1st Feature Camera Choice

Worley,
The loss of resolution in 16:9 can be pretty much comensated for by shooting 24P or 24PA in SQUEEZE MODE and setting the vertical detail frequency (in the scene file settings menu) to THIN. Also, don't set the DETAIL too low (not lower than -4) or it gets too soft, unless that is the look you want. I like -4, myself. Shooting like this gives an image quality similar to that of theatrical films shot in the mid to late 1980's.

You're right, Worely. For someone on a tight budget, the difference in the price between the DVX100B and the HVX200A is substantial. Better to spend the difference on accessories and get your movie made, rather than just sit and look at a pretty camera and wish you had the money left to use it.
 
Film, by its nature, has a softer look than video. Depth of field is an inherent aspect of film photography, as are the focal zones of hyperfocal length. With film, you can bring a single subject into razor sharp focus and have everything else completely out of focus (depth of field) or you can focus on a much wider area in such a way that, while nothing is in perfect focus, everything in the scene is reasonably in focus (hyperfocal length). This latter is what gives film that softer, organic look. For example, a given f-stop, focal length (in millimeters) and shutter speed will put everything "x" feet from the camera out to infinity into reasonable focus. Nothing will be in perfect focus, but everything will be close enough for the human eye. This is especially useful when filming a wide scene in which the actors are in constant motion by eliminating the need for constant refocusing.

Beginning in the 70's and continuing through the 80's, filmmakers tried to give their films a kind of soft, dreamy look. Some even went so far as to stretch women's nylon hose over the lens to get a slightly blurred or misty look. Check out some of the movies of the period and you'll see what I mean. Dirty Harry comes to mind.

In the 90's, films began to have a harsher, sharper look to them, almost as if filmmakers were trying to emulate video. The way I have my DVX100B scenefile set, the look I get is somewhere between the two. But the DVX100B has so many setting combinations, you can pretty much get about any look you want. All you have to do is experiment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top