Canon 7D Workshop

On Friday we learnt how to use the Canon 7D cameras. We were shown a step by step of how to use it, how to get the right amount of light and focus, how to control sound, and how to control shutter speed when taking photos.

In a group with Wez and Jess, we started the workshop by taking photos that were as clear as possible and tested out using different shutter speeds.

A photo I took of Wez in auto focus mode. It came out very vibrant and I think it's a nicely focused, sharp image.

A photo taken with average shutter speed

A photo taken with a slow shutter speed

We also experimented with light using our phones and a slow shutter speed. I think it looks very effective.

Once we'd gotten used to taking photos with the 7D, we moved onto shooting a short film. Our task was to create a 1-2 minute video without sound, and then put a pop song over it when editing. We chose to create a fun, light hearted music video to Shake It Off by Taylor Swift.

We took turns directing and filming each other and focused the camera before filming when shooting a scene involving all three of us. Although I think we managed to get a lot of good clips for editing the video in the style of the song, most of them came out looking quite soft. I think we all need more practice in getting a moving object into focus. However it was great practice for using this camera to film and a lot of fun to create and edit. We created a rough cut of Shake It Off as a group but sadly it didn't export properly. So the above cut is my own final cut along with a cut down version of the song that I made in a program called Audacity. I'm very please with this edit.

Our last task was to practice using sound with the 7D. Using a Rode Mic, we took turns filming short interviews with each other, asking questions about our directions unit.

We all used lighting equipment and took both over-the-shoulder shots and close-ups of the interviewer and the interviewee so that our edited clips could be varied. I'm happy with the lighting and angles in my interview and I think I find it easier to use manual focus as it allowed me to get quite sharp shots. The problem we all faced is that there's no way to monitor sound as you film on a 7D. So when it came to editing, some of my clip's sound wasn't great due to a lot of background noise, as well as Jess and Wez's voices not being picked up at a high enough volume. But overall I think it had a good outcome for a first try.

I found this workshop very useful, and while I still need practice with sound and focus on the 7D, I think I learnt a lot and created some good practice work.