Depth of Field- The Film Look

[bretoncrackers]

I find that the look that everyone wants (the film look) but finds hard to describe and achieve is attainable through three things.

Number 1- proper framing
follow the rule of thirds and compose your shots like a pro. Noone wants to see all master shots or all closeups or jittery footage. Think hollywood, but without the budget.

Number 2- proper lighting
lighting your scene properly is HUGELY important, ignore the people who tell you that you can fix lighting in post. If you have shadows somewhere, make sure they are there for effect or for the scene, not because you're too lazy to get rid of them.

Number 3- DEPTH OF FIELD
This is what sets apart hollywood and home movies. You know the whole thing in movies where the person is in focus and the background is all blurry, and it looks so professional. Thats using a shallow depth of field. I find the best way to achieve this is to back up your camera and zoom in slightly, toy with your lighting, and if you have manual focus use it, and if you have manual aperture settings, use them. Between your lighting kit and your aperture, you should be able to find a balance that makes the depth of field more shallow.

The following is a screenshot from my latest and greatest film "Law and Disorder" and it was shot with a home video camera. The whole shot turned out quite nicely. I ran it through magic bullet, and i have to say this is one of the more filmic shots ive done.

<img src="http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e390/ ... kers/2.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

If anyone else has suggestions on how to make your depth of field more shallow, id love to hear them, or better yet, post some screenshots.



<img src="http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e390/ ... kers/2.jpg" alt="screenshot">

[bretoncrackers]

[maj_barnes]

I didn't back up as far, and I zoomed in closer. It would have looked somewhat the same if I didn't zoom in as much, but it made it look cool for that shot.

You can see me in the glasses. I'm about four feet away.

[bretoncrackers]

i like it, well composed shot. How far away is the background?

[maj_barnes]

Thanks.

Ooo, not sure, it was a parking lot, let me look at the footage...

Edit:
Maybe 20 feet.

[John Groshko]

Who's the people is the reflection of the guy's sunglasses?

[maj_barnes]

One was me (on the right), and the other was one of the other actors (in the right). I made sure to keep everyone in the same place, because alot of the time, the sunglasses shown where alot of the people were, and their reactions. That was the only shot that I was seen in, I did have one other, but we redid it because I caught it.

[ctbullet]

clever stuff,

about lighting, i have found thats the biggest problem getting them on location low budget wise, some people can afford these high tech film-making lamps, but is there a cheap way of doing it, getting a power supply on location?

[bretoncrackers]

If you want to go really guerilla and you are lighting a wide shot, if you have a car, then flipping on the cars headlights can mean the difference between a bad shot and a mediocre one. If you want to go for a different look, flip on your high beams. Beyond that, carry a couple extension cords.

[ctbullet]

are there no cheap portable power supplies, for ease other than a car, like a car battery?

[UFProductions]

You can get portable power supplies with conventional 120 volt plugs on them. Basically it's a crate on wheels with two car batteries, a charger and a DC to AC converter all built in. I can find you a pic if you'd like.