One of the most common goals we filmmakers want to achieve is the ever coveted film look. In this video I get into the nitty-gritty of what it takes to acquire that look.
Here are a few myths we dispell right away
1. Your camera honestly won’t do much. Rellying too heavily on your camera and tech specs is a tremendous over-sight
2. Your gear has no bearing on your ability to achieve this look. Yes, it’s nice to have cool toys to play with but this will not magically produce a cinematic aesthetic.
Yes the video is 30 minutes long! but I really wanted to cover as much as I could to communicate the various aspects involved in achieving the look. In this video I go into detail about different camera settings, like shutter speed, frame rate, and ISO, but he also talks about aspect ratios, audio, lighting, framing and composition, music, and so much more.
I think it’s also very important to distinguish the difference between “Stylistic Choices” and “Technical mistakes.” It’s easy to disregard the guidlines and rules when learning filmmaking but they’ve been set in place for a reason. They’re time tested tools that many great filmmakers have used to great effect. To blindly disregard them without having a clear understanding of what prupose they serve is a very good way to make a lot of unnecessary mistakes. Everytime I’ve broken a rule, intentionally or uninitentionally I usually find out the hard way why I should have followed it.
the most important lesson you could ever learn about creating the film look is practice, practice, practice and do your homework. Keep practicing and creating micro-films until you understand the basics like the back of your hand. Work on those techniques and your understanding of story. To many times beginners start their first film expecting perfection, but it’s just probably not going to happen. You need to make a lot of films and gain a lot of experience and research until your eyes get crispy in order to get good at making movies. There are no shortcuts to greatness. You’ve got to put in the work and make some good mistakes to get the results.