tracking shot

Description

http://www.videotestground.com I recorded this surreal short on Canon EOS t3i camera on an Opteka SteadyVid Pro stabilizer. There was a carnival in town, which is a joyful occasion -- but it can also be a little spooky (carnies!), or nostalgic, depending on your perspective... It definitely transforms the mundane parking lot into something out of ordinary. I would love to get some feedback on this video. If you like this video, please 'like' it and subscribe to my channel! :D Thanks! What I like about this video: I really like the contrast between the blue sky and the warm color of the old-fashioned incandescent lights (I'll miss the incandescents in a few years when they are completely gone!!!) I also really like the repeated tracking shot of the little train -- that's my favorite shot in this video (especially the last instance of it, when there are many people between the train and the camera, but the camera still tracks along - only to come back to the train at the end of the shot). Well -- I was taught that every tracking shot needs to be 'motivated' and this one definitely is... This video was recorded in Bensenville, IL on 5/19/2012 (Bensenville Carnival) Some info for video enthusiasts: - Camera was Canon EOS Rebel t3i - stabilizer was Opteka SteadyVid Pro - I was shooting 24 fps at 1080P - Lens was a stock Canon 18-75mm, set to 18mm (wide). - Shutter speed was set to 1/48, using Magic Lantern firmware modification - Picture profile was Cinema Style developed by John Hope. - ISO was set to 320, using Magic Lantern firmware modification. Why so high? Because I wanted to maintain high F-stop (F8 or so), in order to keep deep depth of field. DOF that's too shallow can be a serious problem with tracking / steadicam shots -- because you're often moving on the Z-axis (toward and away from the subject), it's very easy to get out of focus). In fact, there is one out of focus shot in this video, see if you can spot it! - White balance was set to "shade" preset (7000K). - The video was recorded within about half an hour of the magic hour (golden hour) -- the sun had set already, but there was still enough light to make a good exposure. In fact, the sky was still too bright, so I was forced to underexpose in several shots, in order to avoid blowing out the highlights. - There was some color correction involved, using 3-way Color Corrector in FCP. Mostly, I brought up the mids, and increased saturation somewhat. Shooting this video was a nice opportunity to run some new tests on the Opteka SteadyVid Pro stabilizer. This time, I was focusing on panning: would I be able to track along moving subjects and pan when needed (and still capture good quality video...)? I think I did really well in several instances -- especially in the train shot. Once again, Opteka stabilizer didn't disappoint. These are some of my initial thoughts on the Opteka stabilizer: Opteka SteadyVid Pro is a very nice Steadicam alternative for DSLR users. At under $200, it may well be worth the investment. My only apprehension about the Opteka unit is whether the gimbal is durable. So far, after 1 week of light use, it seems to perform fine. Opteka SteadyVid Pro seems sturdy. Apparently, it is similar to Steadicam Merlin. I have never used Merlin, so I have no point of comparison. The gimbal on the Opteka product is very fluid and rotates easily. So far, the gimbal is performing nicely, but I do worry about its durability. The fine-adjustable balancing platform is very nice. This was the primary reason I chose this unit over competing designs - I was terrified that without fine-tuning option it would be a nightmare to balance the system. Even with this Opteka unit, It takes some work to get the system balanced properly, but I didn't find it too hard to understand how it works. I imagine I'll get better at balancing it with some practice. ---------- Music used in this video is "In The Eyes of You" by Kataz Trophee, released under Creative Commons ...