In recent times i was involved in lot of research about DSLR cameras. While doing so, i gained lot of knowledge about shooting modes and cinematography. So, i decided to share few points with all you guys. First of all, things i am going to share with you people is of basic level but also important, might be taken as thumb rule. but, if you have decent experience of using camera professionally, you will find this article very boring and obvious.
If you are thinking of making a short movie(animated or Live action). And cinematography according to you is just clicking on button(in software or on camera) then you might better look down on these points.
1.
Know you golden points : these are 4 points present on camera view, where your subject should be placed. They are not in the center. Here is the method how to find them. Divide your image view into 3 equal parts, by divide i mean just imagine two lines dividing them in three equal parts, in both way, vertical as well as horizontal. Points, where these line intersect each other(there will be 4 points) are called golden points. I don't know what they call these line, but for this article lets call them golden lines. Now if you are shooting in video mode and your subject is moving, always try to catch movement of subject across the screen, and along golden lines only.
2.
Focal and Aperture: Focal length should change according to subject you are recording and aperture should change according to lighting. When you are taking wide shot of landscape or something like that, lower your focal length, it should be around 25mm or just 25(in Maya, units are according to your preference settings). When you are taking close shot of subject it should be higher around 75mm or 75 in Maya. Aperture should always be changed according to lights, low light demand wider aperture. I don't think, animation software require change in aperture of their camera as lighting depends on you, only.
3.
Camera handling: while shooting you might want to shoot with camera in your hand, this is very bad idea if you are not shooting panic scenes(like chase scenes). Try to shoot with tripod or find chair or something where you can keep your camera still. this will make your rushin less shaky. Also do notice, if you are shooting any scene which requires two shot in same scene(one might be wide and one close) and in event of changing your camera position, you camera might show different light intensity in two shots. If light intensity changes in same scene, it doesn't give feeling of the same scene. Well these problem are seldom faced in animation software packages, but one problem that can occur in both type of cinematography is abrupt camera movement. Try to avoid abrupt camera movement specially when scene doesn't require pace. Also try to have depth of field in your camera it give a softness to your scene.
4.
Sweet Spot: Your subject will always have a sweet spot, you just have to find it. Sweet spot is often found by changing the angle of direction of light projection on your subject. For example you often found some of your photograph looking good when taken in sunshine, or you like your photo when taken in cloudy environment. My dear friend, light is the magician. light make lot of difference in your shot.
5.
Camera Angle : this one is really over rated. You will never have to worry about your camera angle as far as you follow above points. Really, I have personal experience with these things. Often, when i use to attend seminars and lecture about photography and videography. They use to tell me about subject position, continuity and camera angle. There are many type of camera angle and there are many article in which you will find their use too, but you often miss the cinematic look in your video or photo despite having correct type of camera angle. You might find correct type of camera angle but sometimes fail to have correct angle. I hope you get that sentence. There will always be difference between type of camera angle and camera angle. So here is li'l tip, forget about the type of camera angle and just follow above points.
This article is by one beginner to other beginner. So it was easy for me to understand what we really need to know. Also these point are valid if you shoot with digital cameras but in digital cameras you cannot customize these settings, they often come with presets. Also digital camera fail to give depth to your photo or video. If you want to know few entry level professional cameras here are few Canon 1100D, Nikon 3100. And if you are tangled in the thought of how to make a good story for short movie in animation i have few tips for you here
http://ankmachine.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-make-short-animated-movie.html
