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what is the standard widerange for movies ?


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I just saw the movie "runaway bride" with julia roberts and richard gere in television playing and I recognised that there weren't any wide lens shots in it. It looks like the whole movie was shot on 50mm or 35mm lenses. Is that the standard range for movies ? I have a zeiss 85mm 1.4 and looking now to buy an additional lens but I can't decide wheter go for the 35mm 2.0 or the 50mm 1.4 for having a standard movie lens.

 

thanks for your help.

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When you have enough space to back up the camera, it's mainly a stylistic choice, but if you are going to be shooting in typical locations for an indie movie -- i.e. real apartments, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, or inside moving cars, etc. you are going to need some wide-angle lenses to get wide shots. Certainly a 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm would be a good set for most situations, though occasionally you might want something wider-angle than a 35mm.

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When you have enough space to back up the camera, it's mainly a stylistic choice, but if you are going to be shooting in typical locations for an indie movie -- i.e. real apartments, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, or inside moving cars, etc. you are going to need some wide-angle lenses to get wide shots. Certainly a 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm would be a good set for most situations, though occasionally you might want something wider-angle than a 35mm.

 

Hi David, thanks for your reply. I shoot my movie on a canon 5d and it's fullframe sensor. So people told me if I will go wider then 35mm and will pan and tilt indoor then the image will not look natural, it will look more like in a 3D videogame. Is that correct ? Can I ask you what kinda lens do you use on the very big cameras when it concerns indoor shootings

and what is the standard widerange for outdoor shootings ?

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You should have said that in the first place -- I was quoting 35mm cine / Super-35 / APS-C focal lengths.

 

There is a 1.5X difference between a 36mm wide sensor (FF35) and a 24mm wide sensor (Super-35). So you use a 75mm lens on a FF35 camera to match the field of view of a 50mm lens on a Super-35 camera.

 

But even on a FF35 camera, a 28mm is not unusual for wide-angle shots, similar to the 18mm often used in Super-35 for wide-angle shots. But you could probably start with a 35mm on a FF35 camera for your wide-angle shots.

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You should have said that in the first place -- I was quoting 35mm cine / Super-35 / APS-C focal lengths.

 

There is a 1.5X difference between a 36mm wide sensor (FF35) and a 24mm wide sensor (Super-35). So you use a 75mm lens on a FF35 camera to match the field of view of a 50mm lens on a Super-35 camera.

 

But even on a FF35 camera, a 28mm is not unusual for wide-angle shots, similar to the 18mm often used in Super-35 for wide-angle shots. But you could probably start with a 35mm on a FF35 camera for your wide-angle shots.

 

Wow that's nice my canon 5d has even a larger sensor then a super 35 cine cam ? mmwahhhh :blink: BTW I am a big fan of jennifers body. May I kindly ask you what camera set up did you use for the two girls bedroom kissing scene ? I think this was just an amazing lowlight shot.

Edited by Danielito
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The wide shot was toplit by a rectangular chimera with some light bulbs behind it, a rig my gaffer called a "half dome". We cut a slot in the low angled ceiling above the bed to put the light. I added a small 650w zip softlight next to it to add more exposure to their faces when they fall back onto the bed; it faded up during the shot.

 

Wide shot with stand-ins:

jb13.jpg

 

Ceiling above the bed:

jb14.jpg

 

Closer shots were lit either with some Chimeras or bounce cards, crosslighting the actresses.

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The wide shot was toplit by a rectangular chimera with some light bulbs behind it, a rig my gaffer called a "half dome". We cut a slot in the low angled ceiling above the bed to put the light. I added a small 650w zip softlight next to it to add more exposure to their faces when they fall back onto the bed; it faded up during the shot.

 

Wide shot with stand-ins:

jb13.jpg

 

Ceiling above the bed:

jb14.jpg

 

Closer shots were lit either with some Chimeras or bounce cards, crosslighting the actresses.

 

 

that's so cool, cheers

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