Chapter 8: Using Movie Mode

Making high-quality movies isn’t new for dSLRs, but the 70D adds new technology that makes video focusing faster and more accurate, even when tracking a moving subject. Focus transitions are smooth, and when you use one of Canon’s stepper-motor (STM) lenses, the focus motor operation is very quiet. You can also just touch the LCD screen to focus.

You also get Canon’s DIGIC 5+ image processor for fast processing and real-time correction of common problems, including chromatic aberration. Movie shooting options also include a choice of file-compression options, continuous shooting with the camera automatically creating new files when the current file reaches the 4GB limit, a time code feature, improved sound recording and sound adjustment options, and a drop-frame control. In this chapter, I cover how to set up the camera and begin shooting movies.

Many improvements, especially in focus technology, make the 70D a very capable camera for capturing HD video. Exposure: ISO 200, f/9.0, 1/80 second.

About Movies

The ability to shoot movies offers two obvious benefits: It expands your creative options with the camera, and, if you shoot professionally, it has the potential to increase your income by shooting both stills and videos for clients.

If you’re new to recording movies, then get set to learn a new set of technical details and terms. There’s no better place to begin than with a discussion of the industry standards.

Video standards

Learning about industry standards opens the door to understanding some of the language related to video and how the 70D features and options fit into those standards. In the world of video, there are several industry standards, including the following resolutions: 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.

The numbers 720 and 1080 represent vertical resolution. The 720 standard has a resolution of 921,600 pixels, or 720 (vertical pixels) × 1280 (horizontal pixels). The 1080 standard has a resolution of 2,073,600 pixels, or 1080 × 1920. It seems obvious that the 1080 standard provides the highest resolution, and so you would think that it would be preferable. But that is not the entire story.

More of the story is contained in the i and p designations. The i stands for interlaced. Interlacing is a method of displaying video where each frame is displayed on the screen in two passes — first, a pass that displays odd-numbered lines, and second, a pass that displays even-numbered lines. Each pass is referred to as a field, and two fields comprise a single video frame. This double-pass approach was engineered to keep the transmission bandwidth for televisions manageable. The interlaced transmission works only because your mind automatically merges the two fields, so that the motion seems smooth with no flickering. Interlacing, however, is the old way of transmitting moving pictures.

The newer way of transmitting video is referred to as progressive scan, hence, the p designation. Progressive scan quickly displays a line at a time until the entire frame is displayed. Also, the scan happens so quickly that you see it as if it was being displayed all at once. The advantage of 720 standard resolution progressive scanning is most apparent in scenes where either the camera or the subject is moving fast. With interlaced transmission, fast camera action or moving subjects tend to blur between fields. That is not the case with progressive scan. And as it happens, a 720p video provides a smoother rendering of motion than 1080i. So while 1080i offers higher resolution, 720p can provide a better video experience, particularly when there are fast-action scenes.

Another piece of the digital video story is the frame rate. In the world of film, a frame rate of 24 frames per second (fps) provided the classic cinematic look of old movies. In the world of digital video, the standard frame rate is 30 fps. Anything less than 24 fps provides a jerky look to the video. The TV and movie industries use standard frame rates, including 60i, which produces 29.97 fps and is used for NTSC; 50i, which produces 25 fps and is used for PAL, a standard used in some parts of the world; and 30p, which produces 30 fps, a rate that produces smooth rendition for fast-moving subjects With this very brief background on video, you can look at the digital video options on the 70D.

NOTE NTSC is the standard for North America, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and other countries. PAL is the standard for Europe, Russia, China, Australia, and other countries.

TIP Videographers who want a cinematic look prefer cameras that convert, or pull down, 30 fps to 24 fps.

Video on the 70D

If you’re new to video, then you probably have questions, including how the 70D compares to industry standards, how long you can record, and how big the files are. The following is a rundown of the digital video recording options that you can choose on the 70D:

• Full HD (Full High-Definition) at 1920 × 1080p at 30 fps (actual 29.97), 25 fps when set to PAL, or 24 (actual 23.976) fps. With the 70D, you choose not only the resolution and frame rate but also the type of compression, either IPB or ALL-I (detailed later in this chapter). With IPB compression, you get approximately 16 minutes of recording on a 4GB memory card, and 1 hour, 4 minutes with a 16GB card. The file size is 235MB per minute. With ALL-I compression, you get approximately 5 minutes of recording time with a 4GB card and approximately 22 minutes with a 16GB card. The file size is 685MB/minute with ALL-I. The aspect ratio is 16:9.

• HD (High-Definition) at 1280 × 720p at 60 fps (actual 59.94) and 50 fps when set to PAL. With IPB compression, you get approximately 18 minutes of recording time with a 4GB card, and 1 hour, 14 minutes with a 16GB card. The file size is 205MB/minute. With ALL-I, you get approximately 6 minutes of recording on a 4GB card and 25 minutes on a 16GB card. The file size is approximately 610MB/minute. The aspect ratio is 16:9.

• SD (Standard recording) at 640 × 480 at 30 fps (actual 29.97) or actual 25 fps when set to PAL. The only compression you can choose is IPB, and you get 48 minutes of recording time with a 4GB card, and 3 hours and 14 minutes with a 16GB card. The file size is 78MB per minute. The aspect ratio is 4:3.

So, you have two high-quality video options, albeit at different frame rates. The 30 fps option is the traditional recording speed for online use, whereas the actual 29.97 speed is the TV standard in North America (NTSC). As a result, the 30 fps option is suitable for materials destined for DVD or display on a standard-definition or HD TV. Although 24 fps is more film-like, it can produce jerky motion for moving subjects, and it requires slower shutter speeds. In addition, the actual 29.97 frame rate makes it easier to sync audio when it is recorded separately using a video-editing program.

Here are some other aspects about shooting video on the 70D to consider:

• Audio. You can use the 70D’s built-in stereo microphone, which provides reasonable audio if you do not want to invest in a separate audio recorder and microphone. If you use the built-in microphone, be aware that all the mechanical camera functions are recorded, including the sound of the Image Stabilization (IS) function on the lens, the focusing motor, as well as ambient noise on the set. However, using one of Canon’s STM lenses reduces noise generated by the focusing motor. The built-in microphone features a wind-cut filter and attenuator that is on at all times when using the internal microphone to reduce the sound of wind, of course, and the attenuator reduces sound distortion. With the 70D, you can control the audio recording up to 64 levels. If you use an accessory microphone, a 3.5mm stereo input jack on the side of the camera records at 48 kHz/16 bit sampling rate, and can be plugged into the microphone IN terminal.

• Exposure and camera settings. Exposure control ranges from fully automatic to full manual, with semiautomatic modes such as Aperture-priority AE (  ) and Shutter-priority AE (  ) enabling you to have more control even with automatic exposure. Shutter speeds are linked to the frame rate. For example, the slowest frame rate at 30, 25, or 24 fps is 1/30 second, and at 60 or 50 fps, it is 1/60 second. The maximum shutter speed is 1/4000 second for all frame rates. The ISO can be set automatically or manually. Manual ISO settings range from 100 to the expanded 12800 setting. In automatic and Basic Zone modes, the ISO is automatically set from 100 to 6400. You can also use AE Lock (  ) and set exposure compensation of +/-3 stops for movies or +/-5 stops for still images. You can’t use Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) during movie shooting. The Picture Style, white balance, still-image quality, and other settings in Movie mode (  ) can also be adjusted.

• Battery life. At normal temperatures, you can expect to shoot for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, regardless of ambient temperature changes.

• Video clip size and lengths. The upper limit of a single video file is 4GB. When the movie approaches the 4GB point, the time code, or elapsed time display, blinks. Then the camera automatically creates a new file while you continue recording uninterrupted. Given sufficient space on the memory card, you can record up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds of video, with the videos stored in a series of 4GB files. During editing, individual clips can be placed sequentially for a continuous movie, with no evidence of file transitions or dropped frames.

• Memory cards. The 70D supports SD, SDHC, or SDXC cards. If you use IPB compression, Canon recommends memory cards with a 6MB/second or faster write speed. If you use ALL-I compression, then Canon recommends a write speed of 20 MB/second or faster. And if you shoot still images during recording, go with a faster card than the ones recommended. With slower cards, the movie may not record correctly.

NOTE Shooting HD at 50 or 60 fps using ALL-I recording puts the greatest demand on a media card, with HD 720p requiring 14MB/sec for SD (SecureDigital) cards.

• Image simulation. The LCD screen simulates the final video, including the exposure, Picture Style settings, white balance, lens corrections, Highlight tone priority, and other settings.

• Still-image shots during recording. You can capture, or grab, a still image at any time during video recording by pressing the shutter button completely. This results in a 1-second pause in the video, and then movie shooting resumes. The still image is captured at the quality set on Shooting menu 1 (  ) and is recorded as a separate file on the media card. The aspect ratio is 16:9, except when the 640 × 480 movie recording size is used — in that case, it is 4:3. The camera automatically sets the aperture and shutter speed when you’re using autoexposure shooting. If you’re using manual exposure movie shooting, then you can manually set the shutter speed and aperture as with regular shooting. The ISO range is 100 to 6400 for autoexposure movie shooting. With manual shooting, it varies according to what you have set as the ISO speed range’s maximum setting. If you’ve set 12800/H as the top ISO speed, then the maximum ISO for movies will be 12800. But if you set the maximum to 12800, then the auto ISO for movies is 6400. If you’re shooting a long movie, be aware that shooting still shots will cause changes between the actual time and time code of the movie making it harder to synchronize video and audio.

• Temperature cautions. As with Live View shooting (  ), the camera’s internal temperature increases faster when shooting video. The camera displays a white thermometer-like icon as a first warning. If you keep shooting, a blinking red temperature icon appears to encourage you to let the camera cool down. If you still keep shooting, the camera stops recording automatically, and it won’t start again until it has cooled off sufficiently. If you shoot while the white warning icon is displayed, the movie quality won’t suffer, but still images you capture may show degradation.

Setting Up to Record Movies

A little planning, or even a lot of planning, goes a long way in creating interesting and polished videos. And the 70D offers a goodly number of setup choices that deserve discussion. The following sections walk through the controls and options you can set to suit your recording preferences. Some of the setup options are the same as, or similar to, those offered in Live View shooting mode (  ). In particular, some of the focusing modes are the same.

This section discusses resolution, exposure, focusing, white balance, Picture Style, and other options you can set before you begin recording.

Choosing the resolution and exposure mode

The choices for setting up and shooting video are many and varied. The first decision is what resolution to use. For example, progressive video capture is best if you want to do frame-by-frame editing of the move, and it is compatible with DVD and Blu-ray players. The frame rate you choose may depend on the look you want to achieve as well as on the area in which you live. For example, choose 30 or 60 fps for NTSC TV format used in North America, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and other areas. But choose 25 or 50 fps if you are shooting for the PAL TV format used in Europe, Russia, China, Australia, and other countries.

To choose the resolution, frame rate, and compression method, go to Movie Shooting menu 2 (  ), highlight Movie rec. size, press the Setting button (  ), and then choose a size and compression method, as shown in Figure 8.1.

8.1 The Movie rec. size screen.

Another decision you need to make is whether you want to control all or none of the exposure settings. Your choices are automatic or manual exposure.

NOTE With automatic exposure, the actual exposure settings are never displayed on the LCD screen, nor are they recorded in the EXIF data of the movie file. During recording, you can press the shutter button halfway, and the ISO and shutter speed appear at the bottom of the screen. These exposure settings apply only if you take a still image, and may be different for a movie.

If you use autoexposure in the Basic Zone modes, the camera automatically detects the type of scene and sets the exposure appropriately based on the scene. To determine the exposure settings, the camera looks for the focus method and shooting mode you choose — for example, Portrait (  ) or Landscape (  ) — and the light (or lack of it) in the scene, as well as for backlighting, spotlighting, or sunset light. An icon that represents the type of scene the camera detected is displayed on the LCD. Also in Basic Zone modes, there are fewer options on the Movie menus (  ). Avoid zooming the lens during filming because it can change the exposure, even if the lens isn’t at its maximum aperture. You can’t magnify the scene during recording.

If you choose Manual exposure (  ), then much of the camera settings and operation are the same as with still-image shooting. For example, to choose the autofocus method and drive mode, press the buttons above the LCD panel on the top of the camera. The setting screen appears on the LCD screen and you can turn the Main (  ) or Quick Control (  ) dial to adjust the settings.

In Manual mode (  ), if you choose Auto ISO, you can press the AE Lock button (  ) and lock the ISO at the current setting. While you can change the aperture and shutter speed during shooting, these adjustments cause visible shifts in the video that are distracting and unattractive, so avoid making those changes. Also, Canon notes that changing the shutter speed under fluorescent lighting can cause flickering in the movie.

Regardless of the exposure mode you choose, the same cautions apply to Movie shooting (  ) as apply to Live View shooting (  ). Because the camera’s reflex mirror is open, never point the camera toward the sun or a bright light source to avoid internal damage to the sensor and internal components. Tables 8.1 and 8.2 summarize the exposure settings, the changes you can make, and how to make them.

Table 8.1 Movie Mode Autoexposure Options

Table 8.2 Manual Exposure Shooting

If you cannot set the exposure settings, check that the Lock (  ) is in the down position. Before you begin shooting, take a few minutes to go through the camera menus to choose the autofocus method you want to use, and to set many other important settings.

Menu setup

The 70D has Movie shooting menus 1 and 2 (  ), which are dedicated to movie setup. The following sections detail the options on both menus and how to use them.

To set up the 70D for shooting movies, turn the Live View shooting/Movie shooting switch to the Movie position (  ). Then, navigate to Movie shooting menu 1 (  ). There are fewer menu options in the Basic Zone modes than there are in the Program AE (  ), Shutter-priority AE (  ), Aperture-priority AE (  ), and Manual (  ) modes.

NOTE Some menu options are on the Quick Control screen. Just press the Quick Control button (  ) to display the screen. Press up or down on the Multi-controller (  ) to select an option, and then press left or right to choose a setting.

Movie shooting menu 1

Here are the options from which you can choose on Movie shooting menu 1 (  ):

• AF method. You can choose, Face Detection+Tracking (  ), FlexiZone–Multi (  ), or FlexiZone–Single (  ). These options operate in the same way as they do for Live View shooting ( , covered in Chapter 7). Of course, you can also use Manual focusing ( ), provided the lens you’re using offers it. With the new focusing technology, the Face Detection and FlexiZone focus methods are fast, accurate, and make smooth transitions between subjects.

• Movie Servo AF (). When you enable this option, the camera maintains focus as the subject moves without needing to half-press the shutter button. Maintaining subject focus takes battery power, so keep an eye on the battery level if you enable this option. Also, the sound of the lens focusing motor is recorded if you use the built-in microphone. Canon’s STM lenses provide quieter autofocus operation than other lenses, and if the noise is too intrusive, consider using a commercial accessory microphone. During servo focusing, zooming the lens or magnifying the image will pause focusing. You can’t use servo focusing together with Digital zoom. Also, avoid moving the camera with the motion of the subject (panning) because it can change the image magnification. To stop servo focusing, tap the Movie Servo AF icon (  ) on the lower left of the screen, and then press the Flash button (  ). If you choose Disable, then to focus, you can press the shutter button halfway or press the AF-ON (  ) button to focus before you begin recording the movie. If you assigned a camera button to the AF Stop function using Custom Function III-4, Custom controls, you can use it to stop and start Movie Servo AF (  ).

8.2 The options in Movie shooting menu 1.

• Silent LV shooting. These options are used only when you make still images during movie recording. Choose Mode 1 to reduce the sound of the shutter even during continuous shooting. Choose Mode 2 to delay the sound of the shutter re-cocking until you release the shutter button. Choose Disable if you don’t need silent operation.

• Metering timer. Choose 4, 16, or 30 seconds, or 1, 10, or 30 minutes to determine how long the camera retains the exposure. If the light changes often, choose a shorter time.

Movie shooting menu 2

The Movie shooting menu 2 (  ) offers features that are new to the camera, including Time code and Drop frame control. The options on the Movie shooting menu 2 (  ) are:

• Grid display. Choose a 3 × 3, 6 × 4, or 3 × 3+diag grid to help you align horizontal and vertical lines in the scene. Select Off if you do not want to use a grid.

• Movie rec. size. The options, including the compression options, are discussed earlier in this chapter.

8.3 The options in Movie shooting menu 2.

• Digital zoom. At Full HD recording size, you can optionally choose to bring the scene closer by using 3 to 10x digital zoom. Unlike using a telephoto lens to bring the scene closer, digital zoom magnifies the scene, and then crops the edges to make the scene appear larger. Cropping, of course, reduces the overall resolution and quality of the movie. You can set the zoom up to 10x. With Digital zoom, you can’t use Movie Servo AF (  ), and the focus changes from whatever option you’ve chosen to contrast-detection, a slower focusing method. The maximum ISO is 6400, and you cannot magnify the scene while using Digital zoom. As you’re shooting, the image quality may appear lower and imperfections and digital noise may be visible. Scene icons are not displayed, and you cannot shoot a still image during Digital zoom. To use Digital zoom, select this option on the menu, and then press the Setting button (  ). Choose Approx. 3-10x, and then press the Setting button (  ). While recording the movie, press up or down on the Multi-controller to display the zoom bar. Then, press up or down on the Multi-controller (  ) to zoom in or out, respectively. It’s a good idea to use a tripod when shooting with Digital zoom.

• Sound recording. This option enables you to control the sound recording with the built-in stereo microphone or with an accessary stereo microphone. In Basic Zone modes, only the On/Off options are available with automatic adjustment and with no Wind filter. In other modes, choose Auto to have the camera automatically control the audio level. You can also choose Manual to record sound using the built-in stereo microphone. Audio is recorded at a 16-bit, 48 kHz sampling rate in both the left and right channels. (You cannot adjust the sound volume balance per channel.) With this option, you can adjust the recording level to one of 64 increments using the Quick Control dial (  ). Then choose Rec. level (Recording level). The sound recording options include:

• Rec. level. Adjust the meter so that it occasionally hits the 12 (-12 dB) mark on the peak hold indicator at the bottom of the screen. Choose Disable if you don’t want sound recorded.

• Wind filter/Attenuator. On the Sound recording screen, select Windfilter/Attenuator. The Wind filter/Attenuator screen appears so that you can select and enable the Wind filter and/or the Attenuator. Enable the Wind filter option only if you’re using the built-in microphone. It reduces the sound of wind for outdoor shooting. Enabling the Wind filter also reduces low bass sounds, so be sure to disable the Wind filter if there is no wind on the set for better audio. Enable the Attenuator to reduce noise distortion if there are loud sounds on the set before you begin recording.

8.4 The Sound recording screen.

NOTE If you use an accessory stereo microphone, the camera automatically switches audio recording to the external microphone.

• Time code. The 70D offers Time code and Drop frame options. In video recording, a time code is a frame-counting function. Time codes follow the standard set by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) for counting frames by hour:minute:second:frame, with the frame count running from 00 to 29 frames. You can set the time code in several ways. Just choose one of the following options:

• Count up: Rec. run, Free run. You can choose either Rec. Run or Free Run. Rec. Run means the time code advances only during movie recording. This is a good option if only one camera is filming so that you can organize clips in chronological order. Changing or formatting the media card or deleting a movie file does not reset the count. On the other hand, the Free Run option continues counting even if no movie is being recorded. Choose this option if several cameras are used to record the movie. Clips from the cameras can then be arranged chronologically during editing. However, if you change the time, time zone, or set Daylight saving time, the time code will also be affected.

• Start time setting: Manual input setting, Reset, Set to camera time. With this option, you can choose the Manual input setting, where you manually enter the hour, minute, second, and frames for beginning the time code. Alternately, you can choose Reset to the time you set with Manual input setting and Set to camera time so the counter is set to all zeros. If you choose Set to camera time, the current time on the camera’s internal clock is used and frames are set to 00.

• Movie recording count: Rec time, Time code. This option determines what is displayed on the LCD during movie recording. You can choose Rec. time to display the elapsed time on the LCD during recording. You can also opt for Time code to display the time code during recording.

8.5 The Start time setting screen.

8.6 The Start time setting screen with the Manual option to input the start time.

NOTE If you shoot a still image during movie recording, then the actual time and time code will not match.

• Movie playback count. This option determines what is displayed during movie playback. You can choose Rec time (Record time) or Time code. The Rec time option displays the elapsed time after shooting starts during playback. Time code displays the time code during playback. This setting is tied to Playback menu 3 (  ) Movie play(back) count so that if you change one, the other changes as well.

• Drop frame. You can choose Drop frame when the frame rate is set to 30 fps or 60 fps and when the Video system is not set to PAL. Enabling this option corrects the discrepancy between the actual time and time code (see previous sidebar). The frame counter will periodically skip two frames from its count total (typically, frames 00 and 01) so the frames counted are the same as the actual number of frames. You can also choose Disable so no correction is made and no frames are skipped. When enabled, the time code is displayed as (DF) 00:00:00 (00:00:00.00 during playback). When drop frame is disabled, the time code is (NDF) 00:00:00 (00:00:00:00 during playback).

• Video snapshot. This option enables you to shoot short videos of 2, 4, or 8 seconds that you can combine as an album. This menu provides album options to Create a new album and Add to existing album. Creating Video snapshots and albums is detailed later in this chapter.

Setting the ideal shutter speed

In movie recording, the available speeds are linked to the frame rate, as detailed earlier. But it’s also important to use a shutter speed for the best rendering of motion. The general formula for determining the best shutter speed is 1/(fps*2). For 24p, this translates to 1/48 second (round it up to 1/50 second). For 30p, it’s 1/60 second, and for 60p it’s 1/120 second (round it up to 1/125). For still photographers, these shutter speeds may seem too slow, but in video, slow shutter speeds translate into smooth motion. You can, of course, use faster shutter speeds, but speeds faster than 1/125 second tend to make motion look jerky. Taken together, this formula effectively limits the range of good shutter speeds. For example, if you’re shooting at 24p, the shutter speed range is 1/50 to 1/125 second, although technically, you can shoot from 1/30 to 1/4000 second.

If the light is too bright for the shutter speed you need, and if the aperture is set for the depth of field you want, then you can use various filters to help modify the shutter speed. Here are some of the filters you can use:

• Neutral density (ND) filters. ND filters reduce the amount of light entering the lens without changing its color. ND filters are available in different strengths, called factors that represent their optical density or equivalent f-stop reduction, including 2, 4, and 8.

• Variable neutral density filters. Variable neutral density filters enable you to continuously control the amount of light passing through the lens up to 8 stops. This makes it possible to get slow shutter speeds even in brightly lit scenes. These filters are pricey, but a good addition to your gear bag for motion and still shooting.

If the light is too low, use a higher ISO or a faster lens.

Selecting the right color, audio, and lighting

Just as with still images, getting the color right during capture saves a lot of time post-capture in color-correcting video. And it is more of a challenge to color-correct video than still images. So be sure to set the white balance to match the light. For the best color, set a Custom white balance for scenes where the light remains constant throughout the clip.

It is also a good idea to maintain the same Picture Style throughout the video for visual consistency. I normally do not recommend using the automatic exposure adjustment features on the camera, but I make an exception for movies when Auto Lighting Optimizer (  ) can produce nice results, especially in challenging lighting.

Another critical component of your video is the audio recording. While the onboard 48 kHz, 16-bit stereo microphone can be used, its recording quality isn’t as good as commercial microphones, and its position makes it susceptible to recording both internal camera and lens noises.

If you want a professional-quality video, invest in an accessory microphone. There are many types of accessory microphones — dynamic, condenser, mono, and stereo. Also, you can connect the 70D to an external mic using the 3.5mm stereo mic jack that records at a 48 kHz/16-bit sampling rate.

With high-definition video, lighting is an important element. Many video shooters agree that HD video offers a broad contrast range, and softer lighting is favored. Continuous fluorescent, quartz, HMI, and tungsten lighting systems produce excellent color and brightness.

Recording Movies

If you’ve followed along so far, then your 70D is set up and ready to record movies. While some of the camera controls are the same for movies as for still-image shooting, there are some differences. If you are using semiautomatic or manual exposure, this section provides some tips on setting the shutter speed and aperture. If you’re concerned that the options you’ve chosen so far may not be ideal, record some test movies and see which settings work best for you.

It is wise to make as many adjustments as possible before recording and as few as possible during filming. For example, if you change an exposure setting during recording, the change in brightness can be visually intrusive during playback. Also, if you’re using the built-in microphone, think through camera adjustments that you can make before you begin shooting to keep the camera sounds they produce to a minimum during recording. The fewer changes you make during recording, the smoother the movie will be. If you have to make adjustments during shooting, the Quick Control screen is a good place to make them.

8.7 Pressing the Quick Control button displays settings you can change during recording. Here, the audio level control is selected.

Here are some pointers to help you make engaging movies:

• Storyboard the video scene by scene. Create storyboards based on a script or on your vision of the story you’re telling. Then you can easily plan locations, props, lenses, and lighting for each frame of the movie. Even if you’re shooting spontaneously, you’ll want a beginning, middle, and end to the movie, so watch for scenes that provide those elements.

• Choose lenses for story-telling effect. Know the characteristics of lenses as detailed in Chapter 10, and then use those characteristics as devices to help set scenes and tell the story. Every film has a point of view and perspective that is established by the focal length. Be aware of focal length during each segment of the movie and don’t change it unnecessarily.

• Use a lens hood or a matte box to avoid lens flare. A matte box is slightly larger than, and shaped differently from, a lens hood. Matte boxes are designed specifically for video shooting.

• Avoid wide-angle lens distortion. Distortion is most apparent at the edges of the frame, so keep important elements of the scene and story away from the edges.

• Make slow and steady moves. Always move the camera slowly and steadily to avoid distortion and rolling shutter artifacts that happen when you pan the camera quickly. Also, if the camera is panned too fast, diagonal lines in the scene skew or lean.

• Avoid unnecessary pans and zooms. Pans, no matter how smoothly executed, can seem unsettling to the viewer. Use them sparingly. The same advice goes for using zooms.

• Check that the red record light is lit in the upper-right corner of the LCD screen. More than a few photographers have thought that they pressed the Start/Stop button (  ) only to find out too late that nothing was recorded.

You can change the amount of information displayed on the LCD screen by pressing the Info button (  ) one or more times. One press displays the Exposure level indicator at the bottom of the screen along with a minimum of exposure and battery information. Pressing the Info button (  ) twice displays shooting, white balance, Picture Style, memory card, recording quality, audio level, and basic information. If you want to add the Electronic Level to the display, press the Info button (  ) a third time.

8.8 The Movie shooting display with basic information displayed.

8.9The Movie shooting display after pressing the Info button twice.

You can also create Video snapshots, which are short clips of approximately 2, 4, or 8 seconds. As you shoot each video snapshot, you can create an album and add more video snapshots to it, as well as background music. It’s easy to come up with ideas for video snapshots and albums. They would be great for recording birthday parties, segments of a wedding, and the reception or a holiday family get-together.

The snapshots and albums offer good flexibility, but there are a few caveats. Albums can contain only video snapshots of the same duration. If you’re shooting a video snapshot, do not change the movie recording size, change the Sound recording options, or update the firmware. Doing any of these things will cause a new album to be created. You also can’t shoot a still image when shooting a video snapshot.

To set up for Video snapshots, follow these steps:

1. On Movie shooting menu 2 (), select Video snapshot, and then press the Setting button (). The Video snapshot screen appears.

2. Choose Enable, and then press the Setting button ().

3. Choose Album settings, and then press the Setting button (). The Album settings screen appears.

4. Select Create a new album, and then press the Setting button (). The Create a new album screen appears.

5. Press the Setting button (), and then press up or down on the Multi-controller () to set the video snapshot length. The options are 2, 4, or 8 seconds.

6. Press the Setting button (), select OK, and then press the Setting button () again.

7. Press the Menu button () to dismiss the menu, and then press the Start/Stop button () to begin shooting. A blue bar appears indicating the remaining time of the video to snapshot. When the time is up, a ribbon of options appears at the bottom of the screen so you can save the video to the album. Other options include:

• Save as album. Choose this option if this is the first snapshot you’ve recorded.

• Add to album. Choose to add to the most recent album recorded.

• Save as a new album. Choose this option to create a new album (new file) automatically and save the clip to it as the first snapshot.

• Play back video snapshot. Choose to review the most recently recorded video snapshot. The controls for playback are similar to those used to play back regular videos detailed later in this chapter.

• Do not save to album, or Delete without saving to album. Choose to delete the most recent video, and then select OK.

8. Select the Save as album button at the bottom left of the screen, and then press the Setting button (). Then you can continue to shoot more clips for the album.

9. To stop shooting video snapshots, repeat step 1 but choose Disable, and then press the Setting button ().

You can also do basic editing of video snapshot albums. During playback, choose the Edit button (  ) at the bottom right of the screen. Editing options include moving the snapshot to a different location in the album, deleting a video, and playing the edited album. If you want to include background music, copy the music to the media card first using the EOS Utility, a program included on the EOS Solutions Disk. Be sure to respect the copyright of the artist(s) who created the music.

Playing Back Movies

For a quick preview of your movies, you can play them back on the camera’s LCD screen. Of course, with the camera’s high-definition quality, you will enjoy the movies much more by playing them back on a television or computer.

To play back a movie on the camera LCD screen, press the Playback button (  ), and then turn the Quick Control dial (  ) to navigate to a movie file. Movie files have a SET icon in the upper left and a large right-facing arrow in the center of the screen. Then, you can do any of the following:

• Press the Setting button () to display the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Press the Playback button (  ) to begin playing the movie. To pause the movie, press the Setting button (  ). To see the playback controls, tap the icon at the upper left of the screen.

• Turn the Main dial () to adjust the volume.

• Press left or right on the Multi-controller () to select a playback function displayed at the bottom of the screen.

During playback, time in minutes: seconds appears at the top left of the screen. The controls at the bottom of the screen include the play button, as well as the following:

• Slow motion (). To slow down the video playback press left or right on the Multi-controller (  ). The speed is displayed at the upper right of the screen.

• First frame (). Goes to the first frame in the video.

• Previous frame (). Press the Setting button (  ) to move to the previous frame. Continue pressing the Setting button (  ) to step back frame–by–frame.

• Next frame (). Press the Setting button (  ) to move forward frame–by–frame through the movie. Hold down the Setting button (  ) button to fast forward through the movie.

• Last frame (). Select to jump to the last frame in the movie.

• Background music (). Select to play back a movie with background music.

• Edit (). Choose to do basic editing to the video.

• Playback position (). Displays the playback position.

You perform basic edits on video clips in-camera by choosing the Edit function in the Playback toolbar. In Edit mode (  ), you can cut the beginning and end of the clip, choose Play to move to other frames, save your changes, and exit.

Another way to playback videos is by connecting your camera to your TV. You can buy an HDMI (HTC-100) cable or a stereo AV (AVC-DC400ST) cable. Using an HDMI cable with an HDTV provides improved image quality when you view Full HD and HD movies.