HD Video on a stick!

[KdLaneJr]

I'll be using this rig tonight for the first time to shoot football. The lens is a Canon 400mm f/2.8 IS, body is a Mk IV. The video camera is a Canon Vixia HF S21. The RRS lens foot replacement accepts the large "flash" bracket. The new model has a quick release. It was necessary to add some shims to mount the quick release to the camcorder. I was able to do that for a whopping $1.98, not including the gas to locate the parts.

It's mounted on a tripod so I could take photos of the rig. Tonight it will be on a monopod.
This or , I'm not sure which right now.

Hopefully this will raise the bar another notch over my competition. We'll see.

[venchka]

I guess you have seen the video of the NY Times photographer using a pair of dSLRs in similar fashion?
Good luck!

[KdLaneJr]

I had this in mind long before I saw that video. My original thought was to put the HD video recorder on the superclamp that I have from when I utilized flash at football games. I prefer this since it is a much cleaner, although costlier, rig.

When I did see the video you are referring to, I wondered what compelled that journalist to stress out the hotshoe that way. I'm a firm believer in using the right tool for the job. The HD video camera is a much better tool for my purpose.

I'll bet no one is there to tell his story when the top camera and mini ball rip out of the hotshoe on the camera he is holding.

[andyz]

Any results yet to post? The rig looks sweet.

[KdLaneJr]

Originally Posted by andyz

Any results yet to post? The rig looks sweet.

Yes,

I've assembled some clips and have them processing in AE (warp stabilizer). I'll render it out and upload it this evening. It looks like I set my in & out points too close to what I wanted, so I may have to change those. Fortunately, Premier Pro makes that easy.

Once I have it online, I'll add a link here.

[Mosephus]

Ditto, I thought about doing this just mounting a small camera in the hot shoe for a Behind the scene type video about composing a shot. It'd be cool to see your results.

[KdLaneJr]

It's going to take me a bit longer to finish the video than I thought. I'm not getting a ram preview I'm happy with yet.

[Murph]

New Tech.

[KdLaneJr]

How about steep @$$ learning curve if you're not already editing video!

The issue I ran into that is taking me longer than expected has to do with the dynamic link between Premier Pro and After Effects.

I found that it was easier to color correct for stadium lighting in Premier Pro. I had already stabilized in AE. When I rendered an output file, the color corrections made in PP after stabilizing didn't update, even though I was render the .proj file.

I have started over somewhat, by doing the color corrections first in PP, then linking to AE to stabilize. Once that's complete I should be able to go straight to Media Encoder and render an output file.

Fortunately, what I'm learning with this 1st sports video project will help speed up all future projects.

[KdLaneJr]

2011-08-26 Boerne Greyhounds vs. Medina Valley Panthers Varsity Football - YouTube

C&C appreciated. Still a few bugs to work out.

[Kirk]

If you are going to be doing that much camera movement plus the rapid movement of whatever sport you are shooting, I would definitely shoot in 60i. A lot of the action there was pretty motion blurred.

It looked good overall though. I was impressed. I thought it would look a lot less steady and fluid. Nice work!

[KdLaneJr]

I agree on both counts, although.., I did shoot using 60i. Also ran each clip before rendering through warp stabilizer, which is probably the only reason it is passable.

I noticed the video was steadier when I could see my subject through the viewfinder on the 400mm.

This Friday night I'll try to shoot wider on the video so I don't lose players as quickly that are running towards me.

Thank you for your comments!

[andyz]

Did you video the entire game or was there a separate trigger for the video, or did you just reach up and touch Record?

I assume you either didn't use a second body or were able to pause recording when you went to the second body?

[KdLaneJr]

I used the record/pause button in the camcorder, but will pick up a lanc remote (not Canon's, too much $$), Started recording prior to the play and recorded until the play was dead.

I ended up with 111 clips, some were opening ceremonies, half time shows, etc.

Sorting through the clips is pretty simple in Premier Pro's media browser. Once you select the ones you want, you review each one again and set the in and out points, the put them in sequence. From there I learned that you should apply any effects, color corrections, etc. to the clips in Premier Pro before linking the project to After Effects.

Also, for some reason my system doesn't like it when you select all the clips and run warp stabilizer at the same time. It handles a few at a time without any issue.

I don't think warp stabilizer was intended for this heavy handed use. LOL, but it did do a pretty good job.

As far as the second body; Yes, I did use a second body. When the play was going to be too close for the 400, I either didn't shoot video and only used the second body or tracked the play with video only.

With digital video, every time you start recording you are creating a new clip. Non-linear editing (NLE) is a very good thing.

The more cumbersome and unwieldy way to do it, would be to mount both bodies side by side on a cross bar leave the video recorder on the C arm, and use the Lanc remote.

Although I'm not sure if that wouldn't just be a major headache.

[andyz]

While the video editing is completely beyond me, I think it would be neat to see some of the clips and when you hear the shutter on the video, flash to the still capture, then back to the video after a couple of seconds.

Thanks for posting.