Filming in the woods/forest?
 

Does anyone have any advice on shooting in the woods, I can get a few decent shots but for a majority alot of the objects such as trees,grass etc.. etc.. start to blend together, anyone have tips on shooting in the woods?

Hi Scott,

Try early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
If you shoot around noon you will need to "push" the contrast
in post.

Terry

Start with a few decent wide-angle pans and fixed wide shots to set the scene (remember to pick a forground subject in part of the frame, normally lower left or lower right to add depth and lead the eye into the picture).

Next, shoot a lot of close-up clips of subjects within the wood using telephoto end of the lens, and finally try to obtain some powerfully framed macro shots of subjects in the woods; then add the best of the close shots during final editing stages at home.

Pick the dawn and dusk for atmosphere in some of the footage, but some subjects provide better coverage during ovecast days when the light is filtered through the clouds so that subjects don't have too much contrasting light that the XL2 can't cope with.

Use a Grad filter or Pol filter when needed.

Don't forget to use the tripod.

Also try different angles, such as filming from ground level (actually placing the XL2 flat on the ground) and also climb a few trees and film from high up.

Film everything, from fungi to deer to buzzards. If you've got time, try to shoot the woods at different stages of weather, such as misty morning, during rain storms, etc. to show the viewer the full atmosphere and life within it.

It's a little easier than you may think.
I'll upload some footage I took when my friends and I took an "adventure" through the woods after having the camera for a while.

I find shooting in 30p helps a little bit with keeping the image sharp...24p creates some laggy pans and can apply a "dizziness" to the image, especially with the density of the woods.

I'll repost with a link to the vid in a bit.

Thanks. Basically the indie film consists of some kids talking and walking, I need to know how can I do this when I'm not always gunna be behind the camera... Hmm?

Hmm...yes that obviously is a problem. Everything in the video (i'll have to post tomorrow about 8, it's on my desktop in the office) was shot handheld. But take a look, and get a feel for some artsy kind of shots you can do with rack focus and the telephoto end of the 20x lens.

It'll be hard to get the feel of what I post without a cameraman/woman, so see if you can pull one.

Will you be using radio mics on the kids? Or will you be overdubbing the chat?

If your film doesn't include the children talking then it shouldn't be too difficult to obtain decent footage as they walk through the woods, and then simply add sound and music later in post.

I'm not sure what you mean by "not being able to be behind the camera". Is someone else filming at times, or do you want to get yourself into the some of the footage as well? If so, then I've had some success hiding the XL2 remote in my pocket and shooting footage of myself and others while the camera is on a tripod. The remote control also allows you to remotely zoom the 20X lens at distance (although I wish it was a lot smaller!).

Sorry if I'm getting the wrong idea of what you are trying to film...which I probably am..LOl!

Well I am going to be in the video as well and the idea with the remote is a good one, thanks. Also audio will be dubbed.

Tony, thanks for the thoughts. I have a pseudo forest outside my house, and I"m going to try it this weekend. Should be interesting...

Will