Filming Lightning

Dylan Couper · August 6th, 2002, 11:18 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert J. Wolff : Shock cords are and elastic, flexing cord. used as a tie down. You have probably seen them on motor bikes, etc. Usually, holding a sleeping bag, among other items, to the back of the bike.

-->>>

Also known as a bungee cord?

John Locke · August 6th, 2002, 11:29 PM

Riley,

I have the KATA rc-11 and have used it in very light rain conditions...and it does fine. Just haven't worked up the courage yet to try it in a steadier, heavier rain.

Only one problem I've found. The heavy nylon is stiff and makes noise with every little move. You'll have to keep it more steady than usual to keep from getting the sound in your footage.

Nick Glenister · August 7th, 2002, 05:43 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert J. Wolff : Shock cords are and elastic, flexing cord. used as a tie down. You have probably seen them on motor bikes, etc. Usually, holding a sleeping bag, among other items, to the back of the bike.-->>>

<<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper : Also known as a bungee cord? -->>>

Ahhhh a bungee cord, it all makes sense now =o) cheers Dylan. I kinda got the gyst of what you were talking about Robert, thanks.

Trying not to sound thick (but resigned to the inevitable), where do i get an Interferometer from and how much do they cost?

Nick

Nick Glenister · August 19th, 2002, 02:19 AM

I shot some more footage of another recent storm and as soon as i get my new hard drive i'll edit and post some .avi files to my website.

I'll post the link to my webpage here in the next few days

regards

Nick

Robert J. Wolff · August 19th, 2002, 02:14 PM

Nick,

My appology for not responding sooner. I travel a lot, and, therefor, am not at my toy message machine every day. You have these days, a built in interferometer: In the Xl-1s, you call it time lapse. Ignore me. I started in film; and, was fortunate to spend almost 40 years in the networks, in video.
As such, I fall into the habit of using obsolete verbiage.

Nick. The only ignorant one in this group, refuses to ask a question. They have all of the answers. Just ask them.

Nick Glenister · August 20th, 2002, 10:02 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert J. Wolff : Nick,
You have these days, a built in interferometer: In the Xl-1s, you call it time lapse -->>>

Cool... does the XL1 have time lapse too? i'd look in the manual only i'm in the middle of decorating and i can't find it =o(

Nick

Ken Tanaka · August 20th, 2002, 10:10 AM

Hi Nick,

No, unfortunately, time-lapse (or "interval") recording was a feature Canon first introduced to their video cams with the XL1s. The feature is also now available on the new GL-2.

Nick Glenister · August 20th, 2002, 10:22 AM

Damn!!!

Oh well thanks for the info

Nick

Nick Glenister · August 25th, 2002, 05:47 AM

Ok guys as promised i've posted some of the pictures and (hopefully once i get my ftp to work properly) some video clips of the the thunderstorm i filmed a week or so ago.

Let me know what you think. I'll be posting some more as time goes by.

Regards

Nick

http://www.nglenister.fsnet.co.uk

Rob Lohman · August 26th, 2002, 12:50 PM

Looks nice! A tad too light perhaps... but very nice. Didn't had
that good lightning myself to shoot... bummer, oh well. Better
next time.

Nick Glenister · August 26th, 2002, 12:55 PM

Thanks for the comments.

I was shooting on automatic i think (can't be sure) but i did turn the gain down half way through filming. When i deinterlaced the image that also brightened it up considerably.

Nick

Ken Tanaka · August 26th, 2002, 01:28 PM

That bolt didn't really hit that house, did it? If not it's sure a good illusion.

Nick Glenister · August 27th, 2002, 01:26 AM

=o) no it didn't hit the house. It was at least a mile away. The illusion was probably a result of the deinterlacing (you can do even or odd lines, i chose even because doing odd almost removed the lighting completely). The result of that is the computer guesses what should be there making the lightning both brighter than it really was and making it look like it hit the house. Makes the picture look good though

It wasn't raining where i was standing (in the back garden) and the sound of thunder was a good few seconds after the lightning. It started to rain about five minutes afterwards so i went inside and tried to take some pictures wth the camera. By the time i'd set it up on the tripod and open the front door the storm was right over head. about two seconds later i saw a huge flash right overhead and the immediate crash of thunder and thought "blow this", shut the door and ran inside =o/

After that i started filming again through the back window and got a few more clips which i'll get round to posting one day

Nick

Ross Milligan · August 27th, 2002, 02:49 AM

Just wondering, when scrolling along the clip I noticed that
after the second bolt there are two artifacts that appear just above the roof going horizontaly. Is this lightning as well?

Ross

Jeff Donald · August 27th, 2002, 05:19 AM

Very nice shots Nick. I'll post this in the interest of safety. From the time you see the flash until you hear the thunder is 5 seconds per mile. It works out to be about 3 seconds per kilometer. I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel about a month ago and they got the time wrong.

Jeff

August 6th, 2002, 11:18 PM	#16
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Re: Filming Lightning <<<-- Originally posted by Robert J. Wolff : Shock cords are and elastic, flexing cord. used as a tie down. You have probably seen them on motor bikes, etc. Usually, holding a sleeping bag, among other items, to the back of the bike. -->>> Also known as a bungee cord?

August 6th, 2002, 11:29 PM	#17
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Riley, I have the KATA rc-11 and have used it in very light rain conditions...and it does fine. Just haven't worked up the courage yet to try it in a steadier, heavier rain. Only one problem I've found. The heavy nylon is stiff and makes noise with every little move. You'll have to keep it more steady than usual to keep from getting the sound in your footage. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

August 7th, 2002, 05:43 AM	#18
Nick Glenister Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK - Norfolk Posts: 95	Re: Re: Filming Lightning <<<-- Originally posted by Robert J. Wolff : Shock cords are and elastic, flexing cord. used as a tie down. You have probably seen them on motor bikes, etc. Usually, holding a sleeping bag, among other items, to the back of the bike.-->>> <<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper : Also known as a bungee cord? -->>> Ahhhh a bungee cord, it all makes sense now =o) cheers Dylan. I kinda got the gyst of what you were talking about Robert, thanks. Trying not to sound thick (but resigned to the inevitable), where do i get an Interferometer from and how much do they cost? Nick

August 19th, 2002, 02:14 PM	#20
Robert J. Wolff Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Adirondacks of New York Posts: 210	Filming Lightning Nick, My appology for not responding sooner. I travel a lot, and, therefor, am not at my toy message machine every day. You have these days, a built in interferometer: In the Xl-1s, you call it time lapse. Ignore me. I started in film; and, was fortunate to spend almost 40 years in the networks, in video. As such, I fall into the habit of using obsolete verbiage. Nick. The only ignorant one in this group, refuses to ask a question. They have all of the answers. Just ask them.

August 20th, 2002, 10:02 AM	#21
Nick Glenister Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK - Norfolk Posts: 95	Re: Filming Lightning <<<-- Originally posted by Robert J. Wolff : Nick, You have these days, a built in interferometer: In the Xl-1s, you call it time lapse -->>> Cool... does the XL1 have time lapse too? i'd look in the manual only i'm in the middle of decorating and i can't find it =o( Nick

August 19th, 2002, 02:19 AM	#19
Nick Glenister Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK - Norfolk Posts: 95	I shot some more footage of another recent storm and as soon as i get my new hard drive i'll edit and post some .avi files to my website. I'll post the link to my webpage here in the next few days regards Nick

August 20th, 2002, 10:10 AM	#22
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Hi Nick, No, unfortunately, time-lapse (or "interval") recording was a feature Canon first introduced to their video cams with the XL1s. The feature is also now available on the new GL-2. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

August 20th, 2002, 10:22 AM	#23
Nick Glenister Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK - Norfolk Posts: 95	Damn!!! Oh well thanks for the info Nick

August 25th, 2002, 05:47 AM	#24
Nick Glenister Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK - Norfolk Posts: 95	Ok guys as promised i've posted some of the pictures and (hopefully once i get my ftp to work properly) some video clips of the the thunderstorm i filmed a week or so ago. Let me know what you think. I'll be posting some more as time goes by. Regards Nick http://www.nglenister.fsnet.co.uk

August 26th, 2002, 12:50 PM	#25
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Looks nice! A tad too light perhaps... but very nice. Didn't had that good lightning myself to shoot... bummer, oh well. Better next time. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

August 26th, 2002, 12:55 PM	#26
Nick Glenister Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK - Norfolk Posts: 95	Thanks for the comments. I was shooting on automatic i think (can't be sure) but i did turn the gain down half way through filming. When i deinterlaced the image that also brightened it up considerably. Nick

August 26th, 2002, 01:28 PM	#27
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	That bolt didn't really hit that house, did it? If not it's sure a good illusion. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

August 27th, 2002, 01:26 AM	#28
Nick Glenister Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK - Norfolk Posts: 95	=o) no it didn't hit the house. It was at least a mile away. The illusion was probably a result of the deinterlacing (you can do even or odd lines, i chose even because doing odd almost removed the lighting completely). The result of that is the computer guesses what should be there making the lightning both brighter than it really was and making it look like it hit the house. Makes the picture look good though It wasn't raining where i was standing (in the back garden) and the sound of thunder was a good few seconds after the lightning. It started to rain about five minutes afterwards so i went inside and tried to take some pictures wth the camera. By the time i'd set it up on the tripod and open the front door the storm was right over head. about two seconds later i saw a huge flash right overhead and the immediate crash of thunder and thought "blow this", shut the door and ran inside =o/ After that i started filming again through the back window and got a few more clips which i'll get round to posting one day Nick

August 27th, 2002, 02:49 AM	#29
Ross Milligan Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Scotland UK Posts: 63	Just wondering, when scrolling along the clip I noticed that after the second bolt there are two artifacts that appear just above the roof going horizontaly. Is this lightning as well? Ross

August 27th, 2002, 05:19 AM	#30
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Very nice shots Nick. I'll post this in the interest of safety. From the time you see the flash until you hear the thunder is 5 seconds per mile. It works out to be about 3 seconds per kilometer. I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel about a month ago and they got the time wrong. Jeff