Matt's camera workshop- Primo Spherical lenses and band positioning

 Matt's camera workshop- 24th September

Primo Spherical lenses:

When making professional music videos, people use Primo-Spherical lenses to capture better quality images. Matt introduced us to a set of Primo- lenses and told us the difference between these lenses and the large singular lens we used when filming our opening sequences last year.

Primo-Spherical lenses:

1. Can't zoom
2. come in multiple mm for different sized shots e.g. 18mm- close, 35 mm- mid, 85 mm- long shot
3. requires a tape measure to calculate the distance between the subject and lens, then focus the lens using the ft and M measurements on the lens (measuring mark found on side of camera near the lens)
4. great quality image
5. need to be swapped every time you want to film a different width shot

Spherical lenses compared to Zoom Lenses.

Spherical lenses in different mm 18-85

Spherical lens attached to camera. (White Measuring marker for focus on the side)

Zoom lenses:

1. can zoom
2. picture quality is not as good
3. doesn't need to be swapped for every shot
4. can shoot multiple width shots

We also learnt about shutter speeds and FPS during the workshop. Shutter speed is the rate of which the image is captured on the camera and how quickly the shutters on the camera open to expose lighting through the lens. Lower shutter speeds, like 50*, give lots of motion blur as the lens is capturing more exposure and seeing the image for a longer amount of time. Higher shutter speeds, like 300*, are used in action films; such as the Transformers films, to make the images look janky, chaotic and high definition, which create a tense atmosphere as everything appears to be happening very quickly. FPS is the rate of which the frames on screen are shown, in other words, it controls the speed of the video, allowing us to make slow motion (15 fps) or fast motion (60fps). Films are typically shot between 25-30fps.

Band positioning- making the shot appealing to the audience:

Matt taught us when positioning our. cast/ band members on set, infant of the camera, that it is not like actors on a stage. There is only one audience member to perform to (the camera) so we position the band to appeal to that one view point. We focused on levels of positioning e.g. platforms, crouching or lying down and proxemics such as the band being positioned into a wonky diamond and two of the members facing inwards and 2 facing the camera.

Some examples of how we positioned people for the camera: