Fundamentals of Cinematography

This lesson talks about sensor size & crop factor on cameras and the effect the two can have when using different lenses.

Dave gives you a rundown of all the recording formats you will ever need to know about, which is pretty handy at this stage in the course!

We visually examine shutter speed and show the effect changing the shutter speed has on the light taken in by the camera. It is advised to keep your shutter speed at double the frame rate that you’re filming at. So for example, if you’re filming at 24fps use a 1/50th of a second shutter speed. This gives the characteristics of traditional movie cameras which we’re so used to seeing. Deviating from this shutter speed rule can give a different feel to your film so it’s worth experimenting a little so you can visually see the effects this has.

Next up in our fundamentals of cinematography course, we examine the ISO on our Canon 5D mark III and show a visual demonstration of what using different ISO settings looks like.

Dave explains the basic types of lenses available and some of the technical differences between your available options.

We look at a wide selection of lenses to show the effect they have on your shot. Remember to switch your camera off when changing a lens as this helps to avoid the attraction of dust to your sensor.

Visual Examples are given for the following prime lenses:

• Fish Eye lens
• 16mm lens
• 20mm lens
• 35mm lens
• 50mm lens
• 80mm lens
• 120mm lens
• 180mm lens
• 35mm lens – Macro Mode
• 100mm lens – Macro
• Fish Eye lens – Macro Mode
• Flare lens

Getting the right exposure for your footage is an essential part of this fundamentals of cinematography course. It will make all the difference to the end result and of course, it will mean less time trying to match footage up during the editing stage. Dave shows an example of how different ISO settings affect your final image in conjunction with adjusting the shutter speed and aperture (f).

Relying on the cameras automatic function for exposure seems like the easy option right? We explain and visually show exactly why you should be using manual exposure settings on your camera to ensure your footage is usable and as intended.

Now we’ve decided to use manual exposure (for reasons shown visually in the previous lesson) the use of Histograms on your camera is very useful to ensure your exposure is perfect. Zebras on the camera display will show up and serve as a warning if the camera is overexposed. The Zebras shown on the display won’t be visible on your film they just act as a visual warning.

Depth of field is the distance from the nearest point considered in focus to the furthest point considered in focus of a subject. We visually demonstrate the effects of changing the aperture and length of lens to increase and decrease the depth of field.

What kind of course on the fundamentals of cinematography if we didn;t talk about white balance? Correctly white balancing your camera is important to get the true colours of the shot you’re filming. We take a look at white balance on our camera and demonstrate the different preset options that should be good enough to get your white balance accurate, depending on the lighting conditions. On most cameras, if you prefer to, you can manually specify a colour temperature. Or in some cases you can take a manual white balance reading, by using a piece of white paper in the light conditions you are filming in.

We’re now going to set up a small filming scenario and use some of the principles we’ve learned so far. To start with the scene is blocked through – this is the process of thinking about the actions that will take place and the types of shots that we will produce. Start positions for the actors are also marked out so that future takes of the scene can start at the same location.

We will move on to the filming stage in the following lessons (6.1) which have been divided into short clips for easy reference of the different shot styles.

We look at the use of an establishing wide shot in a studio environment. Next up, Dave will run through a few takes with subtle changes on each to address the actors movements.

As we’re in a studio with a balcony we can demonstrate an above shot of the scene.

We start this clean single shot off by using a technique called matching shots. This uses the same lens which we match to the shots by using a tape measure from our subjects eye to the camera sensor position (which is usually marked on the camera with a line / circle). This measurement is then done again with our other subject for when we run the scene through again. The result is two clean single shots that can be edited between without them looking out of place.

The dirty single shot is demonstrated in this lesson, this shot features one subject in focus where the other subject is in the same shot but out of focus. This is a great shot for an interview or sit down situation when filming.

We provide ourselves with plenty of editing options by opting for a tight two shot of the actors sitting down.

Here with film a medium shot of our two actors meeting up and walking out of shot.

We’ve created a basic edit of the previous camera shots to give you an example of how these kind of shots can fit together in the editing stage.

Next up in our fundamentals of cinematography course, we move on to shooting the same scene, or at least a very similar one. We do this by using some more advanced shots and different lighting techniques. The result is a very different film noir style, which just shows how much you can change the feel of a film by choosing different lighting or camera angles.

The camera shots demonstrated in this lesson are:

• Reveal Shot
• Tracking Shot
• Feet Shot
• Voyeuristic Shot
• POV Shot
• Walking Shot
• Peep Shot
• Sit Down Shot

The lesson concludes with a basic edited scene using the shots we created.

Learn how to frame your shots with this visual example of different popular shots, the shots covered in this lesson are :

• Full shot
• Medium Full shot
• Cowboy Shot
• Medium Shot
• Head and Shoulders
• Close up head and shoulders
• Choke
• Extreme Close Up

There are quite a few methods for holding a handheld camera and producing good stable footage. This is something you need to practice to improve on as people tend to have their own preferred way to hold the camera in a comfortable, yet stable position.

If you want an even more stable handheld shot then you can opt to purchase (or hire) a shoulder mount or steady cam rig, we explore three options in this lesson and show the results from each.

There are tons of options available where tripods are concerned, so how do you know which is the right one to buy? We go through three main types of tripod from a basic still photography tripod to a high end film tripod and cover the main uses of each.

Moving onto more elaborate shots, we start by looking at the slider and the type of footage you can produce using this. Weight restrictions of the camera and leveling the slider are limitations of these low budget tools. However, the footage produced in conjunction with these can be really effective.

Designed to create smooth camera movements, the dolly is a really useful tool with more versatility than the slider (shown later) but does require a flat floor to be setup correctly.

A much larger piece of a equipment that unlocks a huge amount of different shots, is the jib. The jib arm is a counter weighted arm which allows fluid camera motion in all directions. The jib does require quite a bit of setting up and might need a few pairs of hands to do, also be careful when using a jib as it can be quite dangerous if it swings out quickly.

It’s not something you’re going to easily get hold of, especially when you’re just starting out. If you can get hold of a jib though, it will be perfect for practicing the fundamentals of cinematography.

Dave simply explains the rule of thirds and how to frame your shots effectively depending on the scenario. We also look at getting things correctly in focus by using the magnifier tool and live view on your DSLR camera.

Storyboards will really help the planning and execution of any film project, the storyboard will help with location and time planning as explained in this lesson. There are many apps available for tablet computers which may assist with this process, or you could stick to good old pen and paper.

The role of a reccy is hugely important for any larger film project, Dave talks about how you’d go about performing this role, what to take with you and the benefits it can have on a production.

Creating a style is something that will separate your film making from the thousands of shorts and features produced each year. Style makes your film memorable and enhances your theme. Everything you achieve in your film will look effortless with a consistent style.

Dave sums up what the role of the Director of Photography actually is. It's different on every set, depending on many factors like budget constraints, crew experience and more. The important point here is that you know what you are there to do and that you do it very well.

Let's wrap it up! Phew! That was a lot of learning. Well done! Now get out there and start creating some amazing work.