Cinematography

[Lost Canadian]

OK, I caved and ordered a Nikon D7000 to use as a backup and to do video. I'm pretty excited about the video aspect, but next to being a bit of a cinephile I'm a complete newb in the film making arena. With the emergence of the HDSLR marketplace though, I thought we could use this thread as a jumping off point to discussions on making short films. What are the rules, techniques, things of that nature. If you have experience in this area or know of reference materials all us budding Scorsese's could peruse, please chime in.

 

[MatthewThompson]

These work great, and are pretty easy to cobble together.

http://littlegreatideas.com/stabilizer/diy/

 

[Rbertalotto]

I'm not sure about the performance of Video on the new D7000, but I have a D90 and the video is nearly worthless. No auto focus is a real deal breaker. And 24 frames per second is ridiculous. I wish they had put the $$ some place else. You can now buy full HD, 60 frame cameras that fit in your pocket for under $150. No need to use your SLR for video...........But then again, maybe the 7000 addressed these issues.

 

[ywen]

The great thing about these VDSLRs is that you have full creative freedom on the type of look you want to achieve. I like my 5D mk 2 with a 50mm/1.4 to capture random home videos for video montages..

Just keep in mind that the editing is as much of a component as the shooting in the final product.. here's the video of our honeymoon in NorCal filmed with 5D2 + 50mm and a 24mm

http://vimeo.com/7920582


Here's a D7000 promo video shot by Chase Jarvis + crew using the D7000.. no way any small flip cam can match.. THe D90 was revolutionary when it was first introduced.. it can still be used to produce great work. 24fps is a feature critical in achieving that film/cinema look.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNKtFkX29IE"]YouTube - Nikon D7000: Camera Road Test With Chase Jarvis[/ame]

 

[Lost Canadian]

I'm not sure about the performance of Video on the new D7000, but I have a D90 and the video is nearly worthless. No auto focus is a real deal breaker. And 24 frames per second is ridiculous. I wish they had put the $$ some place else. You can now buy full HD, 60 frame cameras that fit in your pocket for under $150. No need to use your SLR for video...........But then again, maybe the 7000 addressed these issues.

The D7000 is the first HDSLR to autofocus,..I think, but that is minor IMO. Just look all that has been done with other HDSLR's in their short life, heck even last years season finally of House was filmed entirely using a Canon 5D II, that's got to be saying something. The combo cam was an awesome evolution in my opinion. In todays multimedia world the ability to do both high quality film projects along side stills in one device is pure magic and it opens up so many creative doors. I can't wait to get my hands on one.

That said, I personally don't want this thread to drift focus towards talk of gear, if it does that's fine, but the original intent becomes void. It would be nice to simply discuss the actual making films as opposed to what is used to make them.

 

[Lost Canadian]

Just keep in mind that the editing is as much of a component as the shooting in the final product.. here's the video of our honeymoon in NorCal filmed with 5D2 + 50mm and a 24mm

http://vimeo.com/7920582

That was pretty slick ywen!

 

[smslavin]

even last years season finally of House was filmed entirely using a Canon 5D II, that's got to be saying something.

Anthony Bourdain's crew shoots with 5D IIs as well.

I've been trying to crack the cinematography shell as well. Moving from stills to moving images is a pretty big leap. I have a few ideas for a project that I recently started. Inspiration is coming from films like '180 South', 'A Brokedown Melody', 'Sipping Jetstreams' and a few others.

I tend to learn best by reading a book and then giving myself practicals to do. I also tend to look for books that are gear agnostic, give me theory that I can apply.

Here's a couple of cinematography books that were recommended to me...

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Cinematography-Third-Kris-Malkiewicz/dp/074326438X/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3EK3CFLND8SC0&colid=APVMQ2P51KF0]Cinematography[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Five-Cs-Cinematography-Picture-Techniques/dp/187950541X/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I11IURKOXYODYR&colid=APVMQ2P51KF0]The Five C's of Cinematography[/ame]

 

[Michael Slade]

These work great, and are pretty easy to cobble together.

http://littlegreatideas.com/stabilizer/diy/

Sweet. I'll be making one of those next week.

Be sure you get a Zacuto Finder.

Also you might want to get a leveling ball and a fluid head. I have the Gitzo leveling ball for my carbon fiber legs and will be getting Bogen's new mini-fluid head.

Final Cut Express is only 70 bucks and works well. I recently got the Adobe Master Collection and am also using Premiere Pro to edit video from the Panasonic camera that shoots to P2 cards (Final Cut won't read those files...). FC handles the D7000 files just fine and is very affordable.

 

[ywen]

The hottest camera support right now for the DSLR video community is the Manfrotto 561BHDV monopod. It has a fancy fluid base that allow the user to pull of some fancy moves..

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYJdmzBC_WM"]YouTube - EOS MOVIE??????????561BHDV)??????[/ame]

 

[nwoods]

The great thing about these VDSLRs is that you have full creative freedom on the type of look you want to achieve. I like my 5D mk 2 with a 50mm/1.4 to capture random home videos for video montages..

Just keep in mind that the editing is as much of a component as the shooting in the final product.. here's the video of our honeymoon in NorCal filmed with 5D2 + 50mm and a 24mm

http://vimeo.com/7920582

Amazing work. Big thumbs up! Really creative use of the curtain in the beginning scenes. Its seeing little details like this that really highlight how different effective video composition is from still photography. I doubt it would have ever occurred to me to shoot something like that through the curtain, but its brilliant.

 

[ywen]

Thanks! I must say Producing even a short clip requires much more concentration than snapping a gallery of pics. But it does capture a trip in a way stills cant. Best is to have both, and that goes back to the beauty of the stills + motion hybrid

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

That Chase Jarvis short film is just nuts!!

I agree that Video mixed with still can really up a trip journal and allow you to show what you're doing in a different light

Just look at Travis's (Safari Pacific) recent trip journals and footage from his adventure into Mexico. I think showing those video feeds to my wife was the clincher on moving up to the new 5D Mark II with video

 

[ywen]

don't count the other DSLR players out when it comes to video capabilities.. If I can have a reasonable use for another DSLR I would get the Panasonic GH1 or GH2, for the video features... best out in the market This guy's tokyo video journal is superb

http://vimeo.com/14230788

 

[Lost Canadian]

Woohoo! My D7000 just arrived, battery is in the charger!:wings:

While I wait, I see Nat. Geo just posted some tips for using a HDSLR.
Link

Thanks! I must say Producing even a short clip requires much more concentration than snapping a gallery of pics. But it does capture a trip in a way stills cant. Best is to have both, and that goes back to the beauty of the stills + motion hybrid

I hear that, multi-media presentations always feel much more complete to me. Stills will always be my primary focus but having the ability to add additional layers via video is awesome. I can't wait to put the video to good use when I make my way to Cuba in a few months, until then time to go practice.

 

[Michael Slade]

Is it smaller than you were expecting?

I am doing an interview today...two camera set-up, one is my D7000 and one is a Canon 5DmkII. We'll see how the color/look of each camera matches up to the other one.

I got the Sennheiser hot-shoe mic as well. I had forgotten how expensive the higher capacity SD cards are. Ouch!

I am curious to see what you think of it.