Digital Filmmaking, Black Magic Time?

Digital Filmmaking, Black Magic Time?

During the last two years a great many cameras have been introduced. Part of being any kind of technician is choosing the right tool for the right job. No two of us see the world in exactly the same way so no two of use will look upon a film shoot the same way. This takes us to the choice of cameras. The type of camera that you pick for your digital feature film shoot will largely reflect how you wish the world you are going to be creating to be seen. For others of us it comes down to what will test and challenge our skills as an artist. Anyone can shoot quality footage with a Red, but only a few of us could pull it off with a Sanyo pocket camcorder or a naked smartphone.

Today’s post is not about what camera is best for your needs. It is instead going to be about one of the newer cameras to become part of the debate. At the end of this post I am going to include a overview video about the camera that was done by the legendary Phillip Bloom. The video will be the longest that I have posted here, but it flies by for those of us who cannot get enough of this type of information.

First up I would like to show you a side by side video that compares the Black Magic camera with one of the best Canon Dslr cameras.

  

 Next I would like to look at two short films that were shoot using this camera. I believe the best test of any camera is to see how it actually performs in action. After all this is about digital film making and not recording shots of trees and flowers.
  

 This next video is the reason why I hang out at Vimeo so much.

   
Love Squirts from Adam R Brown • YellowLinePics on Vimeo.

 

 During the next year there is going to be new devices added to the argument and I must say that the most important thing to keep in mind is that being a film maker is about the things you do before you start filming. Pre production is where your movie will make it or fail. You must have a quality script or nothing else you do will matter. If you do not have the most experience cast then it will be up to you to rehearse them and to nurse them when necessary through scene after scene. Film making is fun, but it is also hard work. To quote a indie film maker that I have become a fan of, Oklahoma Ward, if you are not willing to work eighteen  hours a day you are not going to make it, you are just not going to make it.
 

 That will be it for today. This has been a great year for me as a blogger and as a writer in general, but it has kept me from doing much actual work on a project of my own. I have been doing a lot of script editing for friends. Also I am hitting the five month mark on the pre production of my first feature where I will wear the big three hats of writer, director and producer. Until this process I never understood why it would sometimes take a year and a half to shoot a film. I would love to be able to shoot a film in ten days, maybe the next one.

Take a moment to share this post with a friend and keep believing in your project. Work towards it each day. You are a film maker. Sometimes film making is not about going out and getting the hot new camera. Sometimes film making is about spending days learning about insurance and location permits. Sometimes being a film maker finds you in a room surrounded by beautiful people all looking to you for their next or first job in front of the camera. Enjoy the ride guys. When it is good it is good like one of those happy ending Twillight Zone episodes where you are Charles Bronson and you get to start the human race all over again with a twenty five year old Elizabeth Montgomery at your side.

 

Dslr Vs. Camcorders

DSLR Vs. Camcorders

    And the winner is?
    There is no winner.  Sounds like I am being a coward?
    Fine.
    What I am saying is that the winner depends upon the person and his or her needs. Some of you will love Dslr cameras and some of you will love to make your low budget film on a camcorder. I am going to show you both sides of the argument and perhaps you will say screw that and decide to go old school and get a film camera. To each his own.
    The great thing about being a digital feature film maker is that you are going to be doing things your way. That this movie is your child and you can bring that child into the world any way that you wish.

    What about you? What team do you play for?
    Really?  I have to answer this? Okay I will commit to not commit. If I am shooting something that has to be visually stunning and I have time to invest in every shot then I would go Dslr.  If it is going to go theatrical at some point I would lean Dslr.
    If my feature film is going to be online or on demand I would go camcorder. If I only have a limited number of days to shoot and I have to do a ton of set ups quickly then I am going to go camcorder.
    If the budget is razor tight. Meaning I have only 500 dollars and I have to cover my camera and my sound for this price then it is going to be a camcorder. Meaning a Canon hv 20 or 30 and a mic that tops out in the fifty dollar range.
    If I have a grand to spend then it is going to be the Canon t2i or t3i with a Zoom audio recorder.
    Twelve hundred to two thousand dollars and the same Zoom recorder with a the Canon d7.  And if you are going to drop 2500  or more on equipment then it is the Canon 5 markII. Your sound could be the Zoom recorders or you could go for it and use a juicelink audio mixer and a mid range microphone.     I know that I did not
mention camcorders the higher price ranges. I am going to leave you with a video about one such camera and we are going to have to do an entire post on those camcorders.
    Okay the winner of the Dslr vs. Camcorder is to be determined by you guys. Hey post a comment if you have an opinion. If you have a really long opinion drop me an email and I will invite you to offer a guest post.
    That is it for now. Please take a moment to drop by my Trailer park, I added a new trailer that looks interesting and if any of you have trailers let me know. I am about to add a subscribers trailer park.  Also I will be adding a willing to work for food page where any of you can offer your services to other film makers for food and credit and or what ever deals you can work out.

The Canon HV20 and movie making

    Canon HV20 Digital Features


    DSLRs were not designed to shoot video.  Video is an add on.  It started out as a sort of Easter egg given to photographers and has grown into something more.  If you choose to shoot your feature using a DSLR you will be limited by the fact that video is its second language.  It can only shoot video for a limited amount of time, it can only use a select few ad ons.
    While a camcorder was born to shoot long form.  It was designed to do what you are doing and with a few attachments it can be done very well.  Let’s first look at the camera that changed how the game is being played.
    The Canon hv 20 is a magnificent little consumer camcorder that once retailed for over seven hundred dollars.  Now you can pick them up on Ebay used for under two hundred and fifty dollars.  This camcorder has native 24p. The truth is most of the Canon Vixia Series shot have the native 24p option, but I believe that the hv series gives you the most cinematic look.  With each post I am going to try to include a video and a note or two about some of the film makers who are using these cameras and the rigs that they have put together.  For this one post I have decided to include two videos to jump start the learning curve.  First the camcorder itself.

    Now a few words about rigs.  A rig is the camera along with all the ad on that the film maker has decided to attach to their camera.  Some rigs are Spartan and others are massive.  There are so many lenses and depth of field adapters to choose from.  Microphone and audio equipment that can be attached.  My idea of the perfect rig for ultra low budget movie making leans toward the Spartan side, but we will get into that at a later date.  Let me give you a sample of someone’s work with the Canon hv 20.  Work that was done with a bare hv20, no depth of field adapter added. The dof adapters will give you an richer and fuller film look that seen here, but the quality of this trailer is pretty good.
    A trailer for the movie Kodie.  Written and directed by the person who via Youtube introduced me to the cameras.  If I have not said it yet, thank you Abel Berry, you have taught me a great deal about movie making.

Canon Digital Feature Film Making

Canon Digital Feature Film Making

Thanks to The Canon Company and the digital camcorders and DSLRs there is an underground digital film revolution happening. This revolution began a few years ago when Canon decided to add the 24 frames per second option into most of its mid range consumer camcorders. Later it would at this as a video option in its DSLR and the revolution has caught fire world wide.
There are so many sites and blogs dedicated to DSLR cameras such has the Canon D7, Mark II and the T2I that I thought that I would go old school and focus on the cameras that started the revolution and with a few add ons can offer nearly the picture quality at a low price point. I will focus largely on the Canon HV series and the feature films that have been made with these little monsters and when the moment demands it I will get into some of the great work being done with the DSLRs.
Let’s begin with why should a low budget film maker consider these cameras. I would say in response that a low budget film maker should not and by low budget I mean if you have fifty thousand dollars or more to spend then you should consider using the Canon Mark II or the Red or a number of the Panasonic pro-sumer camcorders if you want to make a feature film. If you have fifty thousand or more why not go 16mm film. The film cameras are cheap and if you know what you are doing with them then go right ahead. The truth is that I am not here for the low budget film maker. I am here for those who are called ultra low budget or no budget film makers. You fall into this category if you have less than ten thousand dollars to spend on your first feature.
Allow me to describe you. You or a close friend have written the screenplay for your movie. You will be doing this project with the help of friends and family who will work behind the scenes for no pay. You will be shooting on nights and weekends and at locations that you can get for free or get in and out of without being caught filming there. Your actors will be paid little to nothing up front. You will be looking to get the best production value out of the least amount of money spent possible.
In other words you are a lot like me.
You are only willing to pay for what is absolutely unavoidable. The three area where you are going to have to spend money are:
Sound, if your audience can not hear the movie then you are doomed. Viewers will give up on your project the third or forth time they have to mutter what did he just say? Huh, What was that?
Editing, you may be able to use a free program, but you will need a computer strong enough and quick enough to edit and hopefully do some sound mixing on. If you have such a computer cool, you just saved money.
Camera, you need something that shoots in HD digital and shoots at 24p. Why 24p? That is the industry standard. This is the frame rate that gives you that motion picture look. You are going to have to spend some money on your camera. Money on the lenses and in most cases on a depth of field adapter.
The cameras are why we are here and let us talk about what to do and not to do. Get the best camera at the lowest possible price that will get the job done. Do not blow half of your production budget on your awesome new camera. It will feel wonderful to have that expensive camera and muse about all the things that it is able to do until it is day 12 of shooting and you have no money to feed your cast and crew. You have no money left for transportation, (gas money) and you have just realized that you should have set aside at least a third of your budget for post production cost. Treat your camera like the tool that it is.
A camera is not jewelry. It is not a diamond ring. It is a tool. You could consider it a hammer or a shovel. I think of mine as my axe. Like a good guitar it can make beautiful music if I tune it just right. Let’s talk about the tool you will buy and look at how others have used theirs.