Basic information for Video work

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erictearle

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Eric Tearle
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I'm looking to transition from Photography into doing some video work. Mostly documentation/interview filming people so there will be a lot of talking on camera.

I'll be using a 5D and did a little research about Microphones also. But as I'm just starting out do I need to worry about XLR adapters for the microphone or will I still get good quality audio via microphone to camera attachment (via aux)?

Also, most of the interview will be sitting and I have decent tripods for that but with any kind of moment and following of subject will a frame be useful to me?
 
I didn't think the 5d could do video, the 5D2, yes. In any case for interview situations a lavalier mike is preferable to a camera mounted one, though a good starter mike is the Rode Videomic which is a shotgun and more directional than the Rode Videomic Pro which is Omni directional. Both types have their uses. As you say a good tripod, following is more challenging and focusing is the major problem for DSLR's, with perhaps the exception of the new 70D. A smaller aperture with a widish lens can cover a multitude of misfocusing :D
 
The Videomic and Videomic Pro are both Supercardioid mics - definitely not Omnis.

Start with a lavalier for interviews. Use a tripod to begin with. Record cutaways and atmospheric sound too otherwise you'll struggle to edit an interview.

I was once taught that you could cover any activity with 5 shots - Wide shot, medium Close Up, Close Up, Over the shoulder and an arty finish shot. Unfortunately everyone now uses that in the same order.
 
You could use the Rode mic but from experience they do not always give the best audio for interviews, mainly due to their "shotgun " characteristics. In a small room with a small distance to the subject may be fine but in a large room, you could end up with problems. For interviews and pieces to camera I use lav mics. Much better sound quality and easier to control. You can get wired lav mics fairly cheaply. Look at the Audio Technica ones

Next difficulty is the 5D's audio. Not used the Mk2 but I think it's the same as the MK.3 The preamp is noisey. I tend to use a zoom recorder as a re amp and feed a hot signal to the camera. This means I can turn down the audio gain in the camera to mitigate the preamp noise. Plus you have a backup audio channel. Record audio in manual not auto on the camera. This stops the AGC turning up the gain during quiet sections.
 
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