Smooth shots?

S

Smithhouse

Well-known member
I've had my DVX for a whole week now. WEEEE ... My question is. How in the whole world do you all get your shots to look so smooth and blended... not looking so 80's camcorder, ya know. Does the miricle take place in post production or can you achieve that "Filmish" look in camera.

Right now, the only way for me to check out what I'm shooting is on a television, does that have anything to do with it?

I'm new to all this, so please bare with me.

Thanks much,

Trey
 
Re: Smooth shots?

well i dont know much except from what i've learned from (scott)disjecta and bluebox, and of course the dozen books i've read. BUT, i think i can help a bit.

Like 5 months ago when i got my dvx i was asking the SAME question and i felt totally lost. most responses to this would probably be "do a search you lazy bum." i got that from most people lol.

I've learned that to get a film look there are a ton of things to consider. 24p obviously, and another huge one is white balance. I spent a month just trying to learn and perfect white balance- and i'm getting the hang of it. that will REALLY make a huge difference. I found that white balance button on the front of the camera all by myself! ;)

Lighting=make or break it. get the book "Lighting for Digital video and television." it was recommended in these forums and i learned a TON from it.

Camera movement is huge. panning, dollies, the whole works. I've just been studying every film i can watch on how they do it. Even if its the most subtle zoom- it makes a huge difference.

Camera angles, obviously; just watch movies- get ideas.

Sound- get a good mic for your camera. I'm probably getting the me66 or 67- even though some may hate it, I've heard it in use and i think it sounds great- plus its affordable.

lastly- something i found out while looking around for the past 7 months.

LOCATION. for our film we're shooting all over the place- from and old 1700s town to an abandoned warehouse to an insane asylum to a jail (one that sean connery acted in i might add.)
for location- you're going to have to work a lot. I cant tell you how many people i've called to try to get permits. be nice, let them know film is your passion, and most of the time it will go well.

dont rush anything- another HUGe part of making film look like film is the story itself. Corny acting and a terrible story could ruin something that looks like film.

Just wait for more posts- there's a ton of guys in here that know a lot more; but hopefully that will get you started a little bit.
 
Re: Smooth shots?

With zero budget and zero experience one word of advice that helps you get smoother shots when you're moving with the camera is get a cheap video camera tripod. One that will barely support it's weight. It doesn't even have to be that tall because you'll be using it for a different purpose.

Once the camera is mounted on the tripod, close up the legs and lift it so it looks like it's on a pole. Take one hand and slide it up and down the tripod until you find the spot where you can barely hold it and it balances (stays rather easily in your hands via your grip). Now open theh side lcd view finder to walk to frame roughly. Leave a little bit of extra room for frarming so your subject doesn't jump in and out of frame and so you don't have to move the camera so drastically.

The reason why this works is because instead of having the center of gravity where your wrists are you lower and throw the center of gravity further away from the camera. This will make it less shaky.

Rehearsals are key. I rehearse for 30 minutes sometimes for certain camera moves.

The other thing is when on sticks (tripod) you hafta get a a good tripod. People skimp on this too much. I order my equipment and have it sent to NJ and take a bus there from NY to save a few bucks but I spent 900 dollars on my tripod.....
 
Re: Smooth shots?

Thanks for the feedback guys...

Zach, it's kind of encouraging knowing that you were on the same boat not too long ago. and I must say, that white balance is a tricky fish isn't it.

Can anyone comment on the whole post production thing. I've watched numerous videos and screen grabs that looked incredible. I've tried to match settings, lights, etc. but my stuff still looks like pooh... is it post production editing that makes stuff look so good, or can you get the "look" right in camera?
 
Re: Smooth shots?

Always imagine you have a huge 35mm camera in your hands or on your tripod and move it very slowly. Moves like this can be very cinematic. Shots that feel "light" to an audience, where the camera is reacting to your every hand movement (in a bad way), can be a dead giveaway that you are shooting video.

Consider the difference between a boulder falling off a cliff and a pebble falling from your hand. With an appropriate distance from both, they can be made to look the same apparent size but the perceived slow movement of the boulder is a good indication that it is a lot bigger than the pebble.
 
Re: Smooth shots?

I'm new to all this as well and I have another book to recommend. It's called "Grammer of the Film Language" by Daniel Arijon. My girlfriend got if for my birthday and it's fantastic, truly a handbook of every conceivable shot and framing situation. She picked it up at the NYU bookstore, but I'm sure you can find it online.

Matt
 
Re: Smooth shots?

my advise would be to work within your means.

if you are new to this....and if do not have te skill or you can not afford to buy or rent a dolly or crane or steadycam. then do not design shots for your films that require those things JUST YET. or do not create stories that need such elements. come up with simple stories or whatver...that you can shoot with a locked off or panning shots with a tripod. get a bit of experience first...just make a film that is simple but lets you explore a bit with story and editing, and build your camera skills/equipment knowlegde as you go...baby steps...

anyway, just a suggestion...i say dont jump right into the steadycam shot from goodfellas...it will drive you crazy.
 
Re: Smooth shots?

As much as I hate to admit it, baby steps is the way to go for me... Rich if you have some time, can you answer me this... The screen grabs and vidoes that are posted, that look so awesome, do they get that polished, film look in post production, or do they get it straight from the camera?... There are screen grabs that are posted with out of the box settings and I can't even get my stuff to look like that just pointing at an object and shooting... currently the only way I can view what I shoot is through a television, but it always looks so... so digital, and not like anything close to what others are posting... is post production the difference?

Obviously I am way new at all this, so please be patient all.

Thanks,
Trey
 
Re: Smooth shots?

so many elements contribute to the good looking stuff.

i say, 90% of the look comes from what you shoot on the day and how you shoot it.

you cant polish a turd. you can only kinda smooth it out a bit, but your hands are going to get all full of crap, and the smell is terrible...god forbid there are any pieces of corn and whatnot, cause then you got to pull them out and smooth over again. sometimes a turd comes out and its kinda like frozen yogurt, and thats easier to get smooth. corn? i dont remember eating corn...

anyway, make sure you have good production values...good lighting and nice camera work. then what you can do in post is like frosting on the cake. know what im sayin?

baby steps...
 
Re: Smooth shots?

I know exactly what you mean, Rich... Baby steps. That whole turd analogy is perfect, cuz that's exactly what i'm shooting, corn and all... I've got my DVX, my 16:9 adapter, 200w, 300w, 500w, and 650w lights. some settings that I've picked up on this site, and my stuff still looks like corny you know what... However, I am very determined to uncorn my work and get my stuff up to par of a true dvxer.

Thanks Rich,

Trey
 
Re: Smooth shots?

one excellent book that deals with the whole making you shots look like 35mm not in hardware so much as in technique is called "digital cinematography"

wonderful book, a lot of what was in there i knew, but that info i had gathered from 10 other books, it was amazing to find it all in one place.

he is VERY big on handling the camera like it was a big heavy film camera.

one thing i have learned is that the more i shoot the better my shots get and that is largely credited to what i learned in his book and the fact that virtually nothing i do is handheld anymore.

tripod, dolly and crane.

get a really good tripod. i have the bogen 525MVB Tripod kit, it is the 503 head and legs with a bag. just goto www.evsonline.com find the model that fits your budget and then CALL evs and ask for rush, mention dvxuser.com

one thing, save up if need be and get a really good tripod like this one. i had an older bogen that a friend gave me and i spent a fortune on everything else and didn't upgrade the tripod and i really wish i had upgraded much much sooner.

matthew
 
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