FS7: how to make the fs7 the most cinematographic?

D

Duol

Active member
Hello,

I have to make a short film with the FS7 and I would like your opinion on how to make the FS7 the most cinematographic?

What resolution, frame rate (24 or 25?), Image ratio, mode (cine EI ?), LUT, lenses ... would you use to approach the Holy Grail?

Thanks so much.
 
24frames or 25frames makes no difference.

16:9 is fine. You can go wider if there's a real aesthetic reason to, but movie audiences will accept 16:9 just fine.

Don't use lenses that are too sharp. The FS7 will already give you all the resolution you'll need.

LUTs come later in post and can be changed many times before it's finalized.

Put a Schneider Hollywood Blackmagic filter on the front of it.

Ta-Daa! A movie.
 
Forget about Luts for now.

Forget about lenses for now.



Firstly I would learn how to block and frame the staging of a scene. Then I would look at how lighting and contrast choices would aid the feel and tone of the scene.

Then I would put the vast majority of my budget into production design and hiring a decent grip package with gaffer

Then I'd get a hazer :)


And THEN I would look at what I had left over for lenses.
 
Other filters you should look at are Tiffin's Digital Diffusion FX and HDTV FX range. These filters soften the look without producing a bloom around light sources. I use an HDTV FX 1 to match my modern nikkor lenses to my older nikkor AIS. Digital Diffusion FX 2 or 3 would really give a nice soft yet detailed aesthetic for digital filmmaking.

What sets cinematographers aside from mere camera operators is their impeccable choice of focal length, depth of field, camera placement and movement for a shot/scene. Everything else is secondary even lighting.

It won't matter if you've got an ARRI or an F35 if you've got an amateur's eye for shot composition nothing will make your work look cinematic.
 
Ben Scott said:
Forget about Luts for now.

Forget about lenses for now.



Firstly I would learn how to block and frame the staging of a scene. Then I would look at how lighting and contrast choices would aid the feel and tone of the scene.

Then I would put the vast majority of my budget into production design and hiring a decent grip package with gaffer

Then I'd get a hazer :)


And THEN I would look at what I had left over for lenses.
Click to expand...

Oh, this this THIS!

(And totally get a hazer!!!! Yes!)

If you do all that and you have a Sony FS7 then you can get a handful of really inexpensive Nikon Ai-S prime lenses and you will do EXTREMELY well.
 
Nirv said:
Other filters you should look at are Tiffin's Digital Diffusion FX and HDTV FX range. These filters soften the look without producing a bloom around light sources. I use an HDTV FX 1 to match my modern nikkor lenses to my older nikkor AIS. Digital Diffusion FX 2 or 3 would really give a nice soft yet detailed aesthetic for digital filmmaking.

What sets cinematographers aside from mere camera operators is their impeccable choice of focal length, depth of field, camera placement and movement for a shot/scene. Everything else is secondary even lighting.

It won't matter if you've got an ARRI or an F35 if you've got an amateur's eye for shot composition nothing will make your work look cinematic.
Click to expand...

Hey Nirv, thanks for this!

I have some Tiffen diffusors too and I love them, but I never looked at the HDTV FX line. And I DO have exactly that issue with 2 of my newer Nikkors vs. my Ai-S stuff.
Outstanding. Go to the bar and get yourself a pint and tell them to put it on my tab.
 
It's impossible to advise without reading the script. You might as well ask what the lead actress should wear. That said, I agree with Ben, give half your budget to the Art Department, oh, and backlight everything...
 
I try to learn, 'backlight everything' sounds like an inside joke or isn't it?
Making nature films and have the clapper loader (as a by-job) constantly running after animals with a LED panel to get a nice backlight, so far didn't succeed.
 
Just put something bigger and meaner than them on the side facing away from the sun and then they'll run towards the sun and give you a nice glow. Maybe a Velociraptor costume or something :)
 
FS7 is pretty sharp so I avoid stopping down too much. Open up. Even on wider type shots with talent, I've kept it at f2.8 or even lower. For cinematic stuff, I rarely shoot above f 5.6, even on establishing shots it's between f4 to f5.6. Generally keep it between f2 to f5.

BertLUT is fantastic for a starting point for a grade and for monitoring even. Just use that to get started and tweak away.

A bit of haze is really nice. FS7 seems to look really good with Tungsten lights as well.

Avoid 30fps like the plague.
 
gene_can_sing said:
FS7 is pretty sharp so I avoid stopping down too much. Open up. Even on wider type shots with talent, I've kept it at f2.8 or even lower. For cinematic stuff, I rarely shoot above f 5.6, even on establishing shots it's between f4 to f5.6. Generally keep it between f2 to f5.

BertLUT is fantastic for a starting point for a grade and for monitoring even. Just use that to get started and tweak away.

A bit of haze is really nice. FS7 seems to look really good with Tungsten lights as well.

.
Click to expand...


I discovered this when shooting Providence. This camera LOVES tungsten light, and I had just purchased a set of tungsten fresnels and was experimenting with shooting through large diffusion (shower curtain, etc). I gelled many of the windows in the house we were shooting in with "tungsten" straw colored gels and used only tungsten lighting. The result was magic.
 
mainstreetprod said:
This camera LOVES tungsten light, and I had just purchased a set of tungsten fresnels and was experimenting with shooting through large diffusion (shower curtain, etc).
Click to expand...

My experience as well. Tungsten works really well with the FS7. Just makes the footage really sing.
 
Good lighting is a start and light modifiers like reflectors and flags and lighting filters would help your production, good stick and if any steady grips make a difference you can use camera filters but unless its a must i would do them in post, but thats my take.
 
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