It’s been over a year since I promised myself that I was going to get into the cinematography space and I finally did it. I shot and most importantly EDITED my first short feature film. Well, not so much a feature film as it was an intro feature for an emerging fashion brand but I did it and it was worth the procrastination.
When the folks behind DNMGD (Pronounced Denim God) approached me to help launch their new fashion line, the idea was simple; a black and white film that was focused on the artist behind the brand shot on a field with denim pieces laying around. That was all there was to the project, everything else was left to me. Having that much creative freedom meant I got to experiment but also brought on doubt; What if they didn’t like it? was the primary what if that stood at the fore of my mind as started planning and scripting the project and that is what this piece is all about…. Here’s what I learnt shooting my first fashion motion picture;
- Write a Script; Penning down your ideas in a sequence is probably as important as getting a camera to shoot the actual project. In the same way as photographers, we curate a shot list, it is important to pen down the idea and sequence you want to shoot the film. Shooting it sequentially isn’t a must but it does shave off a little bit of time in post-production.
- Get a Neutral Density(ND) Filter; You hear how important it is but you don’t acknowledge that until you need to shoot in the middle of the day or early evening with a shallow depth of field and your shots come off totally overexposed. Yes, you could compensate by increasing your shutter speed but if you’re looking for natural-looking motion blur, then you know what an incorrect shutter figure can cause. The correlating shutter speed to frame rate guide is a good place to start (your shutter speed must always be double your frame rate) if you want natural-looking motion blur.
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Getting a Gimbal is Necessity: We underestimate just how much we as humans shake even when we are consciously trying to be steady. Getting a gimbal is very necessary but if you (like me) aren’t a full-time filmmaker, then you can do with makeshift items (like using the boom connector and boom pole to achieve smooth tilt and pan shots). Unless you’re purposefully aiming for the shaky came feel, getting some sort of stabilization is a good idea.
- Music is Crucial to establishing an Emotional Connection in your Film: Getting the right background score/sound is very important. This was one of the first decisions I made and ran through the brand. Getting the sound just right shaped part of the post-production process and contributed greatly to the final feel of the project.
- Be open to Last Minute Changes: There’s bound to be a last-minute bout of inspiration during the shoot or on the editing floor. Completely shutting the door to possible changes might devoid you of the chance to make your film even better but on the flip side, opening the door to every possible change you conceive last minute could completely throw you off course or worse… delay the project. Learning to strike a balance and sieve through ideas will ensure you’re always on track.
To watch the DNMGD, click here.
