Filming with the Canon 600d DSLR

For this years filming, our class will be filming with a new camera which is the DSLR, the DSLR has many different features compared to the cameras that we used to film with last year. For instance, the DSLR has two different modes, automatic and manual.

When filming in automatic, the DSLR automatically sorts out the exposure, brightness and depth of field. For manual however you have to take control of all of these elements yourself to get the right shot.

These videos will help us when filming with the Canon 600d





Also the Canon 600d differs to other cameras as you have to adjust the focus yourself. This is different to most cameras as normally when you film with most cameras and the subject in your shot is a person the camera automatically focuses on the persons face. With the Canon 600d you have to set the focus on the your subject yourself.

Here is a video that will help us understand how to focus with the Cnon 600d



Also when shooting with the Canon 600d, the use of different lenses can give you a better shot depending on what your shooting. This video will give you an insight on the effects of using different lenses.



So, after research and learning how to use the Canon 600D me and my group had to produce a documentary during school time, the topic for our documentary was litter. So here is our first time filming with the Canon 600D:



So what do you think?

Overall I am pleased with my groups efforts in this documentary as I believe that the shots we have used work well, for example the first shot that appears in our documentary at 0.00s is an establishing shot of where we are, this makes it clear to the viewer exactly where this documentary is being filmed. Also just after the establishing shot at 0.01s you can hear the ringing of a bell, I feel that this works well as it is appropriate because bells are associated with schools to alert students when lesions are about to begin and when they are ending. We also got feedback from our class that the non diegetic sound used throughout the documentary works well, as constant non diegetic sound is a usual convention of documentaries. In addition to this, our class also commented that the shot at 0.06s is effective as it makes the viewer feel like they are in the school walking with theses students. This shot was filmed with handheld cam, this is what gives the effect of the viewer feeling as if they are in the corridor with the students.

Also the title of litter at 00.28s was popular with our class as they believed it worked well because it is a usual convention of documentaries to have the title of the subject appears through out documentaries. Shortly after this, at 00.32s our class and teacher pointed out that it was great use of lower thirds titles used as a connected clip. After the title disappears, our class appreciated how smooth the tracking shot of the narrator walking was.

Furthermore, our teacher was pleased with the split edit that takes place at 00.41s, as it shows Mr Frost doing his daily routine but the at 00.42s it splits and changes to a formal interview with the narrator. I personally liked the shot-reverse-shot at 00.54s as it shows the reactions of David, the narrator, when he is listening to Mr Frost answer his questions.

So as you can see our documentary has lots of good and positive points, but some negative points were also noticed. For example, at 00.51 there is some background laughter, this makes the documentary seem unprofessional and amateur. Also it was made to our attention that throughout the interview Mr Frost looks slightly blurred, our class mentioned that if he was more in focus it would be more effective. Moreover, at 00.22s our class said it was unfortunate that Mr Leech was looking slightly to the left. Our group agreed with this, in fact we did tell Mr Leech about this but unfortunately he carried on.

But overall, our documentary achieved a level 4 which I am very pleased about.