What Camera will I need to make a film
When I first started making films I used a Sony Video8 video camera. I wasn’t concerned about the video quality of the images, I was more concerned about telling a story visually and capturing the images I saw in my head and recreating the story using a video camera.
When I first made films I used a VHS VCR to record and edit the film sequentially using what is termed crash editing. This method of editing is extremely primitive, prone to errors, pulling your hair out of frustration and destroying your VCR because it wasn’t build to do this type of editing.
Video Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio of the camera was the same as a TV 4:3 (720 pixels wide x 576 pixels high PAL). The problem with an aspect ratio of 4:3 is that it will be fine for television. But when it comes to transferring the video to film stock to be projected on a cinema screen, you have to chop off part of the top and bottom of the image to make it a wide enough to be shown on a wide cinema screen. This means basically the quality of your film will look crap.
Today you can get a HD video camera with a wider aspect ratio of 16:9(wide screen) which is perfect you transferring video to film stock to be projected on a cinema screen. The resolution is greater at 1090 pixels wide x 1080 pixels high. Which gives more pixels to a picture as opposed to the 4:3 aspect ratio and the picture quality fare more superior. You can also shoot at 25 frames per second using a HD camera which is the same frame rate that film stock cameras shoot at.
Before you rush out and buy a camera, you need to think about the sound quality.
Synchronizing Sound and Quality of Sound
When a film is shot on film stock the sound is recorded separately on a DAT or digital record. Which means when you edit the film you have to sync the sound up with the footage. A clapper board is used when shooting scenes as a visual aid for syncing up the sound with the footage. Video cameras record sound as well as the video, so the sound is already synchronized with the video.
If you record sound for a scene from the video camera’s build in microphone, you may not be able to hear the actors, but you will hear the director talking in the background what they think of the actor/s. You need a video camera that has a microphone jack which will allow you to plug in an external mike. Using a long cable and a boom pole (window cleaners telescopic pole converted to hold a mike) you can get the mike close to the actors, but of course make sure mike doesn’t show in the picture frame.
Borrow, Hire or Buy a Camera
When you hire a camera it could be expensive if you are shooting a film over days or weeks and there is the problem of availability. Sorry it’s booked out till next week. Bugger!!! Or you can borrow a friends camera, but then what if you drop it? Oops sorry, it doesn’t work anymore, but thanks for letting me use it. Not good for keeping friends. My philosophy is buy your own equipment and you can shoot a film any time you want and you can offer to shoot a film for fellow filmmakers as a Cinematographer. Because it is your equipment you will look after it more carefully which will extend its working life.
Specs to look for when buying a video camera to make films
So far from what has been discussed in this article, when you go to buy a camera you will need to be sure it has the following specifications:
- HD Video cameraHighest video image resolution 1090px X 1080px
- Frame rates (standard fps) make sure it has 24p fps (frames per second) for film transfer
- Mike Jack for external mike
Now what I have explained is just a basic explanation on what type of camera you will need to shoot a film. There are a lot more things you need to consider, such as
- Storage of footage e.g. DVD, Hard Drive or Memory sticks
- 3 CCD 3 separate video capturing chips that capture Red, Blue and Green (Professional)
- Inter-changeable lenses
- Microphone Jacks 3.5mm, XLR (professional)
References
High Definition Video Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_video
Aspect Ratio Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4:3#4:3_standard
Filmmaking Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmmaking
I hope this article has been helpful. If you have any questions or suggestions why not leave a comment.
Related Articles
What Equipment You Need To Make A Films: http://www.fandangle.com.au/how-to-make-films/92-what-equipment-do-i-need-to-make-a-film.html
Four Steps to Filmmaking http://www.fandangle.com.au/how-to-make-films/148-four-steps-to-filmmaking.html
Where to Start to Learn about Filmmaking http://www.fandangle.com.au/how-to-make-films/89-where-to-start-to-learn-about-filmmaking.html
