New camera

Well, purchased in November 2018 actually. I made the decision to retire my venerable HMC151 video camera that had served me for almost 6 years. It is a reliable camcorder, solidly built and would probably still work after Armageddon, with its last video job serving as a found footage discovery for humanity's successor in the year 20,000. The 10 year old video camera just couldn't match the high demand for its modern cinematic and 4K competition. My Canon DSLR produces very nice footage but at the end of the day, it is a stills camera with a video record function.

Having finished my masters, I decided that the Canon C300 was the camera I needed/wanted. The C300 is like an assimilation of my HMC151 and my DSLR. The major selling point for me was its ability to use the same lenses as my DSLR. With all that glass, it made sense to stick to Canon and save myself a lot money. I chose the C300 because of its recording format which gives it native advantage over the C100. The C100 uses the AVCHD codec which limits its bitrate to 25mbps (The same as my HMC151). The C100 can have its full potential unlocked through the use of an external HDMI recorder but this would have increased my spending. Having used the C100 and Ninja Recorder for most of my final masters project, I found this a little bit awkward and a hassle to setup.

But with the C300, I can record HD footage at 50mbps with 4:2:2 colour straight off the camera onto CF cards. To be honest, I have loads of SD cards and no suitable CF cards but thankfully the C300 package I purchased came with two SanDisk Extreme 32gig cards which makes life very easy. I was also happy to receive the monitor attachment with SDI connectors which allows me to see what I'm recording as well as accept XLR input for my microphone.

Straight away, I jumped into using the C300 for all video jobs. The weight and size of the camera means I can anchor it against my body to keep it steady during shooting. This was something that I could not do with my DSLR unless I used a shoulder rig to prevent the awful rolling shutter jelly effect. But my God, the best part of the C300 is its lowlight performance. As a rule, I would never push my ISO past 800 when using the DSLR but even though the C300's native ISO is 850, going way over 1000 produces very little visual noise. This means, in low light conditions I can correctly expose my shots without worrying about grain/noise ruining my footage.

And all the features and display options that makes life so easy for run and gun video work. With peaking, I can see exactly what's in focus and adjust on the fly without worrying about blurry footage. And all those features that help with adjusting exposure, again, making life so much more easier for me. As you would expect from a professional video camera, you can also manually dial in white balance by specifying the colour temperature in increments of 100.

But all these positive points doesn't mean it's perfect. In fact, my only major criticism came about last week when I found myself shooting a music video. The band's lighting arsenal included strobe lights which I knew straight away would cause issues for the C300's rolling shutter. For the record, my HMC151 uses 3CCDs. Old tech but CCDs don't suffer from the same issue that affect the CMOS sensors in modern cameras. With a rolling shutter, very fast changes in lighting such as strobe lights or cameras flashes will appear in footage on half of the image. Obviously, this affects the aesthetic quality of the footage which can be very annoying for a perfectionist like myself. Imagine a situation where you need to make footage look like film but the rolling shutter artefacts spoil things and reveals a digital camera in disguise. Thankfully, I don't see myself facing this situation with fast flashing lights often so I'm prepared to let it slide.   

Overall, I definitely don't regret choosing this camera and I am certain I will still be using it for the next 10 years. As a tool for my video production work, it's perfect. For Visual Effects where high quality is important, it's also perfect. And, I'm certain that when I eventually get round to putting my film projects into production, it will also score perfectly in that capacity too.   

  

Why I went back to using my video camera

My venerable Panasonic HMC-151 video camera was gathering dust for years but I recently brought it out of storage and gave it another chance at life. The reason? It's a proper video camera. I had been using my Canon DSLR on a shoulder rig while performing my duties as a B cameraman, filming corporate stuff. The main camera guy would do interviews and such like and he had all the necessary audio bits to record sound and stuff. However, as my role became more prominent, I found myself on shoots where I was the only cameraman and this of course meant that I was now responsible for filming interviews. Without adequate audio input for my DSLR, I found myself recording interview audio separately, using an external recorder. Camera work then became a balancing act where I had to simultaneously monitor and adjust audio levels while keeping my eye on the camera. 

And so, that was when I decided to dust off the Panasonic video camera and here's why:

Audio Input:

For me, film/video production requires equal attention to both audio and visuals. Many times I have found myself watching content that has good quality visuals but the audio is lacking, perhaps because the creator neglected to give this any attention and might have relied on their camera's internal mic. With my Panasonic video camera being semi-professional (prosumer?) I have the option of two XLR inputs for audio and man, the clarity and control you have is beautiful. You get a levels monitor on the LCD display and a physical dial on the camera body. Furthermore, you can actually hook up headphones for listening which is something my DSLR lacks. Granted, the DSLR does have a standard jack for mic input but I always struggle with getting decent audio without noise.

Auto Focus:

The DSLR's ability to achieve shallow depth of field is also its weakness. Sure, manual focus is something that should be practiced as a skill but the auto focus that you take for granted on video cameras is a lifesaver when you need to quickly get a shot without spending a second racking the focus wheel. With my Panasonic video camera, shallow depth of field is not something that can be achieved easily but the ability to switch between manual and auto focus is still present on the camera. Having said that, if I want to throw the background out of focus I can easily do so by zooming in on the subject from a distance while ensuring the background is a fair distance away. By doing this, it becomes possible to achieve a shallow depth of field without a large sensor DSLR, which leads me onto my next point.

Zoom:

The DSLR is brilliant for its ability to changes lenses which is something that makes them really attractive for film makers. However, it can sometimes get frustrating when you want to switch lenses or have to move around more if you're using prime lenses. With the Panasonic video camera, you can go from wide to very tight telephoto with either servo or even faster with the manual zoom ring. You forget how useful this is when you become so used to swapping DSLR lenses. Plus, all those DSLR lenses can get rather expensive when you realise you need so many different ones. Plus, think of weight and space when you need to bring them along on a shoot.

Sensor:

Yep, the large sensor on the DSLR produces a really decent image with all that shallow depth of field goodness but rolling shutter CMOS can produce some rather nasty artifacts. Jelly footage during fast panning and awful looking shaky handheld shots (in the absence of adequate stabilisation) can really ruin the look of an otherwise decent looking shot. Plus, sometimes the footage can look like it was shot on a mobile phone camera which begs the question, why not just shoot on your phone? With the Panasonic and its CCD sensors, these problems are not present and believe me, it really gives you peace of mind not having to worry about all those additional implications. Plus, the weight of the camera makes handheld shots appear fairly stabilised without the need to use a shoulder rig.

The Professional image:

I'm not talking about the quality of footage here, I mean the way others perceive you. Turn up to a shoot with a DSLR and people assume you're there to take photos. This is common when I'm out on a shoot and suddenly your subject stops whatever they're doing to pose for what they think is a photograph. I then find myself having to "politely" inform them that I'm shooting video and not taking photos...Also, there's just something about having a big black video camera that screams pro which is something you don't get with a consumer DSLR and cheap 1.8 lens. Every time I'm out on a shoot and someone sees me with my Panasonic video camera, I get comments like "Wow, that's an impressive camera" and so on. You really establish your reputation as a serious and professional cameraman when you have a professional video camera. 

I still use my DSLR though, don't get me wrong, the footage you can get is fantastic looking but it's better off being treated as a B Camera and not your main one. These days, on a shoot, I take both. You setup the video camera with all of its peripherals so people can see that you're a pro camera guy. You then go around getting a few shots with the DSLR before switching over to the video camera when you need to do interviews with decent audio. I've even reached the point, in my mind, where I want to shoot movies with my Panasonic video camera. I know, with proper attention to lighting and composition, I can achieve results that are on par with the DSLR footage while benefiting from all the advantages that a dedicated video camera provides. 

Budget (or how to fund your film (or how to spend as little money as possible making your film))

Ambition is a good thing but being an ambitious filmmaker can cost you a lot of money. If I want to make a film, I don't feel satisfied enough making one with available resources. I often get told to just make loads of films, keep that ball rolling but it's not that easy for me. I can't motivate myself to do something just for the sake of it. For me, there has to be specific purpose. I won't just go for a drive unless I need to be somewhere, for example, so I won't just make a film spontaneously. I wasn't always like that though. When I was younger, I would randomly make a film, as an activity with friends, with a senseless plot and random tomfoolery. These shorts that we used to make are a source of great embarrassment for my friends who don't take kindly to me talking about them. But still, I could learn a lot from my younger self, during those awkward times growing up. For me, "experimenting" as a teenager meant filming anything with a camera. The main difference these days is, if I start a project I have to finish it, meaning, I have to be sure that I will finish it before I attempt it. Used to, I would just start something without the end goal in mind and often the project would remain incomplete. Naturally, I now do fewer projects these days since the recent compulsion to finish what I started has taken over my life and guided me. 

Anyway, I digress. It's easy to forget that you're not just spending money on props and equipment. You have to pay actors and crew. Okay, so you can get people to work on your film for expenses and food only but this still costs you money. Personally, I would not make a film without paying my cast and crew. I know how frustrating it is to work for experience and exposure so the philanthropist in me feels obliged to help people out. In my first year at university, the lecturer showed us this triangle where each point was labelled with "Good idea, time and money". He then said, if you have two of these points then you can make a great film. Okay, so it's probably more complicated than that but it's a good starting point. So, for me, money is a major constraint which means I have to make do with good idea and time. The two complement each other, somewhat. If you have a lot of time, no looming deadline for example, then you can formulate your idea and write a great story. With all that time, you can also save up money and gradually build your film up from scratch. Patience and commitment is important under these circumstances and it becomes very easy to give up. You spend a little bit of money here and there, while working your day job (or jobs) then it all adds up. 

So what I am going to do over the next few months, is share my methodology for producing a movie and saving money wherever possible, hopefully helping other people in a similar situation. I have numerous documents on my computer where I have attempted to write up a proposal to use for a indie go go or kick starter campaign but I thought screw it. It won't work for me if I have a load of money suddenly thrown at me. Granted, it might be different for other people but part of me likes the challenge, the struggle and the uncertainty. As some people tell me, "beg, borrow and steal" basically do whatever is necessary to get something done. Obviously, don't steal but you get what I mean. Why not take on the role of DOP as well as director? Why pay someone to make music for your film when you can learn to do it yourself? Think of the satisfaction! There's no excuse not to these days with the internet and its ever expanding well of resources. Can't afford certain equipment? Buy second hand or borrow. Again, use the internet to find cheaper alternatives. For example, with YouTube, you can assess the suitability of certain equipment by watching reviews or examples of someone else's work and then make your mind up about a camera that shoots pro looking footage and is cheaper than the camera you originally considered. But remember, as long as you have your great idea and time then it'll be fine.     

My time at university as a film student

I started university at a very interesting time for film/video technology. It was 2009 and I had only been using a solid state video camera for 9 months. This was around the time when 35mm DOF adapters were the craze and the must have accessory for getting that coveted "film look". Many people were still using mini-DV camcorders, the same format that many of the early high def camcorders used. There were no separate tapes for high definition, HDV was a format that simply recorded high definition footage onto a standard mini-DV tape. My only experience using HDV was in sixth form that year when the school bought an entry level "professional" Sony camera to use for the newly founded (and short lived) school television channel. At the time, I had just about forgotten how awkward and annoying tapes were, since I had transitioned to the SD card format only three months prior.

However, when I started my film technology course at university, September 2009, they were still issuing first years Canon XL1 cameras. This camera was used extensively in Danny Boyle's 2002 movie 28 Days Later so it was interesting to make use of the same technology. The footage from the camera was okay with decent colour thanks to the 3CCD spec but the picture was 4:3 only. Its saving grace was the ability to changes lenses, something that was quite rare for the format. Despite this, we only ever used or had access to the default lens. Another interesting implication was when our lecturer told us not to use Sony brand DV tapes...Even though these were the only brand sold in the Student Shop. So there we were, a class full of students, eagerly waiting to take these cameras home for testing but unable to do so because of dodgy tapes. Thankfully, I had an unused Panasonic tape knocking about in storage at home so didn't have any issues. However, I believe some students took a chance and used the Sony tapes but later encountered problems with corrupt video/missing audio. 

In second semester, we had the opportunity to use a slightly better video camera, whose name escapes me. After first year, we never touched tape again and it wasn't missed. We now had access to the infinitely superior solid state high definition Panasonic HMC-151. During 2011, the DSLR revolution had begun, and my fellow third years were spending their students loans and grants on Canon DSLRs and lenses. That coveted film look was now a doddle with a T2i and 50mm 1.4 lens. Because it was now so easy, our lecturers sighed at the sudden influx of shallow depth of field films that saturated assignment submissions that year. Apparently a poor narrative could be forgiven when the background (and actors' ears) was out of focus. Gone were the days of complex, cumbersome, expensive and exposure darkening depth of field adapters. You could now make nice looking films using equipment worth only a few hundred pounds.  

I'm no stranger to the DSLR craze. I used borrowed ones for assignments before finally getting my own in 2012 and made good use of it for my Final Year Project film. I still use it to this day, for corporate videos with a shoulder rig to make up for that fact that it's not a proper video camera. It seems many of the major camera manufacturers became aware of the DSLR's popularity and subsequently released dedicated video cameras that offer the same large sensor and interchangeable lens capability as their DSLRs. The DSLR video revolution may be over soon but it's still a preferred solution among many film makers. Will it head the same way as mini-DV? A few years ago, I felt nostalgic about the tape format and dug out my venerable JVC camcorder. I thought it would be quite interesting to apply my current cinematography and tech knowledge to try and make something with this camera again, hopefully producing something better than my 12 year old self.

My hiatus

Once again, I find myself making another Blog Post, 2 years since the last one. I guess I'm a commitment-phobe, albeit a selective commitment-phobe. When it comes to regularly creating YouTube videos, writing blog posts or even maintaining high marks in assignments, I'm useless. But on the flip side, I committed to taking a photograph of my ageing face every single day since August 2012, with 5 full years worth of photos detailing all the changes from age 21 to 26. My facial hair fills in, my acne clears up completely and I go through three separate periods of growing my hair out, each time leaving it longer until I chop it all off. From December 2015 to December 2016, I left my hair to grow long for the first time ever. My "face a day" project is one of my many ongoing film projects that will never be completed. But, hitting the 5 year mark is pretty significant so I'm planning on completing the sequence so I can export a video finally and add "experimental art film" to my filmography. Other projects include my lost in limbo Vietnam War horror movie and my "Grand Theft Auto set in the UK" video game that has been in development since 2014.

So what have I been up to since July 2015? Around that time, I applied to my University to go back and do a masters which I started in September of that year. I began a master by negotiated study course that confuses a lot of people when I tell them what I do. In simple terms, it's a "do whatever the hell you want" masters where you're given complete freedom to study everything and anything. With my interest in special effects and visual effects that was only briefly touched upon during my undergraduate degree, I decided to look at green screen and digital environments in order to become better acquainted with the technology. I like being in an academic environment but I know I can't be a student forever which is why I want to get into lecturing, specifically film visual effects. Returning to university has also opened up many job opportunities and I'm currently working as a barista (coffee not law) in the Student Union cafe along with my job as a student ambassador. 

But, University is not the only thing that I've been doing since 2015. Around the same time, I got my foot in the door at the local football club. And no, I don't mean a minor village team, I'm talking about a Premiership Football club with its own 30,000+ capacity stadium and a dedicated media team. My Dad knows people. He's been working in the football industry since before I was born, before the Premiership was even born. Nepotism is a great thing when it happens to you. Football is big money in the UK and I am very fortunate to have tapped into it. During August 2015, I went along to observe a game and shoot a pre-match interview that was then edited an hour before it was due to go out onto the big screen in the stadium. Though I wasn't paid at the time, the feeling of having something you created play out to tens of thousands of people was surreal and extremely satisfying. 

Fast forward to a year, and I find myself back at the stadium but this time, I'm getting paid. I'm there on match days creating graphics for the the big screen and updating scores, times and player lists but the content that I film and edit is also getting played out to all those fans. I'm filming and editing on a regular basis now and it really gives you such a strong sense of achievement doing something that is directly related to your degree. I struggled for several years with finding work but persistence pays off. You may get rejected after attending many interviews for jobs (like I was) but sometimes, opportunities present themselves via non-conventional means and all it takes is the willingness to say yes. Believe!

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What's a matte box? (and what is it used for)

To put it simply, a matte box is the square thing that you see on the end of movie/video cameras. They have three uses.

1. It prevents lens flare
Unless you want it in your shot, a matte box is designed to cut out lens flare. Usually, a matte box will have adjustable fins on the top and sides. This is its main purpose.

2. It holds filters
More expensive matte boxes allow you to slot filters, like neutral density filters, in front of your lens. This allows you to replace filters faster than the ones that screw directly onto your lenses. Obviously this doesn't really work well if you're using a zoom lens that extends in and out since the matte box is usually fixed to rails beneath the camera.

3. It looks pro
You put a matte box in front of your camera and it automatically looks 100% cooler. Yeah, I know this isn't a proper reason for having one but it does make a DSLR look less like a photography camera and more like a proper movie camera. Image is everything and you should do everything you can to disguise your DSLR when you take it to a video shoot.

8 ways to make money as a filmmaker or videographer

As an independent filmmaker, making money and funding your films can be a challenge. You might have to get a job that you don't like to save up or you might be lucky enough to get funding off someone. Either way, there are a number of ways you can make some cash so I wrote this guide to help you out.

1. Make videos for other people 
This should be fairly obvious but you need to spend a bit of time networking and making contacts. The good thing is, once you get the ball rolling and you end up producing high quality content for people, they're likely to recommend you and soon enough, you've got your own video production business. You've got the equipment, you just need the work. Start with shooting wedding videos for family members or friends. You might not be interested in making wedding videos but you get to put into practice all you know about cinematography and editing. People spend a lot of money on weddings and they want their special day preserved forever. Plus, with many guests, weddings are a perfect place to network and make new contacts. You never know who you might meet and what opportunities they could have waiting for you. Don't restrict yourself to wedding videos either. Music videos, artists and bands are a perfect way to make money shooting video. Videos are a great way for musicians to get noticed and many are willing to hire someone to shoot a video for them. Many music videos have a narrative which means they're basically short films and provide you with an opportunity to be creative. 

2. Edit videos for other people 
You might be the sort of person who prefers editing to going out and shooting. If that's the case, why not offer your services as an editor? There could be people out there who shoot so much video on a regular basis that they have very little time to sit down and edit. They might be earning enough money from their shoots to allow them to hire someone else to do the editing for them. You can then spends hours in the comfort of your own home doing something creative and film related. If you're good enough, you might be hired by the same person again or even get recommended. Also, with services like Dropbox and WeTransfer, you might not even have to travel to collect footage. Your client simply uploads their raw files, you download, you edit and then you upload it for them to download.

3. Take photos for other people
While at University, the DSLR revolution happened. Loads of people (including me) bought DSLRs and lenses but used them for filmmaking and video production instead of photography. I've mentioned in the past the reasons why (interchangeable lenses, large sensor, shallow depth of field etc). The thing is, the same principles for cinematography (composition, lighting etc) can be applied to photography. Many people from my film course at university ended up taking up photography and offered their services as a photographer as well as videographer. You've got a DSLR, you can do both! From my experience, there are more opportunities for taking photographs than there are for creating videos. Shooting video then spending hours editing it can be stressful. Taking pictures and then working on them a bit in Photoshop can be easier and you might actually prefer it. It's just a suggestion but I recommend becoming a photographer if you have a DSLR and currently use it for filmmaking/videos. 

4. Make videos for YouTube
Let's face it. YouTube has changed things for filmmakers. Thanks to the internet, many people have become famous and their work has more chance of getting noticed. There are plenty of YouTubers out there with hundreds of thousands and even millions of subscribers. With so many views per video, these people have started to make a living through AdSense. Unfortunately, it will be a struggle and it requires a lot of work and dedication. It might be years before you get regular money and it might never happen. Still, you only have to look at popular vloggers and their videos to become optimistic and imagine one day being in the same situation. It's all about regular content. Just create lots of original videos. If you've got the video production skills and are capable of creating high quality content but you're not getting regular work then do it! You've got nothing to lose but a lot to gain. Start with creating and uploading at least one video per week. After a few months, if you start getting more subscribers or loads of views, try increasing your uploads to two videos per week. I've seen videos with a million or so views but very few subscribers on the channel. Even if you don't get the subscribers you hoped for, you're still getting revenue for each and every view. You're only limited by your imagination. Create vlogs, short films, product reviews or even tutorials. Be inspired. Learn from successful YouTubers and see what attracts millions of viewers. 

5. Hire your equipment out
If you're serious about filmmaking, you've probably got loads of equipment in storage just sitting there, collecting dust. If you're not getting regular work, what's the point of just leaving it all there? It could still earn you money even if you're not the one using it. This is also why networking is important. You might own certain pieces of equipment that one of your contacts requires for a job. If they're not prepared to buy their own, why not offer to lend it to them for a reasonable price? You're effectively earning money for doing nothing. Just be warned, you might want to start with hiring equipment out to friends and people you know. Unless you have insurance that covers the hiring out of equipment, you might end up losing money if someone breaks or loses it. However, there are companies (such as All Out Hire ) that provide a service for those who want to hire their equipment out and this includes insurance cover. If you're happy with sitting back while someone else uses your equipment then fine but chances are there'll be times when they want to hire you as well. 

6. Sell your equipment 
Okay, you might not want to do this but sometimes you really need to stop and think. Is the £500 lens that sits on my shelf for 90% of the year really worth keeping? Am I likely to get much more use out of it? Will the price depreciate by next year? If you're asking yourself these questions then why not sell it? You probably won't get what you paid for it but is it really worth keeping if you hardly use it? What seemed like a good investment a few years back might have been a bad decision. Sell now and get more money for it than you'll end up getting if you leave it any longer. 

7. Crowdfunding
Remember earlier in this post when I talked about the power of the internet? It's not just YouTube but popular crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo exist to help people like you raise money for projects and that includes film projects. It's no guarantee but it's still worth a shot. You simply create a campaign for your project, set a target, offer incentives/rewards for each pledge and if you're lucky, you might end up raising thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pounds/dollars etc. Take the movie "Kung Fury" for example. Originally, the goal was to raise $200,000 but the Kickstarter campaign ended up raising $600,000! That's three times the target amount! Just think, that could happen to you. If you've got a great idea but very little money to make it happen, you might as well.     

8. Enter competitions
Again, there's no guarantee of making money out of this but you should be constantly making films if you want to get noticed. Competitions are great for getting exposure plus there's the chance that you might win a cash prize. With the internet there's no excuse. The competition can be anywhere in the world but you can still enter it. Even if you get no money out of it, you've at least produced something original. You can then do what I suggested above and upload it to your YouTube channel.