Top 10 DV Tips

[twister!]

They're all fairly obvious (if you've heard them before, that is) but clearly explained:

http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...3/dv_tips.html

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 16, 2003 04:37 AM: Message edited by: Justin (formerly Twister) ]</font>

[twister!]

And does anyone have any of their own to add?

[deanl]

Hey there.

Nice link. Cheers dude.

Despin out.

[belovedmonster]

urm tip...

zoom in to subjects face, let the auto exposure change, set it back to manual... zoom out to desired shot again [img]smile.gif[/img]

Easy way to make sure its set right.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 16, 2003 11:25 AM: Message edited by: belovedmonster ]</font>

[noddy754]

My tip: ignore tip 4. Say you record onto a blacked tape and stop when you get to 00:30:00:00 to replay what you've done so far, and then you start recording again at 00:30:01:00, you will have a problem. Due to the tape stretching and DV camcorders not synchronising with the timecode which is already recorded on the tape, the timecode will be broken, and you won't even notice until you try to edit your footage! When you play the tape back, you will see the timecode go up to 00:30:00:00 and then it will probably jump back to approximately 00:29:59:20. This will cause an error on some editing systems.

On the other hand, if you have been (sensibly, IMO) using a brand new tape, it will be obvious to you if you have broken the timecode when you're shooting so you'll be able to fix it there and then. Also, you will easily be able to find out if you've used a tape already and how much footage is recorded onto the tape.

[Filmmaker58]

I agree to skip blacking your tape. Why put hours on your camera heads blacking a tape? But if there is a way to fix the time code after you started recording again, I don't know it. The way I get around it is to make sure I do plenty of post roll after cut is called, and stop playback in plenty of time to avoid blank tape.

Never use the auto iris. If you pan to someone with a white shirt, the iris will close down. It's like shouting AMATEUR! Ride the iris manually if you have to.

Forget the monopod. If you need a tripod for a shot, use a tripod. If you can go handheld, learn to shoot like a tripod and not follow the subjects around shakycam style (unless that's what you're going for. Try and learn to shoot like you're on a tripod while handheld.

Use a real monitor for adjusting Iris. Sometimes the eyepiece and the LCD can be drastically different. If you don't have a real monitor and need to trust one of them, trust the eyepiece.

Good lighting makes DV look good. Hire me to light your films....lol.

If you want shallow depth of field, get back and zoom in (refer to tripod use above) with the ND engaged if possible (but avoid going into gain).

[Alex]

That has got to be the most idiotic myth going, preblacking a tape. What a joke.

What your supposed to do is do plenty of post roll.
IF you have to review a scene, keep playing the tape and BEFORE you reach the unblacked part of the tape, simply hit pause/record.

I know some cameras force you to switch from playback to record, and that might make it more complicated to do, but if the camera is reading back it's own signal and then you hit pause record, the camera automatically picks up the time-code from that point on.