Thanks guys,
As Jonny said, theres a massive learning curve using an SLR, and it feels totally alien at the moment. I can understand why people tend to use tripods as it doesn't feel right holding a video camera like that haha!
The amount of white isn't a downfall of videos on DSLRs, rather a downfall of cameras in general. Unfortunately, I haven't yet developed the skills to control the weather, so when the sky is white/grey and cloudy, its very hard not to have such issues. Most videos are very underexposed so you don't notice it as much, but when you start having the functionality to fine tune an image, I'd rather have the subject metered properly and in detail, not the backdrop.
Adam, I used a Canon 50mm F1.8 for the first shot, and the rest was shot on a Tokina 10-17mm.