A thanks to those who had the fortitude to read through the post on 16mm filming with the old Bolex H16. If you were nostalgic then be prepared to be thrilled with modern practice. I know I am.
This may be hard to read if you are an experienced videographer, because the writer isn't, and has only come to the business in the last year. But modern video shooting for me is seen in light reflected from the older technology, and I am delighted with what I see. My favoured system is Fujifilm but all the other good video cameras and systems are equally wonderful.
How do I shoot on my Fujifilm X-T2?
- Set the film simulation I like - in my case Pro Neg Hi.
- Set the ISO to either 1250 or Auto.
- Set the shutter speed to either 1/50 or 1/125 sec.
- Set the lens on Auto aperture.
- Set the lens focus to Continuous.
- Tilt the LCD screen so that I can see it easily.
- Point the rig.
- Press the button.
When the scene is done - I either review it on the screen to make sure I got what I wanted, or just turn the camera off to save battery power. When I get home:
- Pop the SD card out of the camera and into the computer.
- Open the card and find video files.
- Poke the file I want to see and watch it open and play on the screen.
- If I am feeling fancy I stitch together the sequences with iMovie, export it to an Mp4, and save it...or record it on a thumb drive for someone else.
And that's it. I can hear the sound that the microphone recorded in perfect synch with the vision and that vision is generally in focus and always perfectly exposed. Did I forget to mention the 18mm to 135mm zoom lens? I have to turn that manually to change the field of view, but I've been told not to zoom it too much or the audience will hate me.
The business of still photography is amazing in the digital age, but I am starting to think it is not nearly as wonderful an experience as the video features of the cameras. I am fortunate in that I do not have too many choices of technological settings in my camera for post production and my audiences are unsophisticated enough to not worry about them anyway.
I am also fortunate in that the stories I shoot largely tell themselves. My level of video sophistication roughly equates to what someone would have done in the 50's with 8mm home cinema. My reels sometimes appear on Instagram but that is because of the artistry of the dancer who thinks them up.
However, every show gets a little better, and the only consumables costs are thumb drives and studio snacks. Contrast this with the old film business that saw money flowing out to Kodak for the stock and processing -
every single time.
So - when are you going to take the plunge and turn your digital camera control past the still position to the little icon that looks like a motion picture reel? There's things happening all the time - all over the town - and some of them are better seen moving than keeping still. It has never been easier to make your mirror-less or DSLR into the movie camera you never dreamed of before.
Note: Do it, but if your camera can take a plug-in microphone, come in to CE and get one of the Røde microphones to suit. The difference it will make to your new film is unbelievable.
