Flowing Through the City Filmmaker Rob Whitworth has developed a unique style of time lapse video that he calls “flow motion.” Check out his travel videos for Sydney and Dubai below.
Project Details: Fast/Slow
For this project, you’ll be capturing slow motion and time lapse shots. Working in three groups, capture three slow motion shots and one time lapse sequence.
Lesson 5.2: Slow Motion and Timelapse
Slow motion is fun. It can give drama more weight and make comedy more ridiculous. While it’s often overused in Hollywood blockbusters, there are times when a slow motion shot just works.
Lesson 5.1: Sony RX10 II
So far, we’ve looked at hybrid cameras (the Panasonic GH3 and GH) and dedicated video cameras (the Panasonic AF100 and Sony AX2000). This week, we’re going to get to know an unusual camera that offers some of the benefits of both hybrids and camcorders: the Sony RX10 II.
Project: Action/Reaction
Create a short film using only a hybrid camera and one lens.
The Industry Goes Full Frame Mirrorless
The “world’s leading trade fair for imaging” – photokina – is happening later this month in Germany and that means lots of rumors and product announcements are flying around. The trend this year seems to be full frame mirrorless cameras, with Nikon and Canon announcing new systems.
Project Details: Sit/Stand
There are at least two situations where you will still see dedicated video cameras used consistently instead of hybrid cameras: event shoots and interviews. For this project – Sit/Stand – you’ll be using dedicated video cameras to record a sit-down interview and a lecture.
Lesson 4.2: Panasonic AF100 and Sony AX2000
This week, we’re looking at two dedicated video cameras: the Panasonic AF100 and the Sony AX2000. These two camcorders have some interesting similarities and differences, but they both offer the kinds of benefits you only get when filming on a dedicated video camera.
Lesson 4.1: Camcorders
The term “camcorder” has sort of an unfortunate connotation; it calls to mind the low-quality home movie cameras that were ubiquitous in the 1990s and early 2000s, before video-capable DSLRs shook up the industry.
Five Films Shot on Hybrid Cameras
Need some filmmaking inspiration? Courtesy of Lights Film School, here are five independent feature films shot on DSLRs and mirrorless hybrid cameras.
Compression and Depth of Field
In these videos, the gang at Fstoppers debunk some of the common misconceptions about sensor size and lens properties.
Project Details: Action/Reaction
For this project, you’ll be working in groups of two. Using either a Panasonic GH3 or GH4, I’d like you to create a short film that is between 20 and 60 seconds long and contains between two and ten shots. The theme of this project is “Action/Reaction.”
Lesson 3.2: Panasonic GH3 and GH4
At a glance, these cameras are basically identical; the GH4 has a locking mode dial and an extra setting on the drive dial, but that’s basically it. That makes it fairly easy to move from one camera to the other, but there are a few key differences between them that we’ll discuss shortly.
Lesson 3.1: Hybrid Cameras
Let’s start diving into the specific features of the cameras in our collection. This week, we’re focusing on two very similar hybrid cameras from Panasonic – the GH3 and GH4. I want to start with hybrid cameras for a few reasons.
Is Aperture Affected by Crop Factor?
There is some debate in the filmmaking community – even among professionals – as to whether sensor-size crop factor should be applied to aperture.
Lesson 2.2: Sensors and The Exposure Triangle
We’ve already discussed how the focal length of a lens affects field of view. A 24mm lens will see a wider angle of view than a 70mm lens. However, there is another factor that affects angle of view – the size of the sensor inside of the camera being used.
Lesson 2.1: Glass
A camera lens is primarily defined by three qualities: its focal length (or focal range), maximum aperture (or maximum aperture range), and mount.
An Impassioned Defense of 24 FPS
The always informative John Hess of Filmmaker IQ delivers a stirring defense of the standard film frame rate – 24 – in this new video. While frame rates of 48, 60, and higher are great for video games, virtual reality, and sports, 24 is still the ideal for cinema. Strap in for an epic rant as Hess explains why.
Decoding SD Cards
As we discussed briefly in the first lesson, SD cards are labeled in a maddeningly confusing way. This video from Gerald Undone breaks down the various symbols, rates, numbers, and abbreviations.
Lesson 1.2: The Language of Cameras
We should spend some time defining the terms that we’re going to be using.