Category Archives: Lighting

An Easy Rechargeable Battery Kit for the HDV-Z96 LED Light

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I recently picked up a Z96 LED light to use in my video productions, and I immediately packed it with five lithium AA batteries (yes, it takes five of them). I shot a few short videos, and one longer project. When the lithiums finally sputtered out, I decided to take advantage of the Sony L series mount on the rear of the Z96 and buy a proper rechargeable battery system for it.

I had never used a “Sony L series DV battery” mount before. I was not familiar with NP-F570 or NP-F770 batteries. It was all an alien language to me. Hardcore video people tend to throw around obscure battery terminology like it’s common knowledge, but I was totally green to all of this talk.

I really hate throwing out spent AA batteries. I especially hate playing money for stuff that I know I’m going to be throwing away. Continue reading →

How Recording Music is Similar to Lighting a Film

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The camera department and the sound crew tend to be thought of as existing in different universes, but I’m starting to see how we may have a lot more in common than you might think. As you may know, I do not yet own a video-enabled DSLR camera, but I plan on buying one soon. My search for the ideal camera has been grueling. I’ve read endlessly about it, and picked the brains of my DP friends incessantly determine which way to go. The more I dig into the practices and theories behind shooting high definition video, the more I see parallels between recording sound and capturing moving images. Continue reading →

Thoughts on the Z96 On-Camera (and Off-Camera) LED Light

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When I was making the Great On-Camera Mic Shootout 2010, I had a lot of trouble properly lighting my on-camera talent. Even though I own three Arri 650plus lights, it was still really difficult to keep light on the presenter’s face, as she stepped forward and backward across the room, testing the range of each microphone. The whole time I was setting up I was thinking… Man, if I only had one more little light to stick somewhere…

I decided to buy an on-camera light. This, of course, meant that I spent several hours, days, even weeks researching the best option (for the least amount of money). Picking an on-camera light wasn’t as simple as I had hoped, but I eventually zeroed in on the Z96. Continue reading →