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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

This Article Features Photo Zoom

DSLRs are being used to shoot a number of features, including I Melt with You (above), Silent House and Act of Valor.

Silent House

Even for the most inexperienced filmmakers, it's not too difficult to produce professional-looking footage with a DSLR for a short film. If you don't believe me, simply go to Vimeo and type "DSLR" in the search box. Literally thousands of shorts will appear, all shot with a DSLR, and many of them are of extremely high quality. Upon closer examination, you'll see many of the producers are not only amateurs, but some aren't even out of junior high. They make it look so easy that one may have the impression that anyone can achieve cinematic results with these cameras.

The world of feature films is a little different, however, and one shouldn't allow the quantity or quality of shorts on the Internet, nor the inexperience of their producers, to bolster one's confidence. Over the course of the last year, I've had an opportunity to visit with a few filmmakers who have braved the waters of a full-length DSLR feature.

These veteran cinematographers just happened to use this camera system because it made sense. Although he admits he was apprehensive about using DSLRs on the feature I Melt with You, director of photography Eric Schmidt was ultimately sold on the format's dexterity. "The best part is that you end up with a handheld system that weighs about 12 pounds," says Schmidt. "The freedom to shoot handheld, to crouch down, to throw it under your arm, switch shoulders or stick it out of a window was the greatest part of shooting with this camera system."

Act of Valor

Still, others were inspired to use DSLRs not only because of the results, but because the cameras have democratized feature production so that anyone with a story and a little knowledge can achieve cinematic results. As one of the founders of the DSLR movement and cinematographer on the feature Act of Valor, Shane Hurlbut, ASC, explains, "I became sold on this technology when I saw how it's going to give people a chance and how it's going to change the way we make movies. It's going to save us money, which then saves us fuel, and it saves us food, and it saves us water, and it saves us...."

The following is the culmination of the hard-won wisdom of some cinematographers who have shot features using DSLRs. Surely, all the answers aren't here, and even if they were, each production has a life of its own with unforeseen challenges. It should, however, provide a starting point to take you out of the realm of shorts and into the world of feature filmmaking.

PREPRODUCTION
An old college professor of mine used to say, "It's a lot cheaper to make your mistakes on paper than to make them on set." You might be able to knock out a short without a script, but you'll dig yourself in a hole pretty quickly if you don't have a well-thought-out and well-written script. Your script is your plan and will determine everything, from your locations to your cast and crew.

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