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Watch and learn how to light and shoot cinematic looking interviews

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Interviews are just a fact of life for those of us who shoot video. At some point, we’ll either choose to or find ourselves talked into shooting one at some point. Or, perhaps it’s your goal. Maybe you want to learn how to film interviews or you’re already doing it but feel you could get a bit more out of them and want to step up your game a little? Well, have a watch of this video from Jono and Jason.

In the video, Jason walks us through the process of shooting a more cinematic style of interview, from picking your shooting location, through composition and lighting to getting the best audio. They’re a small channel just starting out, but if they keep putting out content like this, I think they’ll do quite well.

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I started shooting with gaffer tape on my LCD to force myself to think differently

I’m sure over the last few years all of us photographers have heard the word CINEMATIC so much that in the end, it lost all meaning. Is every photo with crushed backs and a cyan-orange color grade cinematic? I’d say NO! So today I’ll try to explore what are the factors that add up for an image to be cinematic and what can make or break the cinematic vibe of a shot.

It all started while I was watching a video from Grainydays on YouTube where Jason was using a panoramic camera, the Fujifilm TX-1. A vintage camera that creates panoramic images by exposing 2 shots on film at the same time to get an image that has an aspect ratio of 65×25. The entire concept caught my interest, but since I don’t have ~$6000 lying around to spend on a vintage camera and I don’t shoot film either, I went the DIY route and taped 2 strips of gaffers tape to the LCD of my camera and took it out for a test.

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New Apple ad shows all the crazy ways to use iPhone 12 in Hollywood movies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL2xVs6uI0s&ab_channel=Apple

Even though I’m not an Apple fangirl, I have to admit that the iPhone has come a long way when it comes to camera capabilities. It’s the only smartphone that supports Dolby Vision, so Apple wanted to demonstrate what it can do. In this one-minute ad, you can see a preview of all the crazy, creative, and unexpected ways an iPhone 12 Pro can be used in a Hollywood movie.

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Colour in cinema: Abstract colour in Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira

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Many new people who find my work today, think my lighting is simply inspired by me watching a couple of modern films. Either that or I get asked which photographer inspires me the most. The truth behind my lighting and colour inspiration is routed far further back than that though, and not even by cinematographers or photographers at all.

Although I’ve never consciously tried to be inspired by this, my best guess assessment of what inspired me and my work all those years ago was in fact not a photographer at all, but rather a comic.

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How to create the Wakui cinematic look in Lightroom and Photoshop

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Applying a cinematic effect to your nighttime city photos is a popular way to turn them from snapshots into something special, like in the examples of Masashi Wakui. I’ve been following his work for years, and finally wanted to try and figure out how this effect is done, without using any plugins in Lightroom and Photoshop. The key parts of this technique are the crushed blacks, the glow in the highlights, and the colour toning.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to recreate this effect by hand in Lightroom and Photoshop, adding a cinematic look to the photo below. The basis of this technique is to use an extreme white balance that is then recovered by split-toning.

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Want to shoot cinematic b-roll? Follow these three crucial steps

Adding B-roll to your videos will without a doubt adds to their value and makes them more interesting and dynamic. But, you gotta do it right. In this awesome video from StudioBinder, you will learn more about the B-roll, its significance and the ways you can utilize it in your video work. The guys also share three crucial steps to nailing your B-roll and making it cinematic and professional-looking, so let’s get right into it.

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Level up your DJI Pocket Osmo videos with these three cinematic Hollywood shots

The DJI Osmo Pocket is tiny, but powerful 3-axis motorized gimbal. With 4K 60fps video capabilities and its small size, it can come in handy in many situations. In this video, Josh Yeo shows you three Hollywood-style cinematic shots that will help you level up your videos with DJI Osmo Pocket.

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How to shoot cinematic footage on the cheap even with an entry-level camera

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When you want to shoot a professional-looking video, gear isn’t essential, but we can’t deny that pro gear sure can come in handy. However, if you only have an entry-level DSLR or mirrorless camera, don’t let it discourage you from creating. In this video from Mark Bone, you’ll learn a few tricks on how to turn even a cheap camera into a tool for creating cinematic videos.

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Here’s what it looks like to shoot a cinematic video with a $94 camera

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As we have seen before (more than once), you can take photos even with a potato. And what about video? Can you make it cinematic with a crappy camera? YouTuber Potato Jet didn’t use a potato to shoot a cinematic video, but he limited himself to a $94 compact camera and some items from a dollar store. Let’s see how it turned out.

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How to effectively light black & white shots for a dramatic look

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Lighting scenes for shooting in black & white is a little different from working with colour. For a start, you don’t have to worry about colour. Brightness, direction and quality of light come into play a lot more. This can simultaneously make shooting for black & white both easier and more challenging at the same time.

In this video, Nerris from the A-Team gets together with cinematographer Justin Jones to walk us through the thought process of shooting for black and white. [Read More…]

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