A few weeks ago I wrote that one of the most common mistakes DSLR shooters make is using the auto-exposure function on the camera, but I didn't actually explain how. As I said, it's not an easy art to master, but if you want to be an effective visual storyteller it's crucial that you put in the time to really figure it out. After a converstaion last night with an aspiring filmmaker who's been learning this the hard way I figured it was time to finally knock this post out.
So what are the basic guidelines for shooting usable footage..?
Last month I had the chance to create a new short film for the RezDowntown campus. (you can check it out after the break) The community recently moved into a new venue, formerly the Crosstown Station, which provided some wonderful visual opportunities. I especially loved the different kinds of available light found there.
One of my favorite things about this project was that it gave me the opportunity to experiment with a number of different post-production techniques I'd never attempted. As a result, this might well be the first project I've ever created that I'd be really happy to see on a 40-foot screen. A big part of that had to do with some major software finessing of the footage in post...
As you can imagine I've gotten a lot of texts, email and Facebook IMs about the fact that Canon dropped the new 5D Mark III last night. (just to get this out of the way, on paper I'm not see that much to make the upgrade compelling) But all the hype brings up a point I think is worth making every so often: the story you're telling is a lot more important than the gear you have, or do not have.
I know that sounds a bit strange coming from someone who's trumpted video-DSLRs as being "revolutionary", but here's the deal: the Canon 5D Mark III is actually the price we consumers are now paying for the 'accident' that was the Mark II...
Yesterday Red Giant released Magic Bullet Denoiser II, which was enough for me to drop whatever plans I had for the evening. Over the past few months I've been wrestling with the amount of noise I'm getting out of the H264 compression inherent in DSLR footage, and I was already shopping around for different solutions to the problem.
I'd tried out the original Magic Buller Denoiser, but it just wasn't stable enough within Premiere and After Effects. Turns out that the software code didn't entirely belong to Red Giant, which meant they weren't able to fix the problem themselves. Their solution was to build a new completely new denoising program from the ground up.
Could it finally be here? CanonRumors has asserted that the long-awaited 5D Mark III will definitely be announced this Thursday or Friday. That date would align neatly with when a number of non-disclosure agreements are set to expire. Add to that the number of pretty-legit looking images that are popping up around the web and I'd say it's starting to look more and more probable all the time.
Today's a huge day for DSLR filmmaking. For the first time ever a major Hollywood blockbuster shot almost entirely on a DSLR is getting a wide release. (see the trailer after the jump) Three years ago a group of visionary cinematographers instinctively grasped how disruptive, these new tools would become, and they immediately set out to pioneer what has now become a revolution.
One of the guys on the very forefront of this whole movement was Shane Hurlbut, a widely-acclaimed cinematographer on movies like Terminator: Salvation and We Are Marshall. Rather than seeing DSLRs as a tool for budget filmmaking, Hurlbut immediate understood that the small form factor of these cameras would allow him to create imagery that would have be impossible otherwise.
One of the big things I enjoy in life is helping aspiring filmmakers figure out their craft, and over the past two or three years that's really meant helping people figure out how to shoot with DSLRs. After doing this for a while I've started to see patterns of mistakes that many aspiring cinematographers make. I'm probably quick to notice them because their mistakes I've made as well, some of them more than once.
Of course you're free to figure these out on your own, but wiser artists are usually quick to try and learn from other artist's mistakes. In that spirit, I thought it might be helpful to put together a list of the 10 most common mistakes I see DSLR video shooters make...
Last week Canon announced a new generation of their venerated 24-70 f/2.8L lens, which is expected to be available in mid-April. As I've mentioned here before, the first generation 24-70L is hands-down my favorite lens I've ever owned. So as you can imagine the announcement of a second generation immediately grabbed my attention.
At this year's Sundance Film Festival Adobe hosted a panel about technology and storytelling that's really worth giving a listen to. (check it out after the break) The group includes some of the filmmakers and producers behind "Avatar", "Hugo", "District 9", and the upcoming "Act of Valor", and it's amazing just to hear about them using widely available technology like the Canon 7D and After Effects. I just found this to be really inspirational - hopefully you will as well.
Last Friday I had the chance to film a wedding in downtown KC. As you can imagine, shooting weddings is something I've done quite a lot. What I've never done, however, is shoot one exclusively with DSLRs.
Those of you who are regular readers of the blog know that I think DSLRs are an absolutely revolutionary technology. Having said that, they have some severe limitations. For this particular wedding the client was a friend and didn't have the budget for the cameras I would normally rent for these kind of events. So we decided to use my Canon 5D Mark II and T2i instead.
