BJMC-205

BASICS OF CAMERA, LIGHTS AND SOUND

Course Code : BJ(MC) 207 L:4 T/P : 0 CREDITS : 4

Objectives of the Course: On completion of the course students should be able to:
1. Identify different kinds of video camera, camera shots, movements, mounts, angles and compositions
along with basic operations and functions of a video camera.
2. Describe techniques of lighting for video production.
3. Describe the methods of recording and mixing of sound in video production.
Course Content:
Unit-I [Camera] L-12
1. Introduction to video camera
2. Parts of video camera and their functions
3. Camera movement equipment
4. Lenses – functions and types

Unit-II [Visualization] L-12

1. Composition – different types of shots, camera angles and camera movements
2. Asthetics in visual composition
3. Subject - camera relationship.
4. Aperture control and depth of field
Unit-III [Lights] L-12
1. Lights and its properties
2. Different types of lights
3. Other tools used in lighting – diffusers, reflectors, cutters & gels
4. Basic lighting techniques
5. Accessories used in lighting
Unit-IV [Sound] L-12
1. Audio fundamentals
2. Various audio elements used in video programmes - lip synchronized sound, voice, music,
ambience, sound effects
3. Types of microphones
4. Use of audio mixers for recording & editing of sound
5. Different audio equipment for studio and location recording
6. Audio post production – mix and unmix tracks
 UNIT-1

Introduction to Video Camera

A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by
the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of
John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in experimental
broadcasts through the 1930s.

A professional video camera (often called a television camera even though the use has spread beyond
television) is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images (as opposed to a movie camera, which
records the images on film). Originally developed for use in television studios, they are now commonly used
for corporate and educational videos, music videos, and direct-to-video movies.
There are two types of professional video cameras: High end portable, recording cameras (essentially, high-
end tapeless camcorders) used for Electronic news gathering (ENG) and Electronic field production (EFP)
image acquisition, and television studio cameras which lack the recording capability of a camcorder, and are
often fixed on studio pedestals. Portable professional cameras are generally much larger than consumer
cameras and are designed to be carried on the shoulder.

Parts of Video Camera and its Function

10 Basic Camera Parts
There are 10 basic camera parts to identify in today’s digital world. Whether you have a digital compact or a
digital SLR, these parts will inevitably be found on most cameras.
1. Lens The lens is one of the most vital parts of a camera. The light enters through the lens, and this is where
the photo process begins. Lenses can be either fixed permanently to the body or interchangeable. They can also
vary in focal length, aperture, and other details.
2. Viewfinder The viewfinder can be found on all DSLRs and some models of digital compacts. On DSLRs,
it will be the main visual source for image-taking, but many of today’s digital compacts have replaced the
typical viewfinder with an LCD screen.
3. Body The body is the main portion of the camera, and bodies can be a number of different shapes and sizes.
DSLRs tend to be larger bodied and a bit heavier, while there are other consumer cameras that are a
conveniently smaller size and even able to fit into a pocket.
4. Shutter Release The shutter release button is the mechanism that “releases” the shutter and therefore
enables the ability to capture the image. The length of time the shutter is left open or “exposed” is determined
by the shutter speed.
5. ApertureThe aperture affects the image’s exposure by changing the diameter of the lens opening, which
controls the amount of light reaching the image sensor. Some digital compacts will have a fixed aperture lens,
but most of today’s compact cameras have at least a small aperture range. This range will be expressed in
f/stops. For DSLRs, the lens will vary on f/stop limits, but it is usually easily defined by reading the side of the
lens. There will be a set of numbers stating the f/stop or f/stop range, ex: f/2.8 or f/3.5-5.6. This will be your
lowest settings available with that lens.
6. Image Sensor The image sensor converts the optical image to an electronic signal, which is then sent to
your memory card. There are two main types of image sensors that are used in most digital cameras: CMOS
and CCD. Both forms of the sensor accomplish the same task, but each has a different method of
performance.
7. Memory Card The memory card stores all of the image information, and they range in size and speed
capacity. The main types of memory cards available are CF and SD cards, and cameras vary on which type that
they require.
8. LCD Screen The LCD screen is found on the back of the body and can vary in size. On digital compact
cameras, the LCD has typically begun to replace the viewfinder completely. On DSLRs, the LCD is mainly for
viewing photos after shooting, but some cameras do have a “live mode” as well.
9. Flash The on-board flash will be available on all cameras except some professional grade DSLRs. It can
sometimes be useful to provide a bit of extra light during dim, low light situations.
10. User Controls
The controls on each camera will vary depending on the model and type. Your basic digital compacts may only
have auto settings that can be used for different environments, while a DSLR will have numerous controls for
auto and manual shooting along with custom settings.

Camera movement equipments

The manner in which the cameraperson moves his/her camera plays a very important role in giving the entire
scene the requisite effect. The basic two ways in which a camera moves is:

1. The camera's head alone moves above its stationary pedestal/tripod.

2. The camera moves along with its pedestal/tripod

Some of the standard Camera movements that a cameraperson should keep in mind are:

PAN: A pan is a horizontal camera movement in which the camera moves left and right about a central axis.

The Pan movement should have a definite direction. It should have a start and end point. The camera swivels
(in the same base position) to follow a moving subject. A space is left in front of the subject: the pan 'leads'
rather than 'trails'. A pan usually begins and ends with a few seconds of still picture to give greater impact. The
speed of a pan across a subject creates a particular mood as well as establishing the viewer's relationship with
the subject. 'House piping' is continually panning across from one person to another; it looks clumsy
COMMAND: Pan Left, Pan Right

TILT: A tilt is a vertical camera movement in which the camera points up or down from a stationary
location. For example, if you mount a camera on your shoulder and nod it up and down, you are tilting the
camera.
This movement is not used as much as panning due to human nature. We tend to look left and right more
than we do up and down.

PEDESTAL: A pedestal shot means moving the camera vertically with respect to the subject. This is often
referred to as "pedding" the camera up or down. The term comes from the type of camera support known as a
pedestal (pictured right). Pedestals are used in studio settings and provide a great deal of flexibility as well as
very smooth movement. Unlike standard tripods, pedestals have the ability to move the camera in any
direction (left, right, up, down).
Note that a pedestal move is different to a camera tilt; h means the camera is in the same position but tilts the
angle of view up and down. In a ped movement, the whole camera is moving, not just the angle of view. In
reality, like most camera moves, the pedestal move is often a combination of moves. For example, pedding
while simultaneously panning and/or tilting.

DOLLY: A dolly is a cart which travels along tracks. The camera is mounted on the
dolly and records the shot as it moves. Dolly shots have a number of applications and
can provide very dramatic footage.
In many circles a dolly shot is also known as a tracking shot or trucking shot.
However some professionals prefer the more rigid terminology which defines dolly
as in-and-out movement (i.e. closer/further away from the subject), while tracking
means side-to-side movement. Dollies are operated by a dolly grip. In the world of
big-budget movie making, good dolly grips command a lot of respect and earning
power. The venerable dolly faced serious competition when the Steadicam was
invented. Most shots previously only possible with a dolly could now be done with
the more versatile Steadicam. However dollies are still preferred for many shots,
especially those that require a high degree of precision.
COMMAND: Dolly In or Dolly Out

TRUCKING: : This is the lateral movement of the camera on its

pedestal.

Trucking is basically the same as tracking or dollying. Although it

means slightly different things to different people, it generally refers to
side-to-side camera movement with respect to the action.
COMMAND: Truck In or Truck Out

TRACKING: The term tracking shot is widely considered to be synonymous with dolly shot; that is, a shot in
which the camera is mounted on a cart which travels along tracks.

However there are a few variations of both definitions. Tracking is often more narrowly defined as
movement parallel to the action, or at least at a constant distance (e.g. the camera which travels alongside the
race track in track and field events). Dolling is often defined as moving closer to or further away from the
action.

CRABBING: The term crabbing shot is a less-common version of tracking, trucking and/or dollying. These
terms are more or less interchangeable, although dollying tends to mean in-and-out movement whereas the others
tend to mean side-to-side movement at a constant distance from the action.

ARC: A combination of dolly and truck, the ARC is a semicircular

movement or to reveal a view from behind the principle subject.
COMMAND: Arc right or Arc Left

CRANE: A crane is the movement of the camera atop the long arm of a crane.

COMMAND: Crane up or Crane Down. Sometimes the command Boom up and Boom down is used. A
horizontal movement of the crane arm is called Tonguing.

Lenses functions and types

Some types of lenses are widely known among photographers are:

Slow lens
Used to compensate for shutter speed set very low aperture in the camera body.

Macro lens

Macro lens that is designed for focal length (focus distance) is very short. This special lens is used to capture the
maximum detail of an object. Widely used for product photographs and science.

Single focus lenses

Single focus lens (fixed focus lens) is a lens with a single focal plane, usually set at a distance hiperfokal.
Single focus lens designed to achieve a focal distance, is the maximum that can reach depths of space ranges
from close range to the farthest distance (distance hyper focal).

Parfokal lens

Parfokal lens ( true zoom lens ) is a lens that maintains focus despite the depth
of field changes the focal length of the lens.

Fine focus lens Fine focus lens (soft focus lens) is the lens aberration
speris.
Soft focus is an effect caused by the photographic blur caused by lens aberration speris. A refined focal lens
designed for the blur effect while still maintaining sharpness of each line of the subject. Soft focus effect
caused by the lens is not the same as the effect of out of focus due to the position of the subject outside the
focal plane.
Examples of soft focus lens is Canon EF 135mm f / 2.8 with Softfocus and
Pentax SMC 28mm f / 2,8 FA Soft Lens. Both are equipped with system
settings speris aberration, if the aberration speris turned off, the lens will
produce images with sharp focus as other lenses in general.

Wide angle lens

Wide-angle lens is a lens with a shorter focal length lens than normal, according to the size of the image frame
at the film plane on a film camera, and the dimensions of the photo sensor in the camera focal plane digital.
Menurut standard photography, the normal lens is a lens which has a focal length of long diagonal near the
focal area. Wide-angle lens with a shorter focal length will project a larger image circle to the focal plane.

Fish-eye lens

Fish-eye lens (fisheye lens) is a wide-angle lens with a hemispherical

point of view is very wide. Fish-eye lens was first designed and
developed in order to study the importance of meteorological clouds and
ranks first called whole-sky lenses, fish eye lenses became popular in
general photography for a typical image distortion.

Telephoto lens
Telephoto lens construction is shorter than the length of the resulting focal
length optical centre outside the lens body. A telephoto lens can be
identified by arrangement called a telephoto lens group is designed for focal
distance (focal length) that far. Telephoto lens composite group was
discovered by Peter Barlow. A regular lens that has a shorter length than the
lens focal length, not necessarily a telephoto lens. But in fact lenses with a
focal length above 280mm telephoto lens always say. If a camera
lens is at 200mm focal length and focus distance to infinity, the exit pupil is located at a distance of 200mm
from the focal plane and the optical center of the pupil is a lens. When the focal length of the lens increases, the
physical length of the lens body would be longer if the lens is not a telephoto lens. But not so with a telephoto
lens, telephoto lens group structure made of light passed by said next, as if it comes from the word with a very
long focal length before passing it to the focal plane due to the nature of the negative focus.

Heaviest telephoto lens ever, made by Carl Zeiss with a focal length of 1700mm f / 4 lens with a body length of
425mm and a weight of 256 kg. Designed for medium format camera Hasselblad 203 FE.
 Variable lens Variable lens (varifocal lens, zoom
lens) is a lens that can not maintain focus on the field
when the focal length changes because of the
position of the focal area also shifted, necessitating
re-focusing every focal length changes.
The focal length of the lens is not a single variable, but
can be changed in a certain range from the minimum to
the maximum value. Variable lens size is often
described as a 4:1 or 4x zoom. determined by the ratio of the focal length of the lens is
the longest and shortest, for example, lenses with a focal
length of 100mm to 400mm,

With technology development of a modern lens, the image quality degradation produced by variable lens,
compared with prime lenses, is very poor. This is in contrast with about 20 years ago, when the consideration
to maintain the image quality, many professional photographers when it chose to work with does not rely on
variable lens. However, still it is said that by 2009, there is no variable lens with 3x the size above which can
rival prime lens in terms of image quality. Of course this also depends on the expertise of a photographer in
regulating light, maintaining the stability of camera shake during the exposure time and digital imaging.

Superzoom lens Superzoom lens (superzoom lens, lens hyperzoom) is

a photographic lens with a focal length factor (focal length factor) is
very large, larger than 4x. Factors focal length can range up to 15x
zoom in a single lens reflex camera and 26x in digital cameras, up to
100x in professional television cameras.
Fixed lens
Fixed lens (prime lens) is a lens with a single focal
length. Fixed lens is often said to have more value to the
sharpness of the image. With the smaller size, fixed lens
has a lighter weight and cheaper price compared to the
zoom lens at the same quality. Prime lens also has the
advantage in speed and a lens with a large aperture
diameter (small aperture value), a fixed lens becomes
more reliable for use in low light shooting photography
and blur effect with a low depth of field. in English, the
term prime lenses
have been used in the context as opposed to the word zoom. A prime lens with a single focal length and zoom
lenses with variable focal length.

The term prime lens has a meaning in the beginning the main lens in a combination lens system. When a lens is
used in conjunction with such teleconverter, the lens is often called a prime lens, which means that the main
lens and teleconverter as additional components (auxiliary).

Some lens manufacturers such as ARRI Media, ISCO Precision Optics, Schneider Kreuznach, Carl Zeiss,
Canon, still market their products with the term variable lens prime variables that can lead to the impression
that the product is in the form of lenses parfokal.
Normal lens In photography and cinematography, a normal lens
is a lens that maps the image that looks like a normal perspective
for the human eye. Perspective mapping is obtained because the
focal length of the lens is proportional to the distance to the focal
plane diagonal diagonal angle of view of about
degrees.

Perspective Correction Lens Often called the lens of

architecture. This lens repair perspective effect that always occurs
when photographing three- dimensional objects in relatively close
proximity.
Differences in the use of lenses give different perspectives. Perspective is the relative size and
depth of the subject in the picture. Perspective also could mean changes in shape, size, and depth
of field due to relative differences in perspective between objects with a camera. The difference
occurs because there is a shift in the position of looking at things from the point of view,
distance, and altitude are not the same and the use of lenses with different focal lengths.
and the use of different focal lengths give different perspectives. Thus, the use of various types of
lenses have different functions. Along with the development of optics and technology, the lens
becomes so much variation. Until now the DSLR lens is divided into three major categories.
Namely:
(1) are distinguished by the lens focal length,
(2) the optical range, and
(3) lens variants.
Based on the focal length of the lens wide consisting of a telephoto lens (short telephoto and
supertele), wide lens (super-wide and fish eye), as well as the normal lens (standard). While the
lens based optical range there are two types, namely fixed lens and zoom. The latter, a variant
lens consists of a macro lens, reverse lens, bellows, swing, tilt, and reflex.