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.

 

Digital Film Making, BTS

    Digital Film Making, BTS

I find a great deal of inspiration from watching other film makers working behind the scenes on their projects. You get to see that it really is work. A lot of trial and error and no one gets it right all the time.

   The teaching part of this digital film making post will largely be in the form of videos for the simple reason that this is about the behind the scenes aspects of filmmaking. Many film makers have included behind the scenes stuff on the dvd releases of their films. The difference between what you get with a Hollywood film’s BTS and what I hope to offer today is that you will be getting an idea of the stopping and starting that is a large part of film making. First up is a look behind the scenes of the movie Stab 6. If you are familiar with the Scream series of films then the film inside a film Stab should be familiar as well. The Stab series has become very popular on Youtube. If you are ever in the mood for a good old fashion slasher film you could do a lot worst than checking out a few of the movies in the series.   The things I like about the next behind the scenes video is that their is no dialogue, just like in the short film that it is about. Which is a great idea if you can pull it off. One of the big problems with dslr shooting is the how to record quality audio and the with what should you record said audio. Shooting a sort of silent film or at least sections of your film that require no sound except that of a sound track can really speed up the film making process. Also I love how they are just going out their and shooting. Using mostly what is available to get the shoot instead of blowing money on unnecessary equipment. Also they are using the micro budget’s film maker’s best friend, the monopod. The monopod can be used in place of a standard tripod and when collapsed it can stand in for a pistol grip. You can even get away with using it as a camera boom. You can get a good monopod for about twenty dollars online. The last one I am going to show you is the making of the Evil In the Hills. I picked this one because I believe that this micro budget film maker is really good. David Ryan Keith is the writer director. I wish I could show you the behind the scenes of his feature film Attack of the Herbals, I have seen it, but it is not available to be posted. When making his feature film he did what we micro budget film makers are suppose to do, he got himself a Canon dslr, some friends and shoot a feature. He did not let the lack of money or professional actors stop him. He went from short films to a feature. Please take a moment to stumble us on stumbleupon, add us to your google plus and to tell a friend about this post. Word of mouth is the fastest way to grow a blog. Thank you for visiting.