hiderocketdive
New Member
Jaegersing is mostly right.Or at least that's the vibe i get from producers and directors when they start talking about "film look". However, that dof characteristic that they mostly refer to is one that's more unique to 35mm film than most others.16mm and 8mm (or super8mm) has deeper dof than 35mm, but it still has that distinctive film look (simply because it's film!) And it has all to do with the imaging size, as Jaegersing rightly pointed out.
So what is "film look" to me? IMHO, it's a combination of image texture, motion cadence, highlight handling, lighting and to some extent, shallower dof. That said, out of all these characteristics, I feel that the shallow dof is often raised because, beyond it's aesthetics like the other characteristics, it functions as a more direct narrative tool in focusing attention and imbue the image with a definitive meaning/intention. It works on a visceral level that mimics how human actually see things. That's perhaps why shallow dof is the aspirations of most videographers/ cameraman/ directors etc.
Well,to stay in context, indeed DSLR will bring with it the benefit of shallower dof which is great as a story telling tool. But the choice of using a particular camera, DSLR or video cameras, beyond non-paying gigs and self experimentations, often depends on the consideration of several factors such as workflow advantages, deliverables required, budget, subjects and the nature of the shoot itself etc etc. And these factors are in constant flux across projects, so making an informed decision to use a DSLR or a videocamera for a particular shoot will be essential to avoid unnecessary work arounds that the production cannot quite afford, either in time or budget. Hope it helps.
So what is "film look" to me? IMHO, it's a combination of image texture, motion cadence, highlight handling, lighting and to some extent, shallower dof. That said, out of all these characteristics, I feel that the shallow dof is often raised because, beyond it's aesthetics like the other characteristics, it functions as a more direct narrative tool in focusing attention and imbue the image with a definitive meaning/intention. It works on a visceral level that mimics how human actually see things. That's perhaps why shallow dof is the aspirations of most videographers/ cameraman/ directors etc.
Well,to stay in context, indeed DSLR will bring with it the benefit of shallower dof which is great as a story telling tool. But the choice of using a particular camera, DSLR or video cameras, beyond non-paying gigs and self experimentations, often depends on the consideration of several factors such as workflow advantages, deliverables required, budget, subjects and the nature of the shoot itself etc etc. And these factors are in constant flux across projects, so making an informed decision to use a DSLR or a videocamera for a particular shoot will be essential to avoid unnecessary work arounds that the production cannot quite afford, either in time or budget. Hope it helps.
