experimental documentary.....

[hoofandmouf]

for my senior thesis project I am going to do an experimental documentary short film based on the rural south/the people that make up the rural south/the geography/lifestlyes and cultures of these people, etc..... I want a super wide cinemascope type ratio for a lot of the landscape shots but i've read quite a bit of stuff against shooting in letterbox with an anamorphic lens, so my question is, what would be the best way to get a super wide, epic shots on the dvx? also, since I'm relatively a young buck so to speak, in temrs of filmmaking/cinematography, do any of you seasoned vets have any advice/tips on what filters and such I should be using to achieve the really massive, epic look of the isolated rural south? oh and by the way, it will be projected at an art exhibition opening....thank yee

 

[redcap]

Shoot squeeze mode with an anamorphic adaptor. If you're using FCP then adjust the aspect ratio to somewhere around -23 in the Motion>Distort tab - or what you think looks best. This is about the best way to do it. Your footage will be pretty fuzzy tho close up so try to avoid zooming too much, and use a lot of light - avoid gain and of course turn off optical image stabilization & auto focus (you should be doing this anyway when using an anamorphic adaptor), try to keep the iris as close to closed as your light will permit - this shouldn't be a huge issue if you're doing out door shoots - and white balance - this is very important.

And please, don't over do it with the Magic Bullet or other similar filters - this is a common mistake among amature film-makers and I'm getting sick of seeing the same washed-out whites footage and added grain. Sometimes some artists use it ok - and other times they over-do it and it looks like crap.

 

[profnoxin]

In terms of actual glass filtration you can look at the straw and tobacco series of filters. These will give you natural de-saturation without it looking like the canned type of desat. described above. I agree that magic bullet often makes your footage look too generic, as the effects have to life, where filters will re-act differently under different situations. If you want to get some really great sunset footage and bring out those great southern colors, think about using a graduated cranberry filter. It gives your skies an interesting reddish tint. You can also use it during actual sunset and get some amazing images.

If you really want to experiment a lot, you can create your own aspect ratio for your outdoors footage. Take some chart tape (This can be purchased at www.filmtools.com or www.studiodepot.com) and mark your viewfinder in an extremely wide, "Samurai Jack" esque aspect ratio. Have fun with it. Do some tests and see if you find something you like. Then just matte your aspect ratio in post.

 

[bikefilms]

The "century super- fisheye". There is a DVX100 model that uses the bayonet mount just like the factory square lens hood does. You can rent these too. Remember to zoom in a bit more than you think you should. Stay reasonably wide though. And the DVX's focus should be in the Macro zone.

You'll be stoked.

-andrew

 

[dmitriandsnow]

What is, exactly, the problem with shooting letterboxed anamorphic? If you are certain of your composition this is probably the most delivering method of them all. If had to choose between either a barrel distorted fisheye or a wider aspect anamorphic, i would undoubtedly use the anamorphic. You are shooting scenery and it expands horizontally. What is the use of having a barrel distorted lens (meaning expanding in all directions)? Use your anamorphic lens with either squeeze or letterbox preset. In terms of composition and color, that is subjective. Good luck!!

 

[Noel Evans]

OK had to search to refind this post below:

In film 2.35 is achieved by either shooting Super35 and cropping, or by using an anamorphic lens, but not both.

Squeeze+anamorphic will give you 2.35 that won't play on any television. You'd have to unsqueeze it to 16:9, and then letterbox it, in order to get 2.35 that would play on television. And, if you shot squeeze+letterbox, you'd get 2.35 that would play on television... so why bother going through a squeeze/unsqueeze process just to get back to where you'd be if you'd started with letterbox?

If you want to only make a web video from it, then yes squeeze+anamorphic would be appropriate for that. If you want it for television, squeeze+anamorphic is a bad idea. It's a better idea to use letterbox+anamorphic for that.