Streaming Media Bible - Streaming Magazine Column

Streaming Magazine Column - September 2002


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Video Production - It's All About Light.

In these days of ever-improving video codecs, it's possible to provide a good quality video stream at as low as 32Kbps, which anyone on a 56K modem can watch. However, to achieve quality at such a low bit rate, you have to make sure that you're providing your streaming media encoder with the best possible video signal. In addition to working with good quality equipment (see June 2002 column, "Equipment Does Matter"), the most important consideration in video production is light.

It's easy to take lighting conditions for granted because our eyes are incredibly powerful. We can see in extremely bright conditions such as on sunny days and in a matter of moments adapt to a dark garage, perhaps foraging for a lost garden tool. Not only that, but a white T-shirt looks white to us both outdoors and in a dark garage, even though the quality of the light is entirely different. Video equipment is far more limited in ability.

Equipment Limitations

Camera technology has improved drastically, but even the best cameras are no match for our eyes. Cameras cannot faithfully capture dark scenes, and they need help determining how colors should look. Many cameras today have automatic settings where they guess at what scenes should look like, but these capabilities are limited, particularly if you're shooting with insufficient light.

Optimization Limitations

The other challenge with video is that mistakes are hard to correct. Unlike audio, where it's generally possible to remove unwanted noise and add desirable frequencies, it is very difficult to correct an improperly lit scene. For instance, you can add brightness to your video using either hardware or software, but anyone who has played with the brightness control on his or her television set will tell you that the result looks "washed out." You can adjust the contrast, but run the risk of the picture being "grainy" or "too soft." The simple way to avoid these problems is to shoot your video using the right amount of light.

Use More Light

If you've ever been to a television studio, the first thing you'll notice is how bright they are. There are hundreds of lights hanging from every nook and cranny, all with one purpose: to light the scene properly so that a camera can faithfully reproduce it. Obviously most streaming media budgets will not stretch to a full-blown studio, but you can drastically improve the quality of your video by using a simple 3-point lighting kit (see photo).

Figure 1. A simple 3-point lighting kit. (Photo courtesy of Lowel Light)

While a full discussion of 3-point lighting is beyond the scope of this brief article, suffice it to say that by bringing the ambient lighting level of your scenes up, your video images will have better color and contrast, sharper focus, all of which contribute to a better encoded file. To learn more about 3-point lighting, you can read the section in my book, or better yet, buy a book dedicated to the subject.

Outdoor Filming

Filming outdoors has a different set of challenges. In general, the sun provides more than enough light, but it all comes from one direction. This can lead to unflattering shadows on your talent. A simple solution is to use a "bounce-board" to reflect some of the sun on the other side of the talent's face. Bounce-boards can be as simple as a large piece of white cardboard, or you can buy a professional model that folds up into a compact carrying case. The most common are made by a company called Visual Departures, and are a must in any serious videographer's toolkit (www.visualdepartures.com).

Other Considerations

Some of the more technical aspects of filming for the Internet will be covered in the next column, but a simple one that often is overlooked is shot composition, which ties in with location. It's obvious that you want a somewhat quiet location for audio, but just as important is a location that is interesting to look at, and one that minimizes extraneous motion in the frame.

For instance, if you're filming in front of a courthouse, try to avoid framing the shot with flags waving in the background. While this may add visual interest, and the shot you might want for broadcast television, for the Internet it adds extra motion to the scene, which adds complexity to the encoding process. A better approach would be to frame your shot with a statue in the background. By doing so you still have an interesting shot, but without the motion in the background that compromises the quality of the encoded stream.

Next Month: Video Production - How to Avoid the Worst Video Artifacts