I need some explaining on the look of DV v. film.

[4score]

Ok....I'm a very new film maker and need some basic explaining. Ok,I know that when I go to the movie theater and watch a motion picture, they use film. 35mm I think. So now....with all this talk about digital technology, to make a picture look professional like they do at the theaters, one must use film, not DV correct? Can you obtain that professional, dramatic look that you see on a big screen with a DV camcorder and good editing programs?

I have a Sony dcr-trv25 which I bought for about $1,000. Anything that I film looks like a cheap home video, and doesnt have that "professional look" that I envisioned....you know what I mean. Can someone film with a DV camera and somehow transfer it to film to get that look? I dont know if I'm making any sense at all....

I know I didn't spend a lot of money on my camera (in the big scheme of things), but it was a lot for a highschool student. I'm trying to plan my Senior Project which will be possibly shooting my own short. Now is where I need some help and advice. I can't bare the thought of going through all the work of getting actors, writing a script, finding a location, and all other details, and then after I finish filming, it has the same feel as when I filmed my home video on Christmas Day. I want it to look like a "movie" more or less. Does it have something to do with frames per second....to give it the smoothe, big screen look? Is it the whole 1 chip 2 chip 3 chip thing? Anyways...I'm a bit baffled, and lost...maybe someone out there can clear things up for me.. thanks alot,

Chris ***

[Alex]

Super-8 Booster, Cameraguy, Boss-Jock, Mikey B, Actor, Scott Spears, this is a question each of you can provide a tremendous answer to.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 08, 2003 04:41 PM: Message edited by: Super8 Filmmaking in the DigitalAge ]</font>

[TA 152]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 28, 2003 05:36 AM: Message edited by: S8 Booster ]</font>

[vt220]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have a Sony dcr-trv25 which I bought for about $1,000. Anything that I film looks like a cheap home video, and doesnt have that "professional look" that I envisioned....</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

have you tried changing your lighting techniques? light carefully, video's tolerances are tight.

does the sony you have let you manually set your exposure and so forth? if so, try lighting so that your lens is more "open", i.e. a stop more around 2.8 or something. hope that makes senses, its late.

there's alot of stuff you can do to make your DV look better before you start worrying about shooting film.

just my .02

[Greg Crawford]

Thanks for asking 'DIGITAL AGE, ' I have some ideas to share but have to hold of for now. I have a tight deadline to meat.

To the person that placed this posting watch a movie on one channel and the evening news on the other. Keep flipping back and forth. Write down what differences you notice....lets talk about it later....that will be $75.00 please!

[4score]

thanks, you guys have been very helpful. I've been reading links, other web boards, ect...and everyone basically says the same thing....which is that the most important thing is lighting. But now the question becomes....how does do I improve my lighting? Should I buy a certain light, or one of those silver bouncing screens??? I doubt a good flashlight would work eh? [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Greg Crawford]

If you did your homework last night watching a film and a TV newscast you probably noticed that TV has a snapper look, more contrast while film has more depth.

Film can capture more shades of gray and more color. Digital has taken on a god like status.

Not all digital products are equal. Sony is not putting out the same quality of camera in the $5000 range as is the one used in Star Wars. Some of the basic differences. The compression ratio on DV can Handel way less color separation and contrast. The lenses for the high end HD cameras cost more than most peoples cars maybe homes in some cases. The chip sizes are larger for the more pro cameras.

You will need to understand you will never completely get the Film Look shooting digital or Hi quality analog video. Now how to simulate the look of higher priced video cameras is the first step. If you are shooting controlled (theatrical) material or say corporate video outside on location.

Try to either light the scene or control the situation by controlling when you shoot. i.e. picking overcast days. Shooting in locations without direct sunlight. etc. or.....

Make yourself some good old fashion screams and reflectors. By some 3/4 inch PVC and cut it into manageable sizes say 4x4, 5x5, or maybe 5x8 sizes. You will also need the L shaped adaptors. Then buy some fabric similar to the silks used in motion picture work sow elastic corners so the sheets can be attached to the PVC pips and all you need now is some good c-stands or other lighting stands. You can make silver reflectors out of plywood and aluminum foil, or out of foam core board. Aim the reflectors light through the scrim and you have a nice soft fill source to help tame the harsh sunlight. With a larger PVC panel you can use it as an overhead silk. to cut the direct rays from the sun. (negative lighting)

Interior work learn three point lighting. If you can only afford buy one light at a time ..ok start by bouncing your one light source into a foam core board to increase light levels and lower the contrast of the scene.

Take a variety of light bulbs in different wattages, with you to the various interior locations, so you can modify existing lighting.learn how to balance color temperature of light.

If you want a dark scene in video never use the gain up... NEVER. Always shoot it brighter than you want it to look and turn it down in post. That way you will keep the color in your video and lose the video noise.

Daylight will look blue when balanced for Tungsten (room light) Your house bulbs will look orange compared to day light. Try not to mix color temperature.

On my next post I will go over psychological ways to make your video look more film.

[4score]

wow, thanks so much for the information on lighting. Everybody always says "lighting, lighting, lighting", and just assumes that it's all cleared up. Hopefully I can use some of the techniques you've recommended. What exactly is a foam core board??? I was following everything accept that.....

ChrisA

[Greg Crawford]

FOAM CORE is a white shinny serf ice board that's sold usually at Art Supply companies, like Michele's hear in Michigan.

Some pro photo shops also sell the stuff in larges sizes., as still photographers use it a lot. Be careful it can catch on fire!

You can make your video have a more film look by
shooting with your zoom lens in the telephoto position. Part of the video look is lazy videographers shooting everything wide ...
It's faster and things look in focus.

What you want in stead is the subject in focus and the background and in some case the foreground elements slightly out of focus.

Point Two, To speed this process up, try using ND (neutral density) filters in front of your lens. This will make your camera need more light and will open up the lens ...this will cut down your depth of field.

Set your camera's shutter speed to 1/30 or 1/60 of a second. This way each frame will have a slight blur of motion. When played back the little extra blur will mean will help to give the video more of a film like frame rate ( 24 frames per second is about 1/45 of a second) . If your frame rate is set high a lot of action will look overly strobe.

Get your camera a Matt Box with filter holders.
The Matt box for video usage will do to things, cut down on any stray light bouncing on to the front of your lens. Flair is a real killer of sharpness and contrast.

And now you will have a place to use more than one filter at a time.

Get your self some ND Grads, these filters are say 2 to 3 stops darker at one side and clear on the other. You can use ND grades to tame a bright sky while keeping the foreground properly exposed. It's the way cinematographers would do on film, what still photographers do in the darkroom dodging and burning.


Happy shooting

[Mike Buckles]

Excellent suggestions...also, for indoor lights, i used to use cheap work light reflectors from the hardware store, with photoflood bulbs (available from a photography store)...it's a cheap, but good way to light interior scenes. The Neutral Density filter is a good idea for outdoor scenes..you might also try a polarizing filter...I videotaped an outdoor soccer match using a polarizer, and just like film, it saturated the colors, and gave people/skies a more richer look. Also, if you can, set your exposure for each scene, then lock it down, so it doesn't vary...much more professional looking! [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]