5 Beginner Filmmaking Tips for Cinematic Videos
For beginner filmmakers, here are quick steps to create cinematic footage
Filmmaking is an art. Everyone has their own style but some techniques are universal.
In this blog post, we will discuss several important considerations for filmmakers in order to create cinematic videos that are engaging and visually appealing.
Some of these tips are more relevant than others depending on your style of filmmaking. For example, making videos for movies requires a different set of skills compared to TV shows or documentaries. This blog post gathers filmmaking tips from experienced filmmakers so that beginners can get more out of their work.
1) LIGHTING
Photo by Kal Visuals (@KalVisuals)
Lighting is an essential part of filmmaking and photography. It has the power to shape mood, develop plot, and illuminate objects.
When we talk about lighting for filmmaking we often think of the lighting technician who sets up the light in a scene. But there are also other types of lights such as:
-Key light: The main source of illumination in a scene. It’s usually placed slightly above the subject to create depth and dimension in a shot.
-Fill light: A secondary source of illumination that softens shadows created by key light and reduces contrast in all but the brightest parts of the frame.
-Backlight: A source that shines on a subject from behind, often positioned high or far to one side so that it creates strong highlights on the top or one side
“Lighting is a key element to the mood of any film. It can be the difference between a happy and cheerful scene or a mysterious and ominous scene. One of the most important lights in any lighting setup is the key light. The key light has a heavy influence on how a shot looks and feels. “
Photographer, filmmaker, storyteller Kyle DeGuzman
2) SHOOT IN 60FPS IF YOU PLAN ON DOING SLOW MOTION IN POST PRODUCTION
If you are planning on using slow motion in post production, you might want to shoot the footage in 60fps so that you can slow the footage down smoothly in post.
If you are not planning on using slow motion in post production, but want to shoot at 30 fps, you can also use a program like Adobe After Effects to change the frame rate of the video.
“Anything higher than 30fps is usually reserved for recording busy scenes with a lot of motion, such as video games, athletics, or anything you want to show in slow motion.”
Content creator, educator and experienced instructional designer Doug Brunner.
Photo by Share Grid (@ShareGrid)
3) FOR SMOOTHER SHOTS...
Cameras have a tendency of zooming in and out, sometimes capturing unwanted elements of the shot. A wide-angle lens can help capture more of your surroundings and make your experience more comfortable.
The best way to take a smoother video is to move slow and steady with your knees slightly bent. You should also hold the camera close to your body with elbows tucked by your ribs.
Florian from Of Two Lands talks about this here -
4) FOR BETTER QUALITY AUDIO
For better quality audio it is recommended to place the microphone 6-14 inches from the subject, offering the best sound quality.. This distance is also optimal for close-talking interviews.
“In overhead booming the mic is suspended above and slightly ahead of the subject. Overhead booming is the most favored technique since, in most situations, it provides the most natural sounding dialogue with the least amount of mixing.”
Production supervisor for New York University's Institute of Film and TV Louis La Volpe
5) SOUND EFFECTS
Photo by Peter Stumpf (@Peter_s)
Sound effects are an important part of post-production. They add a subtle but firm elevation to production quality and should not be considered an afterthought
For example, if you're editing a movie scene where someone is walking down the street, adding sounds of cars passing by or people talking in the background brings depth to the scene. A lack of sound effects makes it feel like a vacuum.
Many tools allow you to create sound effects while editing video clips. They often have large libraries of sounds from different sources so it can be difficult choosing which one to use. If you're editing a music video with loud guitars and drums, for example, then there's no need to add these types of sounds in post production because they were already recorded during the filming process.
If you're looking for a specific sound effect, you can use an online resource such as SoundBible.com
“Think about the audio brilliance of Ben Burtt’s work on Star Wars or the subtle art of sound effects in great horror films like the Alien franchise. Modern movies are using sound in new and exciting ways that push the envelope on how films tell their stories.”
Writer of Studio Binder Drew Gula
Can you think of a 6th step to make a video more cinematic? Let us know, share it with our community of content creators, filmmakers, photographers on our Facebook group!