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Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
detail. The auto-iris should be disengaged in this type of situation. If this
feature can be disengaged, manually adjust the f-stop ring to produce the
best quality picture.
It is important to remember how the aperture, f-stops, and
the iris relate to each other. The f-stop indicates the size of the
iris, which creates the size of the aperture.
Production Note
Shutter
The shutter on video cameras is a circuit that regulates how long the
CCD is exposed to light coming through the lens. As light hits the CCD, the
photosensitive elements build up an electrical charge of varying strength
depending on the intensity and color of light hitting them. This charge is
sent to the camera processing circuits sixty times per second. When the
charge is sent out, the photosensitive elements are discharged and begin
collecting light again.
Some higher-end cameras offer manual shutter speed settings. For
example, the shutter speed on one camera can be increased exponentially
from 1/100 to 1/8000. The higher the shutter speed, the clearer the footage
is when played back in slow motion—often used in sports programming.
However, higher shutter speeds “eat up” light, or require more light. To
avoid a very dark picture, the amount of light must be increased dramati-
cally if shutter speed is increased.
Mounting the Camera
There are two basic ways to support a camera while in use:
• Hand-held shooting
• Tripod shooting
Hand-Held Shooting
Many consumer cameras can just about fi t in the palm of your hand
and are easily held in the operator’s hands while shooting. The size and
weight of most professional cameras make it diffi cult to be held in the
operator’s hands for an extended amount of time. Professional cameras
usually rest on the right shoulder of the operator, with both hands holding
the camera lens steady. The right hand is positioned inside a strap holding
it to the zoom lens control. The left hand holds the focus ring of the lens,
Figure 3-19.
At fi rst glance, the hand-held camera technique appears easy and the
operator does not need to carry and set up a heavy tripod. However, hand-
held camera operation quickly loses its appeal when gravity takes its toll.
The camera operator’s arms tire quickly—the heavier the camera is, the
faster this happens. The result is very poor camerawork. An unsteady cam-
era shakes, wiggles, tilts sideways, and eventually begins to point at the
ground. Even if the camera is hand-held for a short time, the shot moves
with every rise and fall of the operator’s chest while breathing.
shutter: A circuit on a video
camera that regulates how
long the CCD is exposed to
light coming through the lens.