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Is this shot out of focus?

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Okay thanks. I plan on getting more moving shots, and the project is meant to be slick and quick, so I am going for those quick pans on purpose for style. But how do other movies do it and not have it be jittery or unpleasant? I am using a fluid head tripod, so they should be smooth...

Like you say it's related to 24fps, but there are lot of movies shot in 24fps, with quick camera movement, that do not have that jitter. Just look at any recent action movie shot on digital cameras. So what can I do to shoot at 24, but still have quick movements if desired?

What about this video, does it have jitter?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bct1Dle2YIE&feature=youtu.be
 
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Do fast pans add to the message of your client?
Why do you need fast moving shots for a corporate video?
I think you should first focus on the story, before trying to ruin it with a style you don't really master yet.

First thing you should know when holding a camera: don't move your camera around as if your are a hyperactive toddler moving his head and eyes in an attempt to see everything.
 
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harmonica44 said:
Okay thanks, I won't use it. For future shoots, how can I make 24 fps work, when I want fast camera movements, since other movies do it?
Click to expand...

I am sure the tech guys could chime in on this, but are you sure, that in action movies they actually shoot those fast turns in 24fps? I know that slow motion was shot in faster rate for ages, so it could be slowed down. Maybe there is a similar trick for what you describe?

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Now you have him obsessing over 24fps. The problem with that
shot isn't the frame rate. It's terrible camera work. The problem
isn't focus. it's terrible camera work.

Fast camera movements have their place. But no matter what
the frame rate, a fast pan is going to have blur. In an action
scene blur is acceptable. In a documentary showing people
working in a warehouse fast camera movement is terrible camera
work.
 
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Okay thanks. So basically the type of blur is acceptable for something like an action movie, with fast camera movement, but not so much this shot. Basically I wanted to do a whip pan, and possibly speed it up later in post, to make it look more like a whip pan. Sometimes on reality TV shows though, they do quick whip pans. How do they make them look acceptable for reality TV?

Also there are quick tripod whip pans in the show Boston Legal as well, and that's not an action movie at all. There have been some courtroom scenes in that show, where they would whip pan from a medium close up shot of a witness, on the witness stand, to the cross-examining attorney, and they whip fast. So how to they make quick tripod movements look acceptable for that type of show?
 
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If it were me. I would do some tighter still shots and cross dissolve into the other and use a wide dolly shot but move slower and smoother. I do have to agree with the others. The fast pans are very disorienting.


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Okay thanks. I can't really have a dolly in the factory, cause of getting in the way. However, how does a show like Boston Legal, make fast pans in a courtroom, work? Perhaps I could do it like that, if I know what they are doing differently?
 
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harmonica44 said:
Okay thanks. So basically the type of blur is acceptable for something like an action movie, with fast camera movement, but not so much this shot. Basically I wanted to do a whip pan, and possibly speed it up later in post, to make it look more like a whip pan. Sometimes on reality TV shows though, they do quick whip pans. How do they make them look acceptable for reality TV?

Also there are quick tripod whip pans in the show Boston Legal as well, and that's not an action movie at all. There have been some courtroom scenes in that show, where they would whip pan from a medium close up shot of a witness, on the witness stand, to the cross-examining attorney, and they whip fast. So how to they make quick tripod movements look acceptable for that type of show?
Click to expand...

Yes, whip pans can be used for effect in certain situations. However, I would suggest the major difference here is a case of learning the 'rules', and then deliberately breaking them for effect, rather than opting for breaking them first without really knowing why the rule is in place to begin with.

Whip pans work because they move from one piece of action to another. The whip is quick enough that it is not disorienting for the viewer, and it stops on action long enough for the viewer to understand what's going on. The whip pan is a means to an end. An interesting way to transition from one shot to the next.

Your camera movement in the first shot is not a whip pan, it's just a pan that's too fast. It also isn't a transition. The pan itself is the subject, rather than acting as a transition to get from one side to another. What remains is a blurry, vertigo-inducing mess.

Also, IMO, in a documentary-style production, whip pans and the like should be stylistically justified. That is, the style of shots and camera-work should always work together to create one seamless style that isn't jarring for the viewer. Now, you can mix and match styles if you can justify it creatively. But adding in an odd whip-pan because the warehouse is too large will serve only to disorient.

Whether the shot is out of focus doesn't really matter if you can't even see what is in the shot.
 
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Okay thanks. I have other whip pans in the video though, so do you think it will match stylistically, if I have others? But then again, the others do go from one point to another certain point like you said. So I will use those and just leave this one out then.
 
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What remains is a blurry, vertigo-inducing mess.
Click to expand...

Between the two of us, you are always the polite one.

But adding in an odd whip-pan because the warehouse is too large will serve only to disorient.
Click to expand...

He's probably better off doing the super ugly zoom out to show the immense size.

I have other whip pans in the video though, so do you think it will match stylistically,
Click to expand...

Is this another one of your, "Can I use this, because I've misnamed it so it'll fit" or will it become, "How do I turn this into a whip pan so..." I dunno, already bored.

I have a couple of new indentured slaves (like an intern) in my office who I'm trying to teach. Even with me hindering them (I'm a really bad trainer), why does it feel like they have more of a clue after two days than yourself after 6 years?
 
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For your first shot it was way too zoomed in and way too fast. For your second clip, decent speed. If you can manage to get at a speed that it's the middle of the first and second shot, then you'd be good. As said, whips are mainly used as a way to transition between two shots.

IE.... 4:56
https://youtu.be/G_ssT4WSBhs?t=4m56s
There was a wall in between rooms. After the first kick, I whipped to the left towards the wall. Next shot, I went on the other side of the wall and whipped out. It's a matter of editing and trying to make it look like the wall was non-existent.


A very key thing to remember for documentary shoots is that the focus should be on the SUBJECT as opposed to making the subject the object of your camerawork.
 
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