DDS Recording Room guide

Below is a chart that details the equipment located in the Recording Room that supports video recording.  Ask the Studio Assistant for the Accessory Pouch.  The Studio Assistant can help you insert the battery and SD card before getting started.   Additional equipment is available through our circulating media equipment service that operates from the front desk of Tisch library.

Image of equipment	Equipment name	Equipment description
	Sony a6600	Mirrorless digital camera with a 18-135mm lens,  24.2MP CMOS sensor suitable for taking high quality videos. Comes with shoulder strap and eye cup.
	Camera mount microphone + windscreen	Rode Video Pro directional microphone for improved sound quality and wind noise reduction
	Accessory Pouch	Includes a lens cloth for removing smudges from the lens, a white balance card for ensuring color accuracy, a 64 gb SD card, headphones, 2 batteries and charger.
N/A	Tripod	Provides stability for the camera. Adjustable height.  Has fluid head.
N/A	Features of the space	Sliding black velvet backdrop Green screen wall Lights

Key - short for chroma keying is the process for separating a distinct area of video based on color.  In the context of this guide, we are referring to keying out the green from the green screen wall found in the recording room.

Room tone - recording of the space without speaking or moving.  This captures the sound of the space which can be helpful during editing.  Recording usually lasts between 30 seconds to 1 minute.

White balance - adjusts the camera to see color how you perceive it for better color accuracy.  The Sony A6600 automatically does this when set to Auto but can be customized.

There are lots of settings you may interested in changing.  Some settings to consider adjusting are:

• Exposure Mode:  Click Fn > Exposure Mode.  Adjusting this mode will allow you to change settings such as your aperture or f-stop, shutter speed and ISO.
• Record Settings: The settings on this device should be adjusted to record XAVC S HD files at a 24p. These are standard quality settings.  You can adjust these settings in the menu. 
• White balance: Click Fn >  AWB and use the scroll wheel near the display to adjust.  A white balance card is included in the case that the headphones and battery came in.

1. Point lens at subject and adjust your framing. Looking through the viewfinder activates an internal level for checking your camera isn't on an angle.  You can also toggle through the Display button to add this feature to the LED display.

2. Focus on your subject. Tap your subject on the display to set your focus and then depress the shutter button slightly.

3. To switch from auto focus to manual focus, depress the button near AF/MF and adjust the focus ring on the lens.

4. Adjust settings in the Fn menu to get desired exposure. If possible, set custom white balance using white cards provided.

5. Listen to audio coming through the camera on headphones provided.  If you hear a sound you don't want and you can turn if off or avoid it, do so. 

6. Depress the red record button to start and stop recording.

7. Press the play button and use the scroll wheel to select and play your files.

8. Record 30 seconds of room tone, a recording of the space without anyone speaking or moving.  This will help during editing to create smoother transitions.

When shooting greenscreen in the recording room you can set the mode to M and adjust the settings as follows:

• Shutter Speed: 1/60, Aperture: 4.5, ISO 200.  All these settings can be found in the Function menu.

You'll also want to pay particular attention to lighting to ensure you are able to pull a clean key when editing.  Check out the Lights section of this guide to learn more.