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Film Production
for the DVX100, DVX100a and DVX100b
The Panasonic DVX -
Do It Yourself - Low Budget - Indie Filmmaking Community |
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Cinematic Angles and Camera Movements for Your DVX100 Film
by Thomas Jackson
In the world of
digital movies and film production; especially for us
do-it-yourselfers and independent filmmakers there’s one thing that
we can all agree on: we fight to be taken seriously. But, as we all
know, that’s a tough fight to fight. Working with no budgets and on
a resource-only basis, we can’t always expect our little digital
film projects to be invited onto the big boys’ playground. So we
have to be way more creative, adaptable and resourceful to even make
an impact that’ll stand out in the minds of our viewers. One way we
can do that is to give them what they automatically expect:
cinematic production value.
What’s one
of the first things that an audience notices when watching a
movie? The images. I’m not talking about the extras such as
special effects and A-list actors, I mean just the most basic
factor in the structure of our images within the movie
production. Simply put: our camera angles and framing. “Yeah,
right!” you say. Well, it’s more important than you think. It’s
the most fundamental yet subliminally appreciated building
blocks when making a film and video production stand out.
Pros vs. Joes
Okay, here’s
a test. Take your digital camcorder and hand it to anyone you
know that doesn’t make films. Then tell him/her to take a shot
of you reciting the alphabet, acting out a scene or anything
random. Where do they hold the camera?
Chances are it’s resting on their palm, eye-level and straight.
Just like the way home movies are made. Get the point? Whenever
an audience watches a movie they automatically expect certain
camera angles and movements the way they associate home movies
to stuff on YouTube. And if your film doesn’t stand out from
home movies, then that’s exactly what they’ll equate and
associate it to.
So an
absolutely inexpensive way to raise your production value up a
few notches is to be conscious of your angles, framing and
composition.
The Best Form of Flattery
A super-easy
way to emulate the framing, angles and composition of big-budget
cinema is to watch movies! Just watch movies that deal with the
genre of your film and get ideas. Note the framing of the
actors. Be mindful of camera placement. What do the main angles
look like? Just watch your favorite movies, pause the DVD, set
up your camera and copy the angle. It sounds simple and it is.
You also might say that it’s stealing, but let me say this:
movies have been made for a hundred plus years. You’re not the
first and you won’t be the last, so don’t worry.
If you don’t
have the kind of time to sit through a lot of movies, you can
also take the shortcut by going online and watching various
movie trailers. Movie trailers and previews are a great source
of ideas because it shows a lot of material in a little amount
of time - plus the shots are the best shots that were chosen to
represent that movie to the masses.
By stepping
up the movie production quality of our no-budget independent
digital films, it’ll give us the opportunity to not only open up
closed doors, it’ll open up closed minds as well. Happy movie
watching!
Do
YOU have a cheap, low budget, do-it-yourself DVX100 tip or trick that
you'd like to contribute?
If so, just email it to
us and we'll post it up!
Thanks
for helping the grass roots grow!
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