Shooting Canon 7d Interviews

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Often many times I have very little time to knock out an interview, but lots of time to edit. So, I have been shooting in 1080 and editing on a 720 timeline. Why? Two reasons….first off, I do this because I am typically limited to the amount of time that I have to shoot. I know that shooting in 1080 I will be able to drop a clip on a 720 timeline and have plenty of room to zoom in, pan or tilt. Now with one clip I can have two angles… a wide and a close up. Secondly, 1080 is great, but not always necessary for some projects. I have had friends ask me “why downsize?” My reason, this will mostly be seen online, on screens at church, or on DVD. I have had the pleasure of having a short film on Showtime a couple years back, and even still, that short was shot on SD….480p. That being said, 1080 is great, but not always necessary. For future projects that will be broadcast or blow up for film I will shoot and edit in 1080.

Moving on, I am used to recording audio straight into my camera via a small mixer, or just plugging straight into the camera. But with the 7D, the audio is set with an audio gain control…not good. Meaning I have no control of the audio levels going into the audio unless I get another piece of gear. But even if you do get another piece of gear to control the gain, it still does not sound great. It is too noisy. What happens is if your subject gets quiet, the camera adjust the room noise, and raises it. So I use the Zoom H4N. This is new for me. I simply strap the H4N to a boom mic and away I go. I would not recommend using the camera as the source to record your audio. Syncing is crucial. Always have a slate or someone that can clap for you. Or you can buy Plural Eyes. This is a pretty cool software app that syncs up multiple cameras buy analyzing the waveforms and syncing your audio….granted you have good, not blow out or muddy audio.

Lastly, sharp focus. The 7D has a cool little feature to check your focus. It enables you to zoom the image in 5 times and 10 times to make sure you get a sharp focus. On set, I sometimes use a 30″ HD monitor (because I have nothing smaller.) By doing this I could make sure I had sharp focus for the entire shot.

Lighting is such a hassle for me. Always has. I have no real knowledge about lighting techniques. Only from experiences (read my blog on failure). But as long as you can have a fast lens, lighting can sometimes be minimal. I typically use a china ball. Like from Target. For 15 bucks you can have a great soft light that is easy to pack away and transport. I mostly bounce light too. Get a 5 in 1 reflector. Get your subject next to a window, and bounce any natural lighting.

Lastly, my most favorite thing about shooting with the 7D is the size. I can get into some of the smallest, cramped spaces.

I have a short film that I shot with the 7D in a contest. To watch my short, go to The Doorpost Film Competition, and search for my film called “Down, Right, Hearted”.

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