Pablo Herrera Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Hi guys. I've doing small video stuff for a few years now and i'm getting comfortable with what I'm doing. The only thing i haven't really been able to get a grasp on is cinematography. I use magic bullet to give my videos their looks, but i would really like to start to understand how i can achieve certain looks. I know you can only get so much out of digital and it will never fully look like film and I can't wait till I get to the point where I can afford to shoot on film. But in the mean time, I'm going to try to achieve the best look possible with what I got. The movie that I drool over and watch constantly just to look at is Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Now I'm hooked on the look of "In the Mood for Love" and really all the movies Wong Kar Wai has done. My question is, how close can I come to that look with my canon 7d http://www.vimeo.com/9402001 <-(fun day to shoot in Dallas) We have a variety of lenses and just got a generic anamorphic adapter which i'm loving. We also have a small 3 piece light kit. Thanks for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted February 21, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted February 21, 2010 Be more specific. What exactly is it about that video you like? P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Herrera Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Sorry, I like the cinematography in general but I love the colors and use of lighting and atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted February 22, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted February 22, 2010 Well, that's the thing, really - lighting and atmosphere are something you can do on any camera. Sorry I can't be more help, but you're asking a really wide question. Start looking at things in terms of what sort of light is being used, and where it's coming from; a lot of that sort of thing is just production design, too, which is a case of putting the right things in front of the camera. There's some great books available on basic cinematography, and you're probably at exactly the right point to read some of them. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Herrera Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Well, that's the thing, really - lighting and atmosphere are something you can do on any camera. Sorry I can't be more help, but you're asking a really wide question. Start looking at things in terms of what sort of light is being used, and where it's coming from; a lot of that sort of thing is just production design, too, which is a case of putting the right things in front of the camera. There's some great books available on basic cinematography, and you're probably at exactly the right point to read some of them. P Awesome, thanks for your reply! I'll start hitting the books!! Hope I can come back here in a few years and show yall something good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Satsuki Murashige Posted February 22, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted February 22, 2010 Phil is spot on - lighting and production design will have the biggest impact on the look of a film. Cameras and lenses can only record what is already there! For starters, I would encourage you to start looking at locations more critically. When you come across a beautiful location, ask yourself what textures, light/dark tones, and colors do you see? What is the lighting like? Define each light source and break it down into direction, quantity, quality (hard/soft), and color. Imagine how you would replicate that light from scratch. Then you can start thinking about where to place the camera and which lens to use. BTW, there is a link at the very top of the page called "Recommended Books and DVDs", I suggest that you check it out. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Herrera Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Phil is spot on - lighting and production design will have the biggest impact on the look of a film. Cameras and lenses can only record what is already there! For starters, I would encourage you to start looking at locations more critically. When you come across a beautiful location, ask yourself what textures, light/dark tones, and colors do you see? What is the lighting like? Define each light source and break it down into direction, quantity, quality (hard/soft), and color. Imagine how you would replicate that light from scratch. Then you can start thinking about where to place the camera and which lens to use. BTW, there is a link at the very top of the page called "Recommended Books and DVDs", I suggest that you check it out. Good luck! THANK YOU MAN! I will totally keep that mind set from now on. We usually just film with what we can get, but i will start holding out and search harder for better locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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