Getting a more cinematic look out of your HDSLR
Getting a good film look out of your hdslr can be challenging, tricky and requires a lot of attention to detail. However, camera's today now provide you with all the tools to pull it off, allowing you to achieve a look that is very close to a high quality studio feature film. But getting the "film look" isn't always about the camera and lenses, it comes down to the art of cinematography. Here are a few tips you can follow to help you get closer to "the film look."
Slow down your shutter. Video with a super fast shutter usually looks just like that, Video. It creates this hyper real very sharp motion that's not really seen in cinema. Some films like Gladiator, and Saving Private Ryan will use a fast shutter but they also adjust the camera's gate as well which isn't an option on a HDSLR. Try to shoot from about a 1/60 to a 1/45.
Try to get shallow depth of field. Depending on your camera this can be achieve from shooting anywhere from a 2.8 to a 5.6. You never want everything in the scene to be in focus. Shooting with a shallow depth of field will help blur out your backgrounds and hide any lighting or set blemishes as well.
Use an ND filter on your exteriors. If your trying to shoot at a 1/60 at a 2.8 your image will be blow out. To fix this you need to cut down the light 3 or 4 stops depending on how bright it is out side. Tiffens are good for their price but B+W are really the ones you want.
Try to get more spacial distance in your scenes. Instead of putting your characters right up against a wall, make sure they have a nice background. Generally you'll want to try to get a nice foreground middle ground and background out of your shots. This is especially important when shooting landscape beauty scenes.
Follow the rule of thirds (or Golden Mean). Instead of centering your action or your characters try placing them 1/3 to the left or right of the frame. And 1/3 from the top or bottom.
Choose your time of day wisely for exterior shots. Never shoot during high noon unless you have some way of softening the light. Instead try shooting in the mornings, on overcast days, or during the "Golden Hour." One hour before the sun sets when the sun is more golden orange. You'll notice this look a lot in Michael Bay's, "Transformers."
Watch your color temperatures. If you are shooting an interior that's lit with tungsten lights, make sure that day light isn't coming in from windows splashing blue light on your scene. Instead light your interior with daylight bulbs, or gel your windows with orange balancing out the blue daylight.
Give your film an interesting look with color correcting. This is very important part of the film look. Magic Bullet has some nice software for this. Check out some tutorials here.
Adjust your camera to give you a more dynamic range. This is especially useful when it comes to color correcting. Read more about this here.
See the original article at SLRHQ.com.
Slow down your shutter. Video with a super fast shutter usually looks just like that, Video. It creates this hyper real very sharp motion that's not really seen in cinema. Some films like Gladiator, and Saving Private Ryan will use a fast shutter but they also adjust the camera's gate as well which isn't an option on a HDSLR. Try to shoot from about a 1/60 to a 1/45.
Try to get shallow depth of field. Depending on your camera this can be achieve from shooting anywhere from a 2.8 to a 5.6. You never want everything in the scene to be in focus. Shooting with a shallow depth of field will help blur out your backgrounds and hide any lighting or set blemishes as well.
Use an ND filter on your exteriors. If your trying to shoot at a 1/60 at a 2.8 your image will be blow out. To fix this you need to cut down the light 3 or 4 stops depending on how bright it is out side. Tiffens are good for their price but B+W are really the ones you want.
Try to get more spacial distance in your scenes. Instead of putting your characters right up against a wall, make sure they have a nice background. Generally you'll want to try to get a nice foreground middle ground and background out of your shots. This is especially important when shooting landscape beauty scenes.
Follow the rule of thirds (or Golden Mean). Instead of centering your action or your characters try placing them 1/3 to the left or right of the frame. And 1/3 from the top or bottom.
Choose your time of day wisely for exterior shots. Never shoot during high noon unless you have some way of softening the light. Instead try shooting in the mornings, on overcast days, or during the "Golden Hour." One hour before the sun sets when the sun is more golden orange. You'll notice this look a lot in Michael Bay's, "Transformers."
Watch your color temperatures. If you are shooting an interior that's lit with tungsten lights, make sure that day light isn't coming in from windows splashing blue light on your scene. Instead light your interior with daylight bulbs, or gel your windows with orange balancing out the blue daylight.
Give your film an interesting look with color correcting. This is very important part of the film look. Magic Bullet has some nice software for this. Check out some tutorials here.
Adjust your camera to give you a more dynamic range. This is especially useful when it comes to color correcting. Read more about this here.
See the original article at SLRHQ.com.
Source...