Good cinematography is NOT based on what equipment you use!

I think most of you are missing the point; people, especially people on this forum seem to get overly wrapped up in the latest gear rather than focusing on what they will do with it, and it would be interesting to see how many of these people are actually making a living using the latest and greatest toys. I still regularly work with dvx's, and dsr-500's , you know why, because they are cheap, easy to opperate, and when used properly, give you very nice pictures, and most importantly put money in my pocket without the expense of hiring out a high end cam which will add very little to the overall production (aside from added costs)

A lot of this ranting seems to equate to a matter of style over substance, filmaking is about what you shoot, not what you shoot with; look at something like lost in translation, shot on a frigging canon XL2 of all things, and it's almost certain that 99 percent of this forums users couldn't come anywhere close to that quality of footage, even using whatever hd super camera is the flavor of the month at the moment.
 
Joshbalti;2193061... look at something like lost in translation said:
Is that really true? After googling it I'm getting that it was shot on film. It'd be cool to find out it was shot on an XL2 though.
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Olaf99 said:
Is that really true? After googling it I'm getting that it was shot on film. It'd be cool to find out it was shot on an XL2 though.
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From an interview with Sofia Coppola:

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]We were encouraged to consider DV, but I wanted the movie to feel romantic…like a memory. Film does that. With the high-speed film stock [Kodak's 5263] that we were using, we could go anywhere, not light it and just shoot. Film might not be around that long, so we wanted to shoot on film while we still can. It has the nostalgic and romantic feeling of the past; that's how I remember things, through film and photos. Film gives a little bit of a distance, which feels more like a memory to me. Video is more present tense, there isn't that stepping back.
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polcan99 said:
then the more they were surprised that their work still didnt look like those big budget films.
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I've never heard anyone say that. If I did hear someone say that I would not be inclined to discuss cinematography with them. There are hundreds of "video 101" books, websites forums. Vimeo, Youtube, the BBC, and dozens of smaller sites between them have tens of thousands of videos devoted to that end. This is a cinematography forum. Not a "things to know once you've taken the handicam out the box" forum.

Aren't there enough of those already?

Cinematography as a practical craft is largely about controlling the camera. If you can't control the camera you can't do your job efficiently. This means a 10 minute shoot will routinely become a 3 hour CF. Now if the talent are OK with that, and you are not paying them then sure you can shoot with a handicam. But even at 50% of minimum wage - its waaaaaaaaaaay cheaper to get a camera with all the right buttons and dials readily accessible.

JMHO, of course.
 
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Hey guys, I just uploaded a new interesting video that I've heard so many people argue about. Many times I hear people talking about what affects depth of field and so many times I hear completely absurd things. Bottom line depth of field has nothing to do with image sensor size... here is a simple video that explains it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0n4pyhx7Dk
 
Basically anyone who argues against Polcan99's point proves his theory. This forum is jammed with people asking "what setting do I use" "can't I just fix it in post" etc. There appears to be a great many people who want a "just push this button" method to great videography. Surprise! The great stuff is a result of many years of experience, mistakes and successes along with the desire to constantly improve. That being said, a person who takes the time to see the scene, develop a lighting plan with constant adjustments and carefully choose the camera angle will in fact make better video than an expensive camera using existing light and point and shoot methods. Sorry there is no equipment that can outshoot experience.
 
I had an interesting experience the other day where I got some stunning footage with a miniDV Sony VX2000. The footage looked better than some of the HD footage I've seen on the net and on this forum. It even looked better than some *badly lit* earlier footage I'd shot with a HD Panasonic HPX Cam. I thought about what had caused this footage to look so great, and after careful consideration I came up with the following:

proper white balance

adjusted the focus thoroughly

checked the exposure carefully

framed the scene perfectly

used incoming light intelligently (scene was indoors and curtains allowed for a "softbox-like effect")

used appropiate support (I didn't have a tripod, but placed the camera on a steady surface)

it then struck me that most amateurs won't give these things any thought, preferring to shoot everything "on auto"
 
what is the point of constantly rehashing the same tired prescriptions that you can find in 100 video 101 books, 1000 handicam manuals, 10,000 websites and 100,000 you tube videos?
 
pwyll said:
what is the point of constantly rehashing the same tired prescriptions that you can find in 100 video 101 books, 1000 handicam manuals, 10,000 websites and 100,000 you tube videos?
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this is actually a good point but your post neglects the rule of thirds.
 
memento515 said:
this is actually a good point but your post neglects the rule of thirds.
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I've been wanting to know about the rule of thirds for ages. Any chance of a video anyone? Otherwise I'll have to go down to the local BestBuy and ask the dude on the camera counter.
 
pwyll said:
I've been wanting to know about the rule of thirds for ages. Any chance of a video anyone? Otherwise I'll have to go down to the local BestBuy and ask the dude on the camera counter.
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Well, this is the unfortunate situation. In order to get to Best Buy, you have to get 1/3 of the way there, and well, before that you have to get 1/3 of that distance, and heck while we are at it, you have to 1/3 of that, and so on, until before you do anything, you have to get to 1/3 of that microscopic distance, and the worse news yet, there's always 1/3 distance to cover.

And so how can anything happen as there are an infinite number of 1/3's to cover...

Next up Fibonacci is your friend... or how to amaze your friends with phi...
 
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