An awesome day 2 of Columbia J-School digital media bootcamp continued with a focus on video lighting and sound techniques.

After instruction on the use of shotgun microphones we were dispatched onto the streets of New York to focus on the sounds of everyday tasks while shooting video.

I chose a delivery truck delivering wine and the thud of cases being humped out to the wine store.

One take home of the last two days has been the need to get in really close to shoot video – close ups should be 60-75% of our shots, and often require being a position that would otherwise be too close in a social setting.

Sound instruction continued with a focus on handheld microphone technique:

• Hold the microphone strongly
• Don’t give it to the person being interviewed
• Keep the microphone to the side of the face, in case there’s any spit
• Avoid wearing jewelry which can move and make a noise

When I watch the outside broadcasts of local cable news I’ll be watching to check that they are doing it right!

Continuing the learn-by-doing approach we were once again set loose to shoot an outside interview with microphone.  It’s great when your footage actually looks in focus and properly exposed afterwards!

The afternoon focused on how to do a well-lit sit down interview.

The instruction by Duy Linh Tu on lighting was excellent. He first set up the interview in natural light (which was far from perfect due to shadows and the interviewee did not stand out), then proceeded to show us in incremental steps how the video could be improved as additional lighting was added.

We then had to do it ourselves, with each of us having to set up for an interview using the three light technique.

At the same time we had to ensure the camera tripod was at the right height, the camera exposure correctly set (only 10-15% of zebra lines) and that there was proper white balance. There’s a lot to do to ensure good picture quality.

In two days of instruction and practical exercises, we’ve been given a solid foundation to build upon.  Tomorrow, I’ll be interviewing New Yorkers and shooting video for editing on Thursday and Friday with Final Cut Pro.