P.O.V. camera's

American Outdoor Productions


      Lets talk about the use of the P.O.V. (Point of View) cameras. These cameras are great. They add another dimension to your production. You put the viewer in the driver seat of a vehicle or put them on the side of a cliff. This adds so much to the viewers experience. In the old days they would have to bolt a 45 lbs camera on the hood of a car, can you imagine having to do this.Thanks to companies like Go Pro now you can safely add this perspective to your production in an affordable and effective way. For $300 you can purchase one of the new Go Pro cameras. You will need to purchase a quality SD card with lots of Gigs so you can take advantage of the long battery life of the new Go Pro.


    The Go Pro is more than just an small HD video camera. This camera has allot of additional features, one of my personal favorites if the time lapse option. Check out the time lapse footage I posted to this blog.

As you can see from this
Video I was able to use the Go Pro for both video and Time Lapse. If you are looking to start sprucing up your video's you might want to ad a POV cam to your arsenal of Camera's

Thanks for being part of this blog, as always if you have a questions you can contact me at
americanoutdoorproductions@yahoo.com

what cameras to buy

AMERICAN OUTDOOR PRODUCTIONS

Ok lets talk about what video cameras to buy today. It is very important to make an informed decision on the type of video camera to purchase. There are a number of quality low cost video cameras on the market. Several of these video cameras are what you would call consumer video cameras. These cameras can be a great camera to start out with as long as you make an informed decision. Most of the consumer camcorders on the market no longer have a view finder. Most of the will have a side window screen to view what is being recorded. This can be a good thing due to the larger field of view for the person behind the camera. These view finders are in color and make it so your eye is not pushed up against a small view window, which can limit your ability to see the overall picture or shot. Large productions will have a camera man looking into the view finder of the camera with a feed going to an external monitor for viewing, while the video is being recorded.

These days you can purchase a very nice camera for approximately $1000.00. Usually these cameras will have both the side window and the eyepiece on the camera. While filming my projects I use both types of cameras. When purchasing a camera it is important to know what types of video outputs you have. If you have outputs for both audio and video you can add boom microphones and external monitors to your camera. This is helpful when using a jib boom or slide system. You would be able to record your audio on a better quality or more directional microphone or incorporate a wireless mic system. You may even choose to record your sound all together on a professional audio recording system separate from the camera all together. This would be the most effective way to record your sound and gives you better editing capabilities during post production. Of course you will have to match your audio and video up at a later time.

We can talk about audio recording another time however it is always good to have these a/v outs on the camera if needed. The wireless mic set up is ideal for recording interviews and can cut down on serious back ground noise which will help you during post edit. If you are able to purchase a pro-sumer video camera these cameras have all the outputs needed to achieve all the above. These cameras are a bit more, but if your budget allows you will have more bang for the buck. For the price of around $2000.00 to $4000.00 you can purchase one of these cameras. I personally found it more practical to purchase 3 high end consumer cameras to achieve my needs ( additional agles ). Make sure to purchase HD cameras. They record in 16:9 and that is what most people watch television and movies in.

There are several choices out there; however I have purchased JVC cameras due to the great recording it provides. I have had others and still use a cannon from time to time. Do not be afraid of purchasing a nice used camera. Some people jump in with both feet and buy really nice cameras and find that they are not using it enough and choose to sell these after a short while. You can pick these $1000.00 plus cams up for $400 to $600 and you will love them. Just make sure they are in good condition. With the exception of 2 cams all of mine have been second hand and work great, not to mention you will probably get some extras with the cams that would have cost you hundreds more for pretty much nothing such as additional batteries, cables, mics and camera bags or even more.

When picking a camera make sure the lens side of the camera has a threaded end. This will allow you to put different lenses on which can and will make your shots look great depending on your project.

I hope this was helpful. Here is a video that I filmed using different lenses.

The use of Tripod's

American Outdoor Productions  Today we will talk a bit about Tripods. Tripods

It is very important for your filming to be shot from a stable and shake free platform, unless of course your shot requires movement and of course this would be controlled to your needs. It is very important to use a tripod whenever possible. The tripod gives you the ability to shoot a more stable video. The tripod allows you to use the zoom feature on the camera as well. The zoom, shot free hand makes a very shaky and unstable video. This can pretty much ruin your shot. This also can take the attention away from your viewers and lets face it you want your viewers to want to watch your video's. Tripods are really not that expensive. I do recommend choosing your tripod according to your needs.

 A nice fluid head is very important when filming for tracking. The Tripod of course has to be stable. For most PROsumer level Tripods, they range from $100.00 to $300.00. and of course the price can go much higher. Most people think they can run down to the box store and buy the $15.00 Tripod. Believe me, I have done this and I have been let down. Those Tripods are very low cost for a reason. Lets face it do you want to put your $1000.00 plus video camera 5 feet in the air, on top of a mass produced, thrown together ready to fail Tripod. Generally these low cost Tripods do not have a nice fluid head. Instead the head will most likely wobble and will not operate smoothly.

Stability is huge. With a good Tripod you can walk away from your camera and not worry about a breeze blowing your camera over.  If you are conducting and interview with one or more people on camera, you can use two cams and two Tripods and achieve that additional angle. In this video for Empty Pockets Desert Racing you will see the use of hands free, slide system, Jib Boom, in car and Tripod.

 

  In the near future I will post the equipment that I currently use during these productions. I will feature each product and hopefully it will help you make a more informed decision when buying for your self. Thank you for taking the time to read my Blog.

My first Blog

American Outdoor Productions is a video productions company that films outdoor activities.

As the owner and operator of my company I would like to further my education and abilities in the video production world. I would like to film a motion picture someday and pride myself on the ongoing interest in this profession. I live in Riverside California and look forward to working with like minded individuals in the artistic community.

Some projects I look forward to undertaking is music video's, television commercials, sporting events and video cataloging. I have done several projects in the past; however, I am looking forward to working with on screen talent and large productions.

The video production industry has taken a large hit during the declining economy and I hope to be around when the economy recovers. This business can be very demanding and allot of time and preparation is needed to have a successful company.

Over the past few years I have purchased several pieces of equipment in order to capture the cinematic look of quality video. Over the next few blogs I will introduce these essential tools to create the video you are going to produce.

Also each week I will go over some of the video's I have produced and post them for you to watch.

Today I will post a short video I produced for an Off Road Race Team. This video was not too complicated to film however you will notice several video angles used during this production.

The use of multiple camera angles: This is very important for your production. Even if you are working with one camera it is important to capture your video in a multidimensional way as to keep your viewer interested.

As you can see in this video I incorporated the use of an on board GO PRO camera. These cameras are extremely valuable during these types of productions when you are trying to get a perspective view of the action. You will also see that still photographs were also used in this video. Still photography can be incorporated in several ways during your productions. In this case several still were used to achieve a desired look, like a time lapse.

Thank you for being part of my blog and hope you enjoyed.