Video nativity on canon 6D

chiffs

chiffs

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Been asked to video my daughters nativity.

Kind of been dropped straight in the deep end by my daughters pre-school where she has her nativity play tomorrow...... Now trying to have a look through the manual bit if you have any tips that would be awesome.

So 6D with probably 24-105 f4 IS
No external mic so i know the sound is not going to be great but its a last minute thing.

Have a choice of lens.
16-24 f2.8
24-105 IS f4
50 1.8
100 L IS macro f2.8

Plus i will be using my 5dmkiii with a 70-200 f4 is for stills or maybe the 100mm depending on distance.

I have never used video on either so have no idea what settings I should be going for. The nativity is in the school hall which is fairly well lit but won't know for sure until i get there in the morning.
 
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24-105 F4 IS would be my choice, largely for the IS and flexibility of zoom, perhaps with the 50mm as backup in case light level is lower than expected. I'd expect to be stuck on F4 for the most part, shooting 1080p/24fps, aperture F4, 1/50 shutter - ISO to suit light levels. If light is better than expected then drop ISO down or shoot f5.6+ and get some more (forgiving) depth of field. Have a play with white balance for a few mins before the start, try to get a nice neutral tone and eliminate the colour shift of whatever light is in the hall. Shooting wider tends to be a little easier and more forgiving in terms of focusing too. Hope that helps a little at least, and good luck!
 
If you can, I'd set the 5d up to shoot video as well, preferably from a different viewpoint, so you can switch shots , rather than the boring one direction view, also starting them at different times means you can cover the bits the other camera will miss when you hit the time limit for file size. You will need as much footage as you can get when it comes to edit time.
 
It's only a pre school nativity and around 5-10 mins long. My understanding from reading the manual is it will record continuously for 29m59sec. Anything over 4gig creates a new file/folder. I'm not a videographer so one angle would be good enough (setup middle rear) I think along with still. It's children 2 1/2 - 4 years old. Nothing is being sold, just a memory for parents including myself.

Was going to use the 5d for stills.


How does shutter speed affect video, surely it's just open?
 
shutter speed is an odd thing in video - there's plenty of better explanations out there than the one I could offer, but shooting at roughly twice your frame rate basically gives you a sensible amount of blur and gives a natural feel to your video; so for 24 fps generally people shoot at 1/50 (and stick an ND filter on to stay at 1/50 in bright light). Shooting 1/400 say is perfectly possible but can show a jagged effect in scenes with motion, may not matter so much in nativity scene but that's the theory behind it at least :)

found a link here, nikon but at a glance it still looks worth a read: http://cinema.nikonusa.com/produce-...ow-pointers/#Frame Shutter Speed + Frame Rate
 
Set the camera up on a tripod in a good position, and shoot a single viewpoint video. As suggested set the exposure to 1/50 and select the ISO that gives you a reasonable aperture ( About f8 ) The shutter speed sets the scan rate, or frame rate. With the old style cine cameras the frame rate was around 24fps. This meant that the shutter was open 50% of the time . The blank sequence was when the film moved on to the next frame. The effect was an exposure of 1/48 ( call it 1/50 ) To give this cinematic effect, video cameras adopt the same convention . The audio will probably leave something to be desired but you know that Just try and get as close to the action as possible .Also try and leave some room around you, to stop people kicking the tripod. I'd also agree the 24-105 will probably be best, but then you won't know that for definite until you get there and set up.

Good Luck
 
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Chappers said:
Set the camera up on a tripod in a good position, and shoot a single viewpoint video. As suggested set the exposure to 1/50 and select the ISO that gives you a reasonable aperture ( About f8 ) The shutter speed sets the scan rate, or frame rate. With the old style cine cameras the frame rate was around 24fps. This meant that the shutter was open 50% of the time . The blank sequence was when the film moved on to the next frame. The effect was an exposure of 1/48 ( call it 1/50 ) To give this cinematic effect, video cameras adopt the same convention . The audio will probably leave something to be desired but you know that Just try and get as close to the action as possible .Also try and leave some room around you, to stop people kicking the tripod. I'd also agree the 24-105 will probably be best, but then you won't know that for definite until you get there and set up.

Good Luck
Click to expand...

Except, as a stills camera, it will have a maximum shot length under EU import laws. You'll find it's something like 29 mins 59 secs.
 
st599 said:
Except, as a stills camera, it will have a maximum shot length under EU import laws. You'll find it's something like 29 mins 59 secs.
Click to expand...

Not a problem as the play looks like being a short one, plus on the 6D if the 29" time is exceeded ( and there is sufficient card space ) it will simply generate another folder and record into that. It's the same on the 5D3
 
how did it go?
I would have used a f/2.8 lens if possible depending upon the ambient light, external mics are around £24 and worth it if you do this thing again.
from your choice of lenses I would have gone fairly close with the wide angle. multiple camera angles are fine but most people want something simple and stills are lovely.
 
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