Today we have a post from our amazing Director of Photography, Laura Warren:
I thought I’d share what gear we’re going to be using on the shoot. It’s my own personal set up and I’ve been dying to get a chance to use it in a proper professional studio/location environment.
We’re shooting on DSLRs. Why? DSLRs are so much cheaper than film cameras but still produce amazing looking images. Also on DSLRs you can achieve a shallow depth of field, that look that resonates with shooting on film as opposed to the flatter images of video. Just look at the images below, which were taken on a DSLR, to see what I’m talking about.
When shooting video on DSLRs, you’re faced with the problem that a DSLR is designed to be a stills camera and is not configured in the best way for shooting video. That is why I have the camera set up on a rig. This positions the camera so that you can sit it on your shoulder and have it properly balanced. This starts to make it look more like a classic film camera set up.
Add to that a follow focus. The follow focus is placed so that either a focus puller or the camera operator themselves can operate the focus. Having a follow focus means we can accurately focus on points without having to see what’s on screen by marking the points of focus on the wheel. This is especially useful for a focus puller who does not have a monitor to look at themselves.
The final and essential addition to the rig is an EVF (electronic view finder). Because the camera is off set to one side to balance on the shoulder, you can’t really see the LCD screen properly. With an EVF you can place the view finder directly in front of the camera operator. As you can see by the pictures, I have a magnified finder attached to the EVF as well. Not only does this magnify the screen, it provides another point of contact to help steady the camera and stop it from shaking.
So that’s what we’re shooting with.
Looks cool, doesn’t it?
– Laura
NOW IT'S DARK 