I own a Panasonic AG-DVX100A and i was wondering what i should use to make my videos look more film like. I know there are types of lenses and effects in programs to do this. I have a copy of Adobe premiere pro CS4 if that helps at all. Any information on lenses and pricing will help. Also if there are any camera settings that can help too. Thanks.
quote:
Originally posted by masterspud
I own a Panasonic AG-DVX100A and i was wondering what i should use to make my videos look more film like. I know there are types of lenses and effects in programs to do this. I have a copy of Adobe premiere pro CS4 if that helps at all. Any information on lenses and pricing will help. Also if there are any camera settings that can help too. Thanks.
Arguably, one of the biggest contributors to attaining the "film look" has to do with frame rate. "TV" is mostly associated with the 29.97 frame rate while "movies" are generally shot and projected at 24fps.
Most professional HD cameras will shoot at a variety of frame rates, but for the "film look," we shoot at 23.98fps. Most prosumer and consumer HD cameras cheat and just call 23.98fps 24P. It's not technically accurate, but it gets the job done. So if your camera says that it can shoot at "24fps," then that's the first step.
Another thing you can do is to shoot with longer lens and wide open in order to reduce the depth-of-field. Film tends to have an inherently shorter depth of field than video, so the more you can drop the background out of focus, the more the audience will "feel" what they recognize as a film trait even if they don't consciously know it.
Keep the camera on a tripod (avoid handheld) and NO ZOOMING!!! ... unless you're burying the zoom SUBTLY into a dolly move. Make all of your moves smooth. The key is throwing away those cheapo prosumer BOGAN tripods they sell with most less expensive gear and using a quality fluid or gear head. The smaller the camera, the BETTER head and tripod you need because the camera itself doesn't have the mass it takes to slow it's own movement and jitter down.
And maybe consider adding a subtle Promist filter in front of the lens for the entire movie, to soften your image a bit.
There may be things you can do to the image in post too, but that depends on the software you have. Ideally though, it's better to obtain the image you desire on set instead of waiting until post when time is limited and budgets grow thin.
Most of all, TEST all of your techniques prior to the first day of shooting and run those tests through your entire post production workflow. This helps YOU not only discover the looks and techniques you desire, but it saves you time and disappointment later on when you wish you would have done something else.
Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com
http://www.realfilmcareer.com
Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com
http://www.realfilmcareer.com
Thanks for all the great information. I'll be sure to try all of these out.
Your DVX100A is one of the most "filmic" cameras around. Definitely follow Brian's tips. Be sure to shoot in 24P Cinegamma mode (Panasonic really got that right). That should be the "F5" setting, located on the back.
www.midnightsunent.com
If you want to learn more about video imaging and the different things that go into it , you should really watch the video that Mark Schubin did at ?url?www.hdcameraguide.com/guide/schubin?/url? he discusses HD Image Quality. Hope that helps!
