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John Hess

This is why anamorphic lenses have oval bokeh… It’s nothing to do with the aperture

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After something of an at-home hiatus, John Hess at Filmmaker IQ is back and he’s dropped a doozy with his new video. Have you ever wondered why the bokeh in anamorphic lenses is oval-shaped? Have you ever wondered why it’s oriented in the wrong direction relative to the de-squeeze that anamorphic footage has to go through?

Well, it’s nothing to do with the aperture, as John explains in this video. Well, put into its simplest explanation, the reason is that you’re effectively shooting two different focal lengths simultaneously when you use an anamorphic lens. One for the horizontal field of view, and a different one for the vertical.

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This is the best explanation on the Internet about what dual ISO is and how it affects dynamic range

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The phrase “dual native ISO” seems to be coming to more and more cameras these days. Certainly not to all of them, but to many, especially when it comes to video. Panasonic’s done it with the GH5S, Blackmagic’s done it with the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, and it’s out there on a few more, too.

But what exactly is it? I mean, we get what the end result is, but how does it work? What is this voodoo? And how does it really affect how we shoot? John Hess from Filmmaker IQ dives deep into dual ISO and the effect it has on dynamic range with the BMPCC4K in this video, and it’s probably the best explanation I’ve seen so far on how it all works.

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What is middle grey and why does it even matter?

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Middle grey is a term we often hear mentioned when it comes to exposure for both photography and video. But exactly what “middle grey” means often causes heated debates. So, what is middle grey? And why is it important?

As a follow up to a recent post going into the science of exposure and metering, John Hess at Filmmaker IQ goes into depth into the meaning of middle grey. He explains why different people have different numbers for what middle grey is, and why it’s important to know the difference.

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How forced perspective works and the maths behind it

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Forced perspective is one of the most wonderfully creative tools photography affords. It allows us to create optical illusions that either baffle or simply amuse us. Or we can change the scale of items seamlessly with ease. We’ve seen it in popular movies and TV shows like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. We probably see it far more often than we realise.

But there’s often a lot of maths and science that goes into creating forced perspective, as you can see in the LoTR clip linked above. But it doesn’t always need to be as complex as one might think. This video from John Hess explains the mathematic and photographic principles that go into forced perspective and breaks it down into simple terms.

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What do all those people in movie credits actually do? Here’s who’s who

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Even since Ferris Bueller, the post-credit scene has become something that viewers have looked forward to from many movies. Recently, it’s commonly used (especially by Marvel) to tease a potential sequel or follow up movie. But to be able to watch them without waiting for them to appear on YouTube, you have to sit through all the credits. These credits list hundreds of names, but what do they all do? And what does “Best Boy” actually mean?

This video from John Hess at Filmmaker IQ is here to demystify them. It’s a very comprehensive breakdown of who does what and where everybody sits in the hierarchy. He explains the overall structure, as well as the different regulations governing how certain sections must laid out. John also talks about some of the differences between the credits in movies and TV shows.

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How to make your own DIY air-powered blood squibs

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Movie special effects usually come with a big price tag. They can be complicated, requiring specialised (and licensed) skill sets. Some are also very dangerous if not performed correctly. Blood squibs are no exception. They’re the packs that you see explode whenever somebody gets shot in a movie or TV show.

Traditionally, squibs hold a small explosive charge that detonates on demand. You’ll generally need to be licensed in order to create and use them, and there are all kinds of safety checks. There are safer options, though. Such as this one shown in this video from John Hess at Filmmaker IQ. We see us how to make our own (relatively) safe squibs using a very minimal list of ingredients..

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