Today HD video is everywhere and it’s easier to record than ever before.  If you don’t have a camera built in to your smart phone, your laptop, or your tablet,  there are a number of stand-alone HD video cameras that you can purchase for under $100.  While the video on these cameras may not look as good as video from a higher-end camera, there are a number of simple techniques you can use to make your video look more professional and ensure that you’re getting the most out of your camera.

Lighting

Digital cameras, especially cheaper ones, perform best in well-lit, bright locations.  You’ll notice if you shoot something at night or in a dark room, your image will be very grainy and pixelly, and probably not at all what you envisioned beautiful HD video to look like.  This is because cheaper cameras, even though they are recording at the same resolution as a higher-end camera,  generally have very small sensors, which makes them perform poorly in low-light situations.  (See here for a more detailed discussion of this).

Knowing that, try to plan your shots so that they can be as well-lit as possible.  Shoot during the day when you can, and try to arrange your subject so that a light source will hit their face.  If you are shooting indoors for instance, place your camera in front of a window and have your subject face the window so that their face is illuminated by the natural light coming in.  If you are shooting at night, place a lamp near your subject and try to get as much light on their face as possible.

If you’re shooting outdoors, be aware of where the sun is in relation to your subject.  Have your subject face towards the sun or at a slight angle if that looks too harsh.  You generally want to avoid having the sunlight directly behind your subject unless you are going for a silhouette effect.

Framing

Be aware of everything in your frame including your subject placement, foreground, and background.  Rather than placing your subject in the dead center of your frame, consider aligning it according to the rule of thirds.  This is a photography concept that is used to create a well-balanced shot that feels natural to our eyes.  The strongest points in a frame are at the intersections of each third of the frame (see photo).  Keep this in mind when framing up your subject.

When selecting a background for your shot, choose something interesting that gives your shot a good sense of depth.  The trick is to find something that will be visually appealing, but not too distracting so that the viewer can still focus on what your subject is saying.

Audio

Cheap cameras generally have pretty awful microphones built in to them, and as much time as you spend making your picture look nice, it won’t make a difference if your video is ruined by terrible audio.  In my last post I recommended getting an external microphone if you are considering buying a camera.  If you already have a camera without an external microphone input, this may not be an option.  But by being aware of the limited recording capabilities of your camera, you can take some steps to record better audio.

The most important thing is to be selective about where you shoot.  Shooting on the beach may seem like a great idea, but microphones are a lot less effective than the human ear at filtering out the noise of the waves and the wind, and most of your dialogue will be probably be inaudible.  If you know you have a cheap microphone, try to shoot indoors as much as possible, and be especially aware of unwanted background noises.

If you are shooting outdoors, keep the camera as close to your subject as possible.  Try to find areas that are sheltered from the wind, and try not to record in the middle of a big gust.  You can also attempt to create a make-shift windscreen for your camera, which I have not tried myself, but seems like a great idea.

Stabilization

One accessory that is extremely important for creating more professional-looking videos is a tripod or monopod.  This will not only allow you to stabilize your shots, but also to execute smooth pans and tilts.  Tripods are great for shooting outdoors and for holding the camera if you’re filming yourself, and monopods are a great option if you do a lot of filming on-the-go or in crowded areas.   There are a number of affordable and very portable options that are available for pretty much any camera (or you could just try building your own).

This week I’ll be traveling to Tucson, AZ to teach a group of researchers how to post video clips to their blog.  The blog is part of an interactive website that LNM produced for the University of Arizona to promote a large NSF grant to study the North American Monsoon System (Look for their first blog post later this week).

They requested that I put together an equipment package with everything they might need to create high-quality video for their blog.  After doing a lot of research on affordable options for video gear, I put together a shopping cart on Amazon for them that contains everything they need for just under $350.  Below I’ve listed the equipment I decided to go with and some tips to help you decide what gear might be right for you.

Camera:

Today HD video cameras are smaller (and probably more affordable) than your cell phone.  If you’re lucky, you may even be able to record HD video on your cell phone, which is sufficient for a lot of bloggers.  However, if you do want a little more control over your picture you may want to invest in a camera.  In that case, there are a number of things you should consider when looking into options.

Picture Quality:  The majority of consumer-grade cameras will record at a resolution of either 720p or 1080p.  This refers to the number of pixels in the frame: 1280×720 or 1920×1080.  While 1080p does look nicer, video that large can take a long time to load online.  When I load videos onto Youtube or Vimeo, I usually make sure they aren’t any larger than 720p anyways so that people aren’t sitting around waiting for my video to load.  So if you are shooting material that will be primarily seen on a blog or on youtube, a camera that shoots at 720p may be sufficient.

Also be aware that not all cameras that shoot at the same resolution will have the same quality image.  Cheaper cameras record video at a lower data rate, which can cause loss of image quality.  Go through reviews on a site like Amazon or B & H and be wary if you see if a lot of people complaining about poor image quality.

Audio:  Audio is something people rarely think about when they shoot video for the first time, but recording quality audio will make a world of difference in your videos, and will make them seem much more professional.  This is why I highly recommend getting a camera with an external microphone input.   Using an external microphone will allow you to record quality audio even if you are shooting in a noisy room or outdoors.

Operating System:  Make sure that your camera will be compatible with whatever computer you will be loading the footage onto.  A lot of cameras are only compatible with PCs, so if you are using a Mac be especially careful of this.

Common Problems: Bad reviews are really useful on sites like Amazon and B & H, and can give you a good idea of what the limitations and common issues with any product may be.  Be wary of items that seem to have a lot of random, unfixable issues.

My Choice:  Zoom Q3HD Handy Video Recorder

Zoom is a company that is mostly known for their digital audio recorders, but recently they began incorporating HD video cameras into their products.  The picture quality on this particular camera is not top-notch, but should be sufficient for blogging.  The real selling point for me though was it’s audio capabilities.  The microphones on the unit are great for recording without an external mic, and this recorder also gives you the option to plug in an external mic if you are shooting out in the field – something other cameras in this price range lacked.   So there is a trade-off in video quality for audio quality, but in my opinion this is definitely worth it.

Additional Accessories:

In addition to the camera, I recommended a number of accessories to ensure that the researchers have everything they need while shooting in the field.

External Microphone:  There are a number of external microphones you can buy in the $15-$30 range.  I went with this one by Audio Technica, but there are a number of other comparable options that are probably just as good.  There’s a video review from Amazon here that shows the difference between recording with this external microphone and without it.

Accessory Package:  You can also purchase an accessory package specifically for the Zoom recorder which has a lot of really useful accessories such asa mini tripod, a carrying case, a windscreen, and an HDMI cable to connect your camera to a TV.

Memory Cards:  You will probably want to get a large memory card or two to ensure that you have enough recording space if you’re shooting out in the field.  I recommended a 32GB card to ensure that they have plenty of memory.

I hope these tips are helpful.  Check back at the Macrosystems Blog in a few days to see what a blog post recorded on the above equipment looks like.  As always feel free to leave any comments and other suggestions for affordable video equipment below.

Recently, Lost Nomad Media traveled to North Carolina for ScienceOnline2013.  We sponsored the conference by filming several panels and broadcasting them live for watch parties all over the world. It was a truly fun and educational experience, but setting it up wasn’t easy. Upon getting started, Greg and I quickly discovered that live streaming with Canon DSLRs is relatively uncharted territory. It was very difficult to find any informative resources on the web, but with a bit of ingenuity and a lot of experimentation we finally managed to crack it. If you’re a videographer that works primarily with D-SLR cameras, this guide should help you get started. (We’d also like to note that we used apple computers).

In order to stream with two DSLRs, you’ll need the following:

Hardware
- 1 ATEM Television Studio
- 2 Cameras
- 1 Laptop Computer
- 2 LCD Monitors
- 1 HD Monitor (with direct HD Input, no converters)
- 1 Power Strip (to power your laptop, monitor, and ATEM)
- 1 HDMI Cable
- 2 Mini-HDMI to HDMI cables
- 2 Ethernet Cables
- 2 Cables to connect your Cameras to the LCD Monitors (mini-USB on the camera end)
- 1 USB 2.0 Cable (Male A to Male B)
- 1 Network Switch with at least 2 Ethernet Inputs (unless you are using an outlet that already includes two inputs)

Software
- ATEM Switcher Software
- Streaming Software (e.g. Livestream Procaster)
- Magic Lantern Firmware (If using Canon DSLRs)

1) First, download and install the ATEM Switcher software, available for free from the Blackmagic website.
2) If you are using Canon DSLR cameras, download and install the Magic Lantern firmware. When live streaming with the ATEM, your cameras are broadcasting what you would normally see on the mini LCD monitor. With Canon’s native firmware, there is no way to completely remove the white focus rectangle from the screen. Magic Lantern allows you to do this.
3) Connect the ATEM TV Studio to your main computer via USB.
4) Plug two ethernet cables into your internet source (either a wall outlet with 2 ethernet inputs or your network switch). One of these should connect to your computer and the other into the ATEM.
5) Connect the ATEM to your monitor via HDMI. Run this cable out of the HDMI Multi-view output.
6) Connect your cameras to the ATEM via mini-HDMI to HDMI. Next, connect your cameras to the external LCD monitors. You’ll need these to serve as monitors if you want your cameramen to be able to see what they are shooting. Your LCD monitor feed is being sent to the ATEM so it is no longer visible.
7) THIS IS THE TRICKY PART: In your network connections, manually set your computer’s IP address to the connect to the available network via ethernet. Open the ATEM set-up Utility to enter the IP address, subnet mask, and gateway. The subnet mask and gateway should be identical to the ones listed in your network connections. The IP Address, however, should not. Although the ATEM user manual told us that these numbers should be the same (as did the gentleman who leased us the hardware), this did not work for us. The ATEM switcher is controlled via ethernet, but having your laptop and the ATEM share the same IP address prompts an error code. To avoid this, manually input an IP address into the ATEM Setup in which the last number is one digit different from the router number.

I know that is a mouthful, so let me give you an example. Here’s what worked for us:

On the laptop
IP Address – 192.168.10.50
Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0
Router – 192.168.10.1

On the ATEM
IP Address – 192.168.10.11
Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0
Router – 192.168.10.1

Another combination that worked for us:

On the laptop
IP Address – 152.1.84.144
Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0
Router – 192.168.10.14

IP Address – 152.1.84.15
Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0
Router – 192.168.10.14

8) After running the setup utility you can run the ATEM control program and begin switching. The “Buttons” on the software should light up if the switcher
is connected correctly. Now just explore the software to see what it’s capable of and run your live streaming program.

Some additional things to note: HDMI cables longer than 15 feet will not work, but you can get farther away if needed by using an HDMI-SDI converter. The shutters on the cameras automatically close after 30 minutes. We automatically reset the timer about every 25 minutes by slightly removing the lens and remounting it, then hitting the start/stop button to reopen the shutter. If anyone out there knows a better way to get around this, please let us know!

Good luck and happy streaming!

Welcome to the Lost Nomad Media blog! Our goal in creating this blog is to share some of our knowledge and filmmaking experiences with the world. As a media company that works closely with researchers and scientists to create outreach projects, our work have given us many opportunities to reflect on the relationship between science, art, communication, and public interaction. In this blog, we will attempt to share our observations on these matters, and to provide some helpful tips for researchers interested in creating their own media projects. We hope you enjoy the posts, and please let us know if you have any feedback or comments.

-Greg Monson
Founder & Head of Production