film look TOO CONFUSING just want basics with GL2 for a movie!! thanks

Cole McDonald · July 1st, 2006, 05:18 PM

Before the shoot:
http://www.yafiunderground.com/AJ/howto.html

On the day of the shoot:
http://www.yafiunderground.com/checklist.html

Still working on this one...there are some technical inaccuracies in it, but it's not currently linked on my page, so I'll fix it when I can...mostly the errors are about compression and data storage.
http://www.yafiunderground.com/Turnkey/1.html

I'm working on a series that covers every aspect of this in a way that is less overwhelming to beginners...the last link up there was meant to be a piece...it fails in my effort to keep it easy to understand, so I'm starting it over...it's just my "screw the film look, shoot good video and be proud!" rant.

Nick Posen · July 1st, 2006, 07:54 PM

well i didnt meen for it to go on for so long, thats when all the other parts are gonna go in, but i mean like how does it look and feel?

Ben Winter · July 1st, 2006, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Posen

thats when all the other parts are gonna go in

Nick, I think you're assuming that there are effects you can just apply to the footage to give it a film look. There are filters that contribute to that, but what we're saying is that the lighting, camera movements, framing and audio all contribute many times more than a filter you apply on your computer to your footage.

Basically, there is no cheap shortcut to getting the good "film" look. You need to take time to light, frame and mic (yes, audio contributes to the "look") your shots properly--you can't simply hit record and then slap on a filter and expect the appearance of film.

Cole McDonald · July 1st, 2006, 11:20 PM

The film look is actuallybased on the time and money spent on what sits in front of the camera more than what happens inside the camera...there are 3 things that happen in camera...exposure level, focus and camera angle...every thing else is done for the sake of these three things...generally it's the everything else that makes the film look. Lighting, staging, acting quality (movement counts...certain movements don't look good in camera), costume and set design all play larger roles in making the film look than what you do with the camera.

If you use your camera in manual mode and frame mode, expose well, keep the iris as wide as possible and use selective focus by keeping the camera closer to your subjects while moving the backgrounds farther away from them...you'll get the film look. As long as you put effort into what you point the camera at.

I cringe when I read the film look plug in threads on forums...all they do is color saturation and levels adjustments...GIGO...garbage in, garbage out. No magic...make a bunch of shorts...or one big feature and screw up everything possible...learn from the mistakes and use that knowledge to make better pictures in the future. That's what my feature is for. My goals for it were to make a feature length movie that I could enter in festivals...that means - original story, releases and completed...all acheivable. I've learned more in the 20 days of shooting than I did in the 4 years of research getting to the starting point.

dig in, screw up...start small and pick one thing you are going to improve per short...first time is angles; next lighting; then more outdoor shoots; then camera movement; then more complex lighting; then something else you want to learn...continue until you don't think there's anything more to learn, and you will find what the next thing you want to work on is.

The BTS of the village included a short by M. Night Shamalan...it's really bad...but he did it to learn the basics of story telling in a visual medium. I've seen the same from lots of really big name directors...you don't start with this knowledge, you have to screw up to gain it. I think this is the reason that so many student films are nigh unwatchable...these are film school students, they should be amazing...this is what they want to do for the rest of their lives as a career! But Film School is where they spend their time learning what not to do.

Screw up , welcome brutal critiques and listen to them! Be honest with your work and yourself. Learn what you personally need to work on and work on it for the next shoot. Pick one thing that bugged you about your last short and fix it in the next one. You'll never run out of things to correct, ask anyone on here, there's always something that could have been done better in every shot they put in the final edit...no exceptions.

July 1st, 2006, 05:18 PM	#16
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	Before the shoot: http://www.yafiunderground.com/AJ/howto.html On the day of the shoot: http://www.yafiunderground.com/checklist.html Still working on this one...there are some technical inaccuracies in it, but it's not currently linked on my page, so I'll fix it when I can...mostly the errors are about compression and data storage. http://www.yafiunderground.com/Turnkey/1.html I'm working on a series that covers every aspect of this in a way that is less overwhelming to beginners...the last link up there was meant to be a piece...it fails in my effort to keep it easy to understand, so I'm starting it over...it's just my "screw the film look, shoot good video and be proud!" rant. __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

July 1st, 2006, 11:20 PM	#19
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	The film look is actuallybased on the time and money spent on what sits in front of the camera more than what happens inside the camera...there are 3 things that happen in camera...exposure level, focus and camera angle...every thing else is done for the sake of these three things...generally it's the everything else that makes the film look. Lighting, staging, acting quality (movement counts...certain movements don't look good in camera), costume and set design all play larger roles in making the film look than what you do with the camera. If you use your camera in manual mode and frame mode, expose well, keep the iris as wide as possible and use selective focus by keeping the camera closer to your subjects while moving the backgrounds farther away from them...you'll get the film look. As long as you put effort into what you point the camera at. I cringe when I read the film look plug in threads on forums...all they do is color saturation and levels adjustments...GIGO...garbage in, garbage out. No magic...make a bunch of shorts...or one big feature and screw up everything possible...learn from the mistakes and use that knowledge to make better pictures in the future. That's what my feature is for. My goals for it were to make a feature length movie that I could enter in festivals...that means - original story, releases and completed...all acheivable. I've learned more in the 20 days of shooting than I did in the 4 years of research getting to the starting point. dig in, screw up...start small and pick one thing you are going to improve per short...first time is angles; next lighting; then more outdoor shoots; then camera movement; then more complex lighting; then something else you want to learn...continue until you don't think there's anything more to learn, and you will find what the next thing you want to work on is. The BTS of the village included a short by M. Night Shamalan...it's really bad...but he did it to learn the basics of story telling in a visual medium. I've seen the same from lots of really big name directors...you don't start with this knowledge, you have to screw up to gain it. I think this is the reason that so many student films are nigh unwatchable...these are film school students, they should be amazing...this is what they want to do for the rest of their lives as a career! But Film School is where they spend their time learning what not to do. Screw up , welcome brutal critiques and listen to them! Be honest with your work and yourself. Learn what you personally need to work on and work on it for the next shoot. Pick one thing that bugged you about your last short and fix it in the next one. You'll never run out of things to correct, ask anyone on here, there's always something that could have been done better in every shot they put in the final edit...no exceptions. __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

July 1st, 2006, 07:54 PM	#17
Nick Posen Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Clinton, New jersey Posts: 26	well i didnt meen for it to go on for so long, thats when all the other parts are gonna go in, but i mean like how does it look and feel?