Howdy,

We're working on producing an educational video about HIV that will be published on DVD. I naturally suggested puppets instead of actors, and I wasn't met with immediate resistance so I'll take that as a sign that I should go ahead and pursue this option!

One question that came up was: What type of video camera works best for filming puppets? We want something that gives a professional look yet can still be operated by amateurs. The set/stage will be indoors with good lighting (a local theatre is donating space and time for us to film), but we need to supply our own cameras and operate everything ourselves.

Any suggestions? What have you folks used and to what success?

Thanks!

J

Hi there,

What type of video camera works best for filming puppets

I bought me a JVC Everio with a hdd of 60 Gb 3CCD and I'm very pleased with the results I have when I'm making a video of puppets. http://cameras.pricegrabber.com/camcorders/m/34147246/

Johan

Something to remember about the types of lights that are normally used in theater, is that they have a "hot spot" in them and are often too harsh for camera work.  You can get diffusion gels for them or try bouncing them off of other surfaces to light the area you are working in.  This is not true of all theater lighting but is something for you to keep in mind.

Sony brand for video camera's are still one of the leading brands on the market.  I own one for about 6 years and the video in the end surpasses many current camera's on the market.  The quality in the end is outstanding with my camera......The price of the camera will also determine the quality of the end product.....you get what you pay for (especially when it comes to electronic devices).

I also suggest doing a Google search on reviews of the best Video Camera's on the market and you will get many results.  Many of these reviews are detailed and tell you all you need to know.  I usually look at the net and narrow down my options before I go out and buy.  It has helped me at getting great products without regret.    I love the internet for this feature of being able to find reviews on products before purchasing.

Good luck on your purchase.....

Daryl H

I want to kick this post back to the top, knowing we have several users currently filming puppets.  I am also curious what to look for.  From the little reading I have done, I know a good puppetry camera should be able to utilize an external monitor.  Any current suggestions on what cameras are good?

Cameras and computers have advanced a lot since 2009. They get better and better and cheaper and cheaper. You do need a video output for monitoring your performance. Recording audio to the camera is nice, but lower end cameras still don´t  have good audio inputs. I have found that even with a good external mic, it is still better to record the audio to a separate recorder while recording the on-board mic to the vid file for synchronization purposes in the editing.
   When looking at the specs of a camera, look first at the lens.It does not matter how many megapioxels are captured, if your lens is poor. It is what will affect the image the most. No name lenses-suspect them. Leica and Carl Zeiss are amongst the best. Next factor affecting quality is the sensor. A reasonable sized one cuts back on  image noise, but go too big and you can get very shallow depths of field, which you  may or may not want. Also consider file compression format used. Some crunch the heck out of the image, and although it may look good in the camera, it does not edit down well.
   In the end, you must consider the final use of your video. Most cameras will do  for the majority of applications these days. Higher quality in  color, low light situations, image sharpness etc, get more expensive exponentially ie: you get smaller and smaller improvement for more and more money. Decide what you can justify and work with that.
   TV in most parts of the planet are still only broadcasting in SD maybe widescreen SD, so there is no cause for an  expensive HD camera there. DVD is still only SD so once again its hard to justify. Most Ipods and good cell phones do better than TV, but you will have monitoring problems.I have used mirrors behind the camera to monitor with in an emergency. Photographic cameras can work, but also consider monitoring. Some phones and photo cameras come with front and back monitors. I see 4k cameras are out, but for the moment I cannot see any application, therefore nor justification for the expense considering you will need to upgrade your computer system as well, to handle the file sizes.
   If you are starting out, I would suggest you don´t go too expensive, so you can cut your teeth on something more basic, and you will learn with it, and find out more what you will be looking for, as you get better. For Youtube you can justify a basic HD camera as you can upload in HD. It would then be fine for TV broadcast, and fine for DVD. Then if you get good enough, you could do a movie at a pinch, before upgrading to a better HD camera, and then when you are world famous, you will be doing movies in 4K, by which time you should be able to justify the expense, and you  will be an expert, and will be giving advice.(I am not there yet).

I agree with Pagestep except for one thing... Go HD. If you're sharing videos anywhere other than you living room it will probably end up on YouTube at some point which will benefit from a larger frame size. Also, even if your final destination is SD (maybe a DVD), starting in HD will give extra pixels if you need to crop the video (due to your head being in the bottom of frame or whatever).

Aside from that I've seen this question asked on a lot of other forums and without details on exactly what is planned to shoot, the budget and skill level of the operator, it's really hard to give a useful answer. There is no one camera for working with puppets, it all depends on the details.

You have a good point Aarontv, going HD will give you some cropping room (especially handy when doing puppets) and it is always easier to downgrade your footage than upgrade it.... agreed.

huh?!, very interesting. i thought there must be a way to crop a video to get the top of my head out of it. now i know its possible, i shall look into it.

Have a look at this, a tutorial by none other than Pagestep!

CLICK HERE!!