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You may or may not, be aware that until recently, I ran another blog alongside this one. A very successful dinghy cruising blog about the micro adventures I had in my small boat 'Arwen' which was linked to a highly popular YouTube channel 'Arwen's Meanderings'.
Whilst I haven't decided yet whether to start another YouTube channel on astrophotography (there are plenty of superb channels out there already, so what could I possibly add that would be useful and different), I do miss making creative video content. So, in today's post I share
- my plans for a 'video short' about a typical astrophotography night for me
- a list of 'B' roll footage I need to capture for this video
HOOK: THE UNIVERSE IS PATIENT AND CAN ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY TAKE MOST OF THE NIGHT?
🔥 Goal: To establish wonder and cinematic tone
CHAPTER ONE: PREPARATION IN SILENCE and The Night Begins Before Nightfall
Goal: To show the planning, preparation, unpacking - setting
the scene
CHAPTER TWO: ALIGNING WITH THE SKY and Waiting for Darkness
Goal: Visualize the technical alignment and focusing processes without overexplaining
CHAPTER THREE: LETTING THE NIGHT WORK and The Gear Isn’t Fancy, It’s Precise
Equipment Beauty Shots Finding Something You Can’t See Slewing & Plate Solving Autoguiding
Goal: To show the slewing, plate solving and autoguiding processes along with the patience, waiting and quiet of long
exposures
CHAPTER FOUR: DAWN & REVELATION
Goal: Concluding with payoff: sunrise + final image creation
I suspect there will be a couple more chapters than this. I find that shooting video is organic and often I will suddenly shoot something I didn't initially thinkl of during the storyboarding stage.
Tips for
Filming
From fifteen years experience of shooting over 250 dinghy cruising videos, here is my take on the key filming tips:
- Shoot wide + close for
every key moment - you will thank yourself later during editing
- Use slow pans and tilts - cinematic movement sells the
short and wins likes and subscribers
- Capture longer clips than needed - can trim in video editing
- Red light for night scenes - keeps the natural dark look
- Timelapses: plan them early; run while
shooting close-ups
- Minimal narration for a short - let the images and sound tell the story of the night
PREAMBLE INTRODUCTION: the universe is patient
o
Time lapse dusk fading to dark
o
Stars beginning to appear
o
Mount tracking in dark
o
Red headlamp glow on mount tracking
o
Dslr shutter firing
o
Red
headlamp on hands adjusting scope
o
Focus
on blinking LED
o
Me
standing beside the rig, red light nearby
o
Slow
push-in shot of the setup
PRE-PLANNING – pre trip preparation
☐ Weather
app (clouds / wind) clear-skies
☐ Moon phase graphic
☐ Sky map / target selection – sky safari
☐ Notes or phone planning – sketch book
☐ Packing gear into bags; into car
☐ Batteries charging
☐ SD card insert
o
Photopills
planning
o
Google
maps – location hunting
o Food being prepared and packed
JOURNEY – getting there
o
Car
head lights dark lane
o
Pulling
into car park location spot
o
Driving
onto site
WAITING
FOR DARK - Preparing in Silence
☐ Sunset
timelapse and Blue hour sky
☐ Gear laid out in boot, untouched
☐ Watching sky quietly
☐ First stars appearing
o
Gear
being unpacked in soft twilight
o
Batteries
being checked, cables laid
o
Close-ups:
telescope lens, mount knobs, red light
o
Sunset
fading, first stars appearing
o
Inspecting
tripod site
o
Reversing
car into position
GEAR OVERVIEW AND SET UP - The Gear Isn’t Fancy, It’s Precise
☐ Full rig
wide shot – slow panning
☐ Refractor lens glass and reflected sky
☐ EQM-35 mount motors humming
☐ Counterweights close up
☐ DSLR mounted
☐ Cable management
o
Setting
up tripod and levelling
o
Spirit
levels
o
Installing
batteries
o
Adding
rig
o
Connecting
cables
o
Balancing
rig
Close
ups:
o
Mount
knobs
o
Asiair
mini and guide scope
o
Cables
– macro – plugged in sockets
o
Mount
motors
o
Slow
pan across entire rig
o
Cables
neatly routed
o
Temp
gauge
POLAR ALIGNMENT AND FINDING THE TARGET - Pointing the Mount at the Universe and aligning with the sky
☐ ASIAIR
polar alignment screen – record screenshots
☐ Adjusting alt/az knobs – hands close up red light
☐ North Star (if visible) and green laser pen alignment
☐ Tripod feet on ground
☐ Tightening bolts
o
ASIAIR
Mini screen glowing, mount slewing
o
Camera
perched on telescope
o
Moving
60d during PA
Finding Something You Can’t See
o
Plate
solving confirmed screenshot
o
Target
name/co-ordinates screen shot
o
Scope
pointing into darkness
o
Dslr
test images focus
Slewing
& Plate Solving
o
Mount
slewing across sky
o
Camera
preview showing “empty” sky
Focus Is Everything
☐ Bahtinov
mask on scope
☐ Diffraction spikes on screen
☐ Adjusting focuser
☐ Breath in cold air
☐ Locking focus
o
Appropriate
screenshot recordings asiair app
o
Guide
scope camera
o Stars steady on screen
AUTOGUIDING - Letting the Mount Fix Its Own Mistakes
☐ Guide
scope & camera
☐ Guiding graph stabilizing
☐ Steady guide star
☐ Mount micro-corrections
o
Dslr
test images
o
Dslr
test image checking – histogram
o
Inputting
settings on asiair app
o
Mount
tracking
o
Guide
scope and guide camera
o
ASIAIR
guiding graph stabilizing
o
Close-up
of steady star
o
Mount
making micro-corrections
o
Close up asiair
THE QUIET HOURS - Letting the Night Work Long, Calm Shots
☐ Exposure
countdown timer
☐ Repeating shutter clicks
☐ Milky Way / star drift
☐ Dew forming
☐ Dew heater straps and controller
☐ ASIAIR dashboard check
☐ Sitting quietly near rig
☐ Long static sky shots
o
Setting
up chair and table
o
Stove
boiling and Making tea
o
Sat
in chair munching sandwich
o
Dew
forming on grass
o
Sitting
quietly near the rig
o
Checking
ASIAIR dashboard
o
Clouds
passing (if any)
o
Long
static shots
PACKING
UP – the end is in sight
☐ Dawn glow
behind rig
☐ Powering down ASIAIR
☐ Removing camera
☐ Packing gear
☐ Birds / morning ambience
o
Looking
over site nothing left
o
Empty
space where rig once was
o
Driving
out of car park
o
Boot
– gear packed up, slamming boot
o
Dawn
glow behind rig
o
Powering
down ASIAIR
o
Removing
camera from scope
o
Packing
gear carefully
o
Birds
beginning to chirp
OUTRO - Dawn & Revelation
☐ Empty sky
at sunrise
o
First
rays of light to east on horizon
☐ Horizon fade to black
o
Faint
morning glow, horizon brightening
o
Packing
gear slowly
o
Laptop
shows final stacked image
o
Pull
back to wide starry sky fading to dawn
o
Transition
from dark field → computer screen → final processed image
o
Slow
reveal of finished deep-sky photo
FINAL
IMAGE - The Image Revealed
☐ Laptop
with stacked image
☐ Histogram stretch
☐ Before / after
☐ Final processed image (full screen)
o
Different
parts of SIRIL work flow
Ending
visual:
o
Final
deep-sky image full screen (fade out)
o Soft text overlay: “A night under the
stars”
o
Laptop
with stacked image appearing
o
Before/after
slider
o
Final
processed deep-sky image full screen
Below you will find some images which put the above together as a checklist. I hope it helps.
Let me know your thoughts, comments and observations in the comment box below.
In my next post, I will offer some thoughts about a possible commentary - what kind of verbal content might I focus on?
As always, clear skies, stay safe and have fun out there.
Steve
