Film workshops and training sessions

Camera Techniques - teach-in by Dick Hibberd
report by Josephine Jones

On a lovely July afternoon a happy group of men and women sipped tea and ate homemade flapjack by the river. Believe it or not, this was the finale to a Surrey Border Film & Video Makers training session at Dick and Jean Hibberd’s delightful and unusual home.

Dick’s enthusiasm, from being a professional TV cameraman, was evident as he taught us about camera techniques and shared with us some of his experiences in the business. With volunteers, a camera and TV, Dick guided us through the best camera angles for filming people sitting down or interview shots. A profile looks better than a straight on shot which is boring’. I would never have understood what a difference the position of the camera made without his demonstrations which were possible in his excellent studio on the top floor. He suggested that not only should we be imaginative with placing of cameras, but change the angle from eye level to high or low angle. Above all we should practice shots time and again just as a musician does. He came up with some ingenious ways of getting the best out of our camera shots and how we could even improvise with a skateboard for moving shots.

I took copious notes only to find that Dick had very kindly typed an 8 page report (in big bold print I might add for us nearing old age) of everything he had taught us, complete with hand-drawn illustrations. So if I forget about triangulation, camera shake minimised by using the wider angle of the zoom, differential focus, tripods and panning I can refresh myself.

I speak for everybody who had the fortune to take your courses, when I thank you for your time and professional presentation. I am afraid I am far from a competent camera operator and so I feel enlightened by Dick’s training session. Thanks too to Jean for tea and also my sympathy for having to watch TV and films with Dick when the camera ‘crosses the line’! And should the reader be curious as to what this means I can only say how sorry I am that you had the misfortune to miss out on such a great afternoon and hope that there is another opportunity for you.

Recording Sound on Location - course by David Jackson
report by Josephine Jones

Thirteen of us, including two new members, gathered at Dixie's house for an extensive training session on sound recording with David Jackson. For anyone who missed this very worthwhile presentation I suggest reading his important tips and recommendations which follow.

Firstly David stressed the need to plan ahead and overcome the usual tendency just to point and record. The best solution is to have one person focused only on sound and have two mikes - one for background sound and one for the speaker which can be turned up or down as required. We learnt that most of what we hear on a Hollywood movie is not recorded on location but later, and it was recommended that to make sound in our room appear like that on location we need to record thirty seconds or reasonable length of what is happening naturally to fill the gaps in the movie. This of course requires post-filming skills.

Other recommendations were the use of headphones to listen out for and eliminate possible noises such as cables rattling and hum that one might not otherwise hear while filming. He warned us also to use battery when filming instead of mains electricity and that even a mobile phone in a pocket can cause problems. Another tip is to use a fluffy muff enclosure easily made oneself, to isolate the mike from wind noise.

As far as microphones are concerned we learned that most are mono whereas the camera is stereo so it is worth spending a couple of pounds on a stereo splitter to pass the mono signal to both left and right channels. He warned that when doing this to make sure the phase of the signal to the left and right was the same otherwise if inverted the sound can appear soft as the signals cancel out.

To remove unwanted inputs the key factor is to make sure that the sound you get is the sound you want and sometimes it is necessary to separate the camera from the mike. David gave the example when filming a wedding to hide the mike in some flowers.

We were given an overview of some of microphones we can use. In fact we watched a very interesting DVD which David and Paul Holden made in which they test various mikes at different angles. One is the directional microphone, useful in crowded rooms, best used on a boom held high but pointing down. Noises bounce off walls, especially if the room is bright, but the reflections can be removed by dressing the room with blankets. Equalisation can always be put back in post-processing.

It is important to choose the right microphone for the job and position it in the right place. A tie-clip microphone is useful so long as it is not placed near the stomach or on clothes that rustle. If we were to buy a stereo version of this mike it would prevent the compatibility problem.

A boundary microphone is good when filming drama, such as a dinner party or an interview but will pick up noises such as glasses of water on the table.

Other useful equipment to purchase is a stereo rifle microphone, a right-angled plug which is hard to find; transparent pencil cases in which to keep small mikes, plugs and cables; and a mini disc-recorder Gordon Sutton agreed was useful to record concerts or weddings.

For post-production we need suitable software such as Sound Forge which has been taken over by Sony and costs several hundred pounds. Goldwave was demonstrated and recommended for audio editing ($40 from Canada) as was Premiere Elements 2.