obviously, the biggest problem those of us who want to chronicle "play" will find is good players/action....and having our equipment on the ready when they finally do get down.
Here's a few of my ideas that I think help make video good -- and hopefully, guys like fastlenny or alvin, etc., will offer some of their advice.
1. Lighting. Nothing's as important as good lighting. You could use an old Hi8 camcorder and get great video if the table's well lit. Generally though, you're not going to have lighting equipment with you, so at least choose the best lit tables possible.
2. Get a camera angle that's as high as possible that isn't obstructed by the light ... on a tripod. Zoom in, focus, zoom out.
3. Turn the resolution up. 1080p is great, but consider the length of the game relative to the amount of space you have for recording.
4. Turn compression down as low as possible.
5. Adjust your white balance (which will probably be fluorescent).
6. Get the exposure setting for the brightness on the rail to not be dark and the center of the table to not be shiny. It's amazing how much exposure control the human eye has to auto-mask and to allow high contrast (simultaneously brightest and darkest area of a frame).
7. The whole table can't be in focus without being black; you'll have to get an average focus. To do this, zoom in and get a "crispness" that's even on a ball that's at the closest end to the camera and the farthest end.
If you use a D-SLR camera, some of them have firmware that restricts them from recording greater than 20-min HD or 30-min 720p -- this is for import tax avoidance. Nikon has a hack for most of their cameras which not only lift that restriction, but can also increase the bit rate. 54MB/s is what broadcast requires...though many great D-SLR cameras are limited to as little as 24. If you have lots of SD or CF cards (GB) then crank it up.
https://nikonhacker.com/viewforum.php?f=9
Not to slight any of the other great production companies, but I have to say, I think TAR lighting was the absolute nuts.
The best camera is the one you have with you. If nothing else, get one of these tripods and use your phone.
http://joby.com/gorillapod/focus
And yes, I know...lots of my videos do not follow these beliefs. Pool players are often not the most accommodating with their schedules and sometimes this is a task that is better suited to 2 people...or at least one who does it all the time.
Here's a few of my ideas that I think help make video good -- and hopefully, guys like fastlenny or alvin, etc., will offer some of their advice.
1. Lighting. Nothing's as important as good lighting. You could use an old Hi8 camcorder and get great video if the table's well lit. Generally though, you're not going to have lighting equipment with you, so at least choose the best lit tables possible.
2. Get a camera angle that's as high as possible that isn't obstructed by the light ... on a tripod. Zoom in, focus, zoom out.
3. Turn the resolution up. 1080p is great, but consider the length of the game relative to the amount of space you have for recording.
4. Turn compression down as low as possible.
5. Adjust your white balance (which will probably be fluorescent).
6. Get the exposure setting for the brightness on the rail to not be dark and the center of the table to not be shiny. It's amazing how much exposure control the human eye has to auto-mask and to allow high contrast (simultaneously brightest and darkest area of a frame).
7. The whole table can't be in focus without being black; you'll have to get an average focus. To do this, zoom in and get a "crispness" that's even on a ball that's at the closest end to the camera and the farthest end.
If you use a D-SLR camera, some of them have firmware that restricts them from recording greater than 20-min HD or 30-min 720p -- this is for import tax avoidance. Nikon has a hack for most of their cameras which not only lift that restriction, but can also increase the bit rate. 54MB/s is what broadcast requires...though many great D-SLR cameras are limited to as little as 24. If you have lots of SD or CF cards (GB) then crank it up.
https://nikonhacker.com/viewforum.php?f=9
Not to slight any of the other great production companies, but I have to say, I think TAR lighting was the absolute nuts.
The best camera is the one you have with you. If nothing else, get one of these tripods and use your phone.
http://joby.com/gorillapod/focus
And yes, I know...lots of my videos do not follow these beliefs. Pool players are often not the most accommodating with their schedules and sometimes this is a task that is better suited to 2 people...or at least one who does it all the time.