Ten Minute Digital Cinematography Masterclass

In the rush and work pressures surrounding filmmaking, it's all too easy to overlook some essentials, but these are often the factors that can lift a film from the mundane level to the exceptional. James MacGregor's notes reveal some of the secrets of real film craft.....

Storytelling on Screen

• Your focus is on telling the story, not just on tasty shots.
• You have spent weeks with this film, your audience sees it once. Make sure they get it.

Pre Production

• Read the script – thoroughly
• Talk to the director about his or her 'vision' for the film
• Talk style with them - tripod or hand held for 'edgy' framing
• Talk lighting for mood – dark and shadowy, a natural look or intensely lit
• Recce all locations – look for light direction, power sources and background noise
• Estimate set-up times with lights and grips and tell the director for his schedule

Equipment

• Learn your camera before you start shooting
• On the job, concentrate on being creative with the camera, not exploring the knobs
• If the camera is uinfamiliar, shoot a camera test beforehand
• Do a location test at the time of day you plan to shoot there
• Make a checklist of EVERYTHING you need
• Make sure all batteries are fully charged
• Ensure you have enough tape, bulbs and a cleaning tape

The Shoot

• Block through the scenes with director and actors
• With Director and 1^st AD plan sequences, coverage and lighting
• Be very conscious of backgrounds for every shot
• Use lens sizes to include or exclude background elements
• Wideangle lens will put a background further away
• Telephoto lens will bring background closer
• Be creative - don't shoot everything at eye level
• Look for interesting shot angles
• Think ahead, always
• Watch the light, especially as night approaches
• Judge the “mood” of shots and be aware of differences
• Longer lenses make you an onlooker, a voyeur to the action
• Closer shots give a sense of intimacy with the subject
• Get the essential shots done first
• Compromise when you must, but prioritise before ever you compromise

Shooting in Vehicles

• Shoot with background backlit - gives better interior-subject/background light balance.
• Learn the most useful in-vehicle shots
• Point of Views through the widscreen
• Close ups of drivers face in rear view mirror
• Shoot from front seat – a wideangle lens will reduce camera shake
• You can use camera mic for capturing in-vehicle sound
• BUT close all windows, turn off radio and airconditionng first

Looking Ahead for Sound and Edit

• A ten second shot with no sync dialogue visible could save an editor
• Shoot listening shots and/or reaction shots as cut-ins and cutaways for dialogue scenes
• Be careful not to “cross the line” when shooting dialogue scenes
• Don't cross the line in dialogue to cut into the master shot
• Don't cross the line in action shots to cut into a master shot
• Shoot cut-ins in the same light as the master shot
• Always leave long ends on your shots
• Long ends can “bridge” using next scene audio overlaid, before cutting vision
• Shoot sound using an independent microphone
• If you MUST use camera mike, shoot wide-end of the zoom close to your actors

Techie Tips

• Setting Exposure – pan away from any misleading light
• White Balance – do this always in the predominant light
• Focus – Zoom in to the subject on auto, when the camera finds focus, lock.
• Do this especially if the subject is to be closeer to one edge of the frame.
• Gain – Lock this unless you are shooting in poor light
• After scene check in playback, carefullyre-cue camera to the END of the last scene you shot
• Before starting to shoot again DO NOT start in blank time-code!
• Balance carefully your foreground and background light levels
• To see background, add light to foregound person or object to match the background
• To see less background, put more light on the foreground
• Then, when you expose correctly for it, the background will “drop off”