Film Look

B

BlackWolf

Active member
I'm a sucker for the 16mm film look and wanted to give some of my footage a more filmy look. problem is, i'm no expert on film by any means. Any tips or tricks to make it look more like film?

Here is what i got out of my D3s so far.
http://vimeo.com/23267435
 
My best advice, LIGHTING! Proper lighting is the foundation of video looking like film (in my opinion) since film is almost always properly and creatively lit.
 
I've always been tempted to say, and now I am but I wouldn't be the first, that there is no "film look". Film on TV or DVD is video, and video reverse telecined and shown in a cinema is film. Pseudo dye marks, scratches, dust, light spills, soft vignettes etc, on video isn't a film look, it's grunge.
 
Rainer said:
I've always been tempted to say, and now I am but I wouldn't be the first, that there is no "film look". Film on TV or DVD is video, and video reverse telecined and shown in a cinema is film. Pseudo dye marks, scratches, dust, light spills, soft vignettes etc, on video isn't a film look, it's grunge.
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I do kind of agree with this, but there are certain character caristics which can be only found in film... the texture, highlights, dynamic range and some other things.
Magic Bullet does a pretty good job at them for what is possible with the footage...

Use the search function, everyone's asked the same question once
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No need to be ass.
I already used the search function, but didn't get the answer i was looking for.
 
Make sure you shoot 24p with a 180° shutter (around 1/50 sec.). That cadence has a lot to to with the film look. Put care in grading every shot. This is also a longstanding film tradition.
 
Just looked at you piece. You should consider cropping the aspect ratio to 1.33. as this was the classic 16mm ratio. Also, depth of field is too shallow. you should shoot in such a way that everything is in focus (or everything is out of focus). In other words, shoot sharp and do some occasional focus buzzes in post. Use wider lenses and smaller apertures to achieve this. Also, some gat weave wouldn't hurt the effect.
 
What really "looks" like film is not always in the image quality. Yes film has a certain range and latitude that digital doesn't pull off well, but as far as the motion of 24 fps, digital can reproduce that.

What looks like "film" to me is lighting, framing, and production value. I believe that 1/2 the reason people love the film look so much is not just the asthetic quality it provides, but the fact that its always presented in a way that makes it appear to be very "high value" to our eyes. The simple fact that film is so expensive (last 16mm film I shot, a 4 minute short, cost over $500 for raw stock / telecine) means that most people who use it regularly take the time and care to make sure their money is "showing up on screen" sort of speak
 
It's pretty convincing, but I think the special effects might be a tad over-done. It doesn't take that much to convince us it's film.

Steadier movements would be helpful to isolate the film effects.

The lens you are using might not be ideal for shallow focus--the bokeh is little odd. What lens is that?
 
Well I think the look you were trying to achieve in that video is actually more of an 8mm home movie film look than a 16mm film look.
 
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