on a fixed point. This gives a panoramic view of a location or set, hence the name, and is used particularly as an establishing shot. Panning can also bring a part of the action or a specific character or object to the attention of the audience, implying a relationship between that and the central characters. This is more subtle and effective than a straight cut. Other uses of a pan shot are to follow the approach of a character or vehicle, and to give a subjective view for the audience, as if the central figure in a film were turning his or her head to watch what is going on. Specific forms of panning are: a swish pan, when a rapid movement of the camera blurs the image; a search pan, as if the camera, or in the case of a point of view shot, a character, is looking for something or someone; a revelation pan, which leads up to the sudden discovery of a person, place or object; and a reaction pan, moving the camera from a significant part of the action to a character’s response to what is happening. To allow the camera head to move smoothly and effectively a handle is fitted to it. This, not unreasonably, is known as the panhandle. camera is a precise, intricate, essentially delicate piece of equipment. It can also be heavy, and earlier models were certainly cumbersome, so a means of support was as vital to the development of photography and cinematography as the lens and means of capturing images. As cameras developed, in parallel with film, video, and live transmission equipment, so did supporting gear. Now there is a wide range of hardware that not only holds the camera but also allows it to be moved, often dramatically, giving the Director and Director of Photography further creative tools, which have produced some of the most memorable moments in film and television. The most basic forms of camera support are the tripod and the pedestal. These are so ubiquitous that they can be taken for granted, but they provide stability and, in a number of variations, allow the camera to move, giving drama and dynamism to a scene. A moving camera not only enhances action but also affects the audience’s emotions in subtle ways, and adds majesty to shots of buildings and landscapes. It can also bring a three dimensional quality to the flatness of the cinema or television picture. When used with clever editing, camera movement gives films a rhythmic quality that drives the narrative and stimulates the viewer. In its purely supportive role, a tripod has three retractable legs made of hardwood, stainless steel, or another light metal. At the apex of this is a plate on which a head mount is secured, which in turn secures the camera and allows it to be moved and rotated. There are three distinct types of basic tripod: standard, with a height typically between four and seven feet; sawn-off, giving heights of three to five feet; and baby, with a two to three feet range. From this fundamental form there are a number of variants, each designed for a different purpose. A gimbal tripod has a mobile mount, with a heavy weight that hangs down between the legs for stabilisation. It is used to achieve level shooting when the camera is on a slow-moving vehicle and ships at sea. To give extra stability the three legs of the tripod can be fixed in place by an extendable frame known variously as a spreader, triangle, spider, or tee. For moving camera work wheels are fitted to the tripod, creating a tripod dolly. When a spreader/triangle/spider/ tee is used on a tripod dolly it is called a wheeled tee or a rolling spider. Clearly the film business is one divided by a common language. Tripods are more associated with location work, shown by each foot usually having a spike on the end, allowing the tripod to be bedded into the ground to give a stable base for the camera. If used in a studio or other interior situation, rubber or plastic stoppers are fitted to prevent scratches to the floor. A refinement of the tripod for studio work is the pedestal, which comprises a central column with a hydraulic mechanism for raising and lowering the camera mount. Mobility is built in, with rotating wheels fitted on either three struts positioned at -degree angles from the base of the column, or under a domed construction that gives the impression of the pedestal floating across the room. At the top of both a tripod and a pedestal is the head mount, on which the camera sits. This can be either fixed or, more usually, a pan and tilt head. Movement is achieved by the head either being panned (see glossary) side to side or tilted up and down. To allow this the head moves using one of three means; the most basic is having two metal plates moving over each other, a mechanism that is reserved for shots that require less finesse and accuracy. A more refined method is the geared head, which is adjusted by handcranking a flywheel and so gives a smooth movement. Because it is mechanical the geared head is big and heavy, which usually restricts its use to the studio. In recent years the most efficient form of moving head, and the most widely used, has been the fluid head, which has liquid forced between its moving parts to make camera movement effortless. Vinten and Sachtler, both members of the Vitec group, produce the bestknown pedestals and tripods. Sachtler also makes fluid heads, as do O’Connor, also a Vitec subsidiary, Miller Camera Support, and Ronford Baker. The basic pan and tilt of a camera on its pedestal gives restricted but still effective movement, following and tracking a character or the course of action, which can be extended horizontally by using a device called a slider. This is fitted to a pedestal or set into a frame that sits on a vehicle. Ronford Baker manufacturers a range of sliders, as well as fluid heads, tripods, rolling spiders, and tracks. The wheels on a pedestal or rolling spider give greater mobility, but for any elaborate moving shot the dolly comes into its own. This is a wheeled platform that looks like a flatbed or frame trolley with arms and seats. The dolly has a jib or central pedestal to support the camera, plus seating for the operator and, on the larger models, an assistant. A standard wheeled dolly is able to move forward and > 62 AUDIO MEDIA NOVEMBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AudioMedia - November 2008

AudioMedia - November 2008 Contents Recording News Post News Broadcast News Geofocus: Italy What's Up UK AES Review For the Record Studio Snapshot: Aquarium Abbey Road Plug-ins Brilliance Pack Neumann TLM67 Mercenary Audio KM-69 IZ Technology ADA Final Cut Special: Bond TC Powercore 6000 EP Productions Nagra VI Product Sampler: Location Tools Video Guide AMSR News Shure KSM9 Big Beach Boutique 4

AudioMedia - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.