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Click to EnlargeTutorial - Getting That Film Look
How often do we still hear the term, filming, when everyone really means videotaping? [See Viewfinder, May 2008] While we easily forgive friends or even clients as they repeat this misnomer, there is a certain underlying expectation that is hard to quantify. Projects shot with film simply look better. In most cases, the look that only film offers is synonymous with quality, large-budget productions.
Fortunately, there are several popular techniques and software packages that, when used properly, will go a long way toward making your next video production look like it was shot using film. For this tutorial we'll focus on just the techniques, but check out the sidebar for links to software solutions.
First, we need to reset our mental stage. Let's start by pretending that you have just spent $350 on a 400-foot roll of 35mm film that lasts only about 25 minutes. You carefully load it into your $150,000 Panavision camera and are about to shout "Action" to Angelina Jolie. A little nervous? Unsure about your exposure, frame rate, shutter speed and lighting? You should be, because get any of these wrong, and it will cost you more than just a lot of money.
This scenario simply emphasizes how important it is to understand the basics of video production. If you approach creating video with the same care as you would in the above scenario, you will have more than half of what it takes to achieve the look of film. Now let's dig into specific …
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