As an aspiring filmmaker, have you ever bought a brand new consumer digital camcorder with so much excitement only to be disappointed to see that your footages look like 8 O'clock news footage?
How come film looks so good. Especially when projected on a big screen.
Here are a few reasons:
1. The number one reason. Planning and lighting. Every shot in a well made film is planned out. Indoor shots are always lighted appropriately. Its like making an oil painting. You create layers in your image with lighting. Indoors are easy because the environment can be controlled. Outdoors are a big challenge. There is just too much light. Care is taken to make the subjects stand out from the surrounding. One way is to place the subjects in front of a dark background. Another way is to use lights to brighten them up so that the background is darker in comparison. There is way too much in this topic that is better explained by an expert.
2. 24 fps
There is a certain otherworldliness to the 24fps look. Video is too fluid. Avoid interlaced footage. 30fps progressive will give you something close to a film feel.
3. Shallow depth of field
This is the killer. Video shows every thing in focus. Its not your fault. Its the size of your CCD sensors. Film has a large surface where it records the image. Film cameras also have inter changable lenses. The cinematographer selectively focuses on the point of interest. You can achieve a shallow depth of field by doing this. Keep your camera on a tripod and zoom to the maximum. Move as far away as you can from the subject until you get the required framing. The key is to blur out what you dont need to show. Its a key device in storytelling.
4. Smooth camera movements.
This one is hard to obtain but if you have the passion you can find a way. Simple zooms and pans from a tripod is just not enough. You need a way to change the perspective. Get a wheel chair. Find a used steadicam jr from ebay. Do shots from your car.
5. Film glow
Projection of a film on a white screen creates a diffuse glow thats very unique. Even video projected on a wall or screen will have this glow.
6. Film grain
Hmm.. I cant point a finger on it but there is something really exotic about film grain. You can duplicate it to some extend with post processing in a program like Adobe after effects.
7. Film aspect ratio
A lot of cameras will shoot 16:9 (1.33). Film is typically 1.85 . You can achieve a similar look by clipping the top and bottom edges.
But ultimately its not just the looks.. Its how you tell the story that matters.
