Earlier today, we reviewed the dailies from the week before last and put together a two minute showcase of our B-roll. The footage was my first attempt at using a DSLR rig - or really a rig of any kind. I felt that handheld footage was important because it introduces viewers to Walker World in a way similar to how people would actually experience it. It also isn't practical most of the time to walk around with a tripod, since most of the action would be missed during the process of setting up for the next shot. I had to practice walking steadily and pulling focus a lot. I feel like I really need to practice more because some shots are very jerky. When we rented the 7D from UNCW, I actually reconfigured the rig that came with the camera. I added a small piece of wood, a cushion, and a 2 pound weight to help balance out the rig.
Here's me at walker world with it. I secured everything with wood screws, so the wood was firmly attached to the rig, and the weight was attached firmly to the wood. This small adjustment helped to quickly turn the schools tripod follow focus into something more suitable for use alone.
Another quick note about reviewing footage: The grain on the 7D is sometimes very bad, even in situations where it shouldn't be. I shot with the 7D and 24-70mm 2.8, kept my shutter speed at 60fps, aperture at (or close to) wide open / 2.8. I was using auto ISO most of the time, because the light outside was so patchy, so I was surprised to see how grainy the footage got even when there should have been plenty of light. That night, I even switched to my 50mm 1.4, but there still wasn't enough light to avoid the grain problem.
