The pros have gone up in my esteem!

I've been filming. Of sorts. I'd already done some test shots to get the lighting right, camera angles, that sort of thing. One thing has become obvious, my tripod, which has served me well for my SLR, is woefully inadequate for video use. So on Tuesday I went out and spent a lot on money on a Manfrotto. It is superb, as indeed, it should be. Rock solid, and smooth as a baby's whatsit.

So I've filmed the first proper scene of actual workshop stuff. It's mainly me at the drill-press and overhead shots of my hands. I'm particularly pleased with the latter, the higher tripod makes all the difference. I haven't got the lighting right yet, although it's better than it was.

I'm learning so much. I had been using a non-slip mat as a work surface, but I discovered that the regular pattern created horrible Moire patterns. You sometimes see them if people are wearing strange patters in their clothes on television. Also the white mat was wreaking havoc with the white balance of the camera, so everything else appeared darker than it should. I've solved both by using a piece of green capillary matting as a surface, and I'm pleased with the result.

I shot an entire sequence yesterday without the mic plugged in. I couldn't believe it. But to my amazement, the camera mic quality is superb. A bit cavernous, that's the only problem, but very clear and not at all tinny, as I'd supposed it would be. In some respects it's better than with the radio mic, I'm getting problems with "popping", so much so that I think I'm going to have to do the whole sequence again anyway.

But the biggest problem is that of talking to no-one. I'm not renowned for my inability to speak, but presenting to an invisible audience is astonishingly difficult! I have a renewed respect for people like Paxman & co, where they talk like it's just to you, but you know that really there is no-one else there except the camera. OK there is a floor crew in that example, but you know what I mean. I was watching him last night, and I take my hat off to him and his like.

I've got plenty of Blooper material, even if I don't have much footage yet! So far I've shot about an hour and a half of raw material, and distilled it down to just over ten minutes. It needs to get to half that, really, or it will be like watching paint dry.

I'll try to post some pictures next time.