Shooting Motion

Ever since the Canon 5D MKII hit the market we have played around with the idea of shooting motion on a DSLR camera. The market has exploded with accessories and add ons for shooting DSLR video and the quality of the results have far exceeded the expectations of most. For the first few years a lot of still photographers viewed this option as somewhat of a novelty. However, now the stock industry has seen a shift toward motion capture along with the stills from the same location. Our friends at Corbis have a full motion gallery available on their site now and have seen some solid results.

The idea is, once you are on location, you have your shot ready, you have the property release, why not shoot some motion of the same location and expand your sales opportunities. With a little bit more work than what is involved in your regular still shoot you can reach a whole new audience and potential buyer base.

Here are a couple options from Erik at Corbis on ways to shoot motion when you are already on location:

Two ways, dependent on what is moving in the frame, and your level of expertise with AfterEffects/Photoshop and creating time lapse clips

1: “faux-time-lapse”. Use only when there’s nothing moving the frame that gives away IN THE FINAL SHOT that it’s time lapse

Shoot in in stills mode: RAW stills 6-10fps, whatever camera can manage. Frame for 1.78:1
24 images= 1 second screen time: shoot at least 360 frames = 15 seconds)
Consider using Small Canon Camera RAW files: they still are plenty large for rendering to 1920×1080
Bring RAW stills into After Effects or Photoshop as “Image Sequence”
Color correct & render out to 1920×1080 ProRes / DNxHD / other filer format

PRO: benefit of RAW color correction, better latitude, 14-bit color

CON: time consuming post process

2: shoot video mode w/ DSLR: 1920×1080 HD video, in the 8-bit H264 codec available in the camera. “Flip the switch and shoot”

Lens a little wider (sensor will crop down from 1.5:1 to 1.78:1)
Expose for best range in image
Cut clips down in Premiere / Photoshop / FCP / Vegas / other

PRO: fast, easy

CON: 8-bit color space, limited color correction ability. Tougher to expose right. Fewer ISO choices since you must shoot at minimum 1/48 shutter speed

To do EITHER way you shoot:

Lock off camera for one version
If applicable, move camera in a way that makes sense in the frame. Go with what the geometry of the shot tells you to do. Camera movement, NOT pan / tilt / zoom.
Shoot at eye level: makes sense for a background plate. Frame a shot of the person, then pull the person out & shoot only the BG
If easy and practical: record lens and tilt angle: useful for VFX

There are also a number of tools like sliders and fluid head tripods that can help with the process of capturing smooth motion sequences without costing a lot of additional money.

We look forward to hearing any feedback you guys have on the idea of shooting motion and of course would be happy to answer any questions you have about adding motion to your collection.

– The Spaces Team