TDLG Day 4

TDLG Day 3

TDLG Day 2

TDLG Day 1

KiteTelemark in Douglastown

Here is a shot taken in february of local rider Paul Briand doing some Kite Telemark in Douglastown. Coming up is the VeliKite Fest in March, dont miss out!

Voici des séquences prises en février d'un rider local, Paul Briand et train de faire du Kite-Télémark. À venir au mois de Mars, le VéliKite Fest 2011. Ne manquez pas ça!

École de Cirque Gaspésie

Here is a short movie on the Gaspé Circus School, a non-profit that operates in Gaspe. Shots where taken in october 2010 with an XL2 camera.  

Untitled from Thomas Gagnon on Vimeo.

Filming outdoors

Today I thought I would put together ideas on filming in the outdoors.  When filming inside, focus is brought primarly on the object of the photo, be it a person, living thing or still object.  When filming outdoors not only is it easier to be distracted from your main subject, but there are many more uncontrollable variables than inside such as lighting, temperature and terrain. 

The first recommendation that comes to mind are the camera settings.  Maybe you have heard a camera professional stress the importance of not using the automatic setting adjustments while taking film.  Although this setting can acheive reasonable results, you definitly have less controll over the final output when doing so.  Also, since lighting conditions are continually shifting and your camera will (brainlessly) shift settings as conditions evolve, you will end up with variable lighting on your final film. 

You may want to incrase lighting by using reflective panels, snow, or even the safety blanket in your trunk.  When doing so just remember that it is easyer to light small portions at a time and focus on those instead of going wide because just wont achieve the desired effect unless you have some serious lighting going on.  Perfection must be avoided.  Lighting conditions will not be perfect and you cant controll every aspect of it so settle for the best shot within your range. 

A good idea is to bring an external microphone for capturing voice outside.  While doings so, a muffle for the microphone is always a good plan since it will prevent the wind from creating a hissing noise on the recording. 

Anticipation is an important element too.  Your camera being a no-brainer, it cant anticipate where the action is going.  So what you see with your eyes and what comes out of the camera will not be the same.  Using both eyes to film will allow staying ahead on whats happening.  It will take some getting used to, mainly regarding adjustments on precision put following the action is where things are at. 

Hope these tips on filming outside are usefull ! Remember to have fun !