2:41 out of all the bloom filter videos I've watched, you we're the only one to point out the diffussion diference between wide and long lenses.. props!
I don’t see the diffusion filters create a ‘cinematic’ but it adds an effect. The point of cinema is telling a story and persuading the audience to become emotionally invested in a conflict, and ignoring the technical even the aesthetical side of things. Some people believe applying a bokeh effect will make your shot more ‘cinematic’ but I doubt that myself as I have rarely if ever seen that in Hollywood movies. Also, cinema is a diverse matter with many different stories being told, on many different media. My advice to young film makers is invariably: focus on the story and less on the technical sophistication of your equipment. If you tell a good story, that’s all that matters. A great song is great even on a lousy car radio, and it will always be great. But a poor melody will never be better even on a high end stereo.
That’s definitely true. Story is number one. But the term ‘cinematic’ has, rightly or wrongly, come to mean polished professional images - like you might see on a big budget movie. Of course that’s different for everyone and there are hundreds of different styles on the big screen. I don’t see anything wrong with filmmakers wanting to embrace the technical sophistication of their equipment and chase pleasing aesthetics (it’s a visual art form) as long as it’s not at the expense of the story. Having said that not very film maker is or wants to be a writer/director. Cinematographers and production designer are film makers and although they must work with the story, they also need a level of craftsmanship to do their jobs.
@@ChristopherMichaelLaw Sure, that's a fair point. Creating the best possible cinematography is not mutually exclusive to story telling. I suffer from GAS myself and I enjoy working with vintage lenses, so I fully understand that side of the craft. But based on the myriad of video clips on UA-cam presented as 'cinematographic film', shooters rarely put the same amount of energy and attention to storytelling as the technical side. (I mean, an story with a conflict, a character arc and a well constructed ending based on the resolution of said conflict). I would argue that many of us wrongly assume that ordering a camera rig 'magically' transform us to storytellers. I wish it did, but It does not. Anyway, keep up your good work, I always enjoy your work and appreciate all the technical niceties too 🙂
I agree with you that a story worth telling is the most important ingredient of cinema. Without it everything else doesn't even matter. I want to add another point of view though. Using your parallelism of a good song being good no matter the medium through which it is reproduced, imagine the same song in karaoke and someone like me singing it. It will be the absolutely same song, the same beautiful melody, the same story if you will, but even played on the best speakers it will be a miserable mess because of my inadequate voice. So if story is the song, the cinematographer is the voice. Both need to be of a decent level. The viewer trusts more a visual storyteller when his visuals are as good as his story. I like to think of videos/movies/shorts not as songs, but as recipies. Some ingredients, like the story, are more important than others, like a camera body. But for the recipy to be a tasty success you need ALL of the ingredients. Yes, you need the meat for a good steak, but try it without salt and pepper. I absolutely agree though that I don't like eating the salt and the pepper without the meat also. :)
We’re 100% singing from the same hymn sheet about story. So many videos titled “cinematic travel film” that are just a montage of pretty clips - no story at all. But I understand why they do it, or think that way, because the term is so over used it’s meaning has changed some what. I’m guilty of it as much as anyone when titling a video or using it as a short hand to mean something that looks slick. But style will never be more important than substance. 👍 and thanks for your thoughtful comments, really enjoy hearing your thoughts.
Appreciate the relaxed yet diligent assessment of whatever topic you are covering in this and any of your other videos - and not least your brilliant sense of humor along the way. For what it is worth you are doing a "arms like He-Man" job that is much enjoyed and appreciated.
I wonder if adding a faded film look in Premiere Pro would achieve the same look as the black mist filter? It wouldn't add a glow to a light source, but it definitely creates a softer look.
Cheers much you've got great tips that are easy to understand plus implement 😊 For me I feel like your videos could use a stronger light source, as they kinda strain my eyes a bit
Thanks for the feedback. The light is plenty bright and exposure is checked using false colour. The highlights are pulled down in the grade to around 75/80 ire on the waveform, this might be what you're picking up on. This is done simply because I feel it gives a more "cinematic" look (it's done in a lot of films) However I'm always tweaking and chancing up the grade because i like to try different things, so it may look brighter in the future. It's all just a personal preference.
@ChristopherMichaelLaw yep Cheers much for your reply Be great to see what it's like a lot more natural and brighter Cheers much again I hope you have a great day Have a good one take care see you mate bye 👋 👍
Thank you for the explanation. I am more of a photographer trying to learn video. To be honest, I really dislike this effect, but I am very grateful for the knowledge.
Fun fact: older 3CCD ENG cameras often had a built-in diffusion or star filter. I'm not totally sure why because I believe it was in front of the AA filter (that most modern CMOS cameras have too). I suspect they were trying to avoid blooming and smear by attenuating the spot highlights.
@@ChristopherMichaelLaw I tested on Sony PDW-530P that has two filter wheels. Only the first CC filter says Star and the rest have color temp values (as the sensor unit can't correct large diff to the base WB). I suppose the NDs are neutral. However, it looks like I'm getting at least a little starts with all CC filters. It's quite interesting how this camera only has two electronic WB positions, filters, and digital AWB that can fail with an error. When you get an error you need to either adjust the (analog) electronic WB or the filters. I'm not sure why all this was needed because still cameras didn't have this complex WB system at the time and just a few years later WB was made fully electronic (afaik).
I feel similarly, I use Blackmagic cameras with various lenses, some vintage, and find they simply don't need diffusion, I like the detail and natural film look of the Blackmagic sauce, it's perfectly good as it is.
I don't like mist or diffusion filters. The bloom of the highlights is something I really dislike. Highlights is something I always try to save, and these filters destroy that. Instead, I simply use Gaussian blur in post, in one direction only (so it emulates anamorphic lenses' softness). It works great.
If you wanna try out the effect without spending a lot on these overpriced filters, you can easily make a DIY one yourself. Get a cheap clear or UV filter and a black paint spray can. Spray into the air and then wave the filter through it a few times. It won't quite look as good, obviously, but it'll only cost you a fraction of one of those commercial ones.
Can’t you just desharpen a bit in post? Or just use vintage glas with less correcting elements? In the end it’s just a look anyway. Imo nothing to do with cinematography
You can do all them things... or none, but creating a look is definitely a part of cinematography. It's just subjective whether the look from this filter is what someone might think of as cinematic.
2:41 out of all the bloom filter videos I've watched, you we're the only one to point out the diffussion diference between wide and long lenses.. props!
Cheers mate.
I don’t see the diffusion filters create a ‘cinematic’ but it adds an effect. The point of cinema is telling a story and persuading the audience to become emotionally invested in a conflict, and ignoring the technical even the aesthetical side of things. Some people believe applying a bokeh effect will make your shot more ‘cinematic’ but I doubt that myself as I have rarely if ever seen that in Hollywood movies. Also, cinema is a diverse matter with many different stories being told, on many different media. My advice to young film makers is invariably: focus on the story and less on the technical sophistication of your equipment. If you tell a good story, that’s all that matters. A great song is great even on a lousy car radio, and it will always be great. But a poor melody will never be better even on a high end stereo.
That’s definitely true. Story is number one. But the term ‘cinematic’ has, rightly or wrongly, come to mean polished professional images - like you might see on a big budget movie. Of course that’s different for everyone and there are hundreds of different styles on the big screen. I don’t see anything wrong with filmmakers wanting to embrace the technical sophistication of their equipment and chase pleasing aesthetics (it’s a visual art form) as long as it’s not at the expense of the story. Having said that not very film maker is or wants to be a writer/director. Cinematographers and production designer are film makers and although they must work with the story, they also need a level of craftsmanship to do their jobs.
@@ChristopherMichaelLaw Sure, that's a fair point. Creating the best possible cinematography is not mutually exclusive to story telling. I suffer from GAS myself and I enjoy working with vintage lenses, so I fully understand that side of the craft. But based on the myriad of video clips on UA-cam presented as 'cinematographic film', shooters rarely put the same amount of energy and attention to storytelling as the technical side. (I mean, an story with a conflict, a character arc and a well constructed ending based on the resolution of said conflict). I would argue that many of us wrongly assume that ordering a camera rig 'magically' transform us to storytellers. I wish it did, but It does not.
Anyway, keep up your good work, I always enjoy your work and appreciate all the technical niceties too 🙂
I agree with you that a story worth telling is the most important ingredient of cinema. Without it everything else doesn't even matter. I want to add another point of view though. Using your parallelism of a good song being good no matter the medium through which it is reproduced, imagine the same song in karaoke and someone like me singing it. It will be the absolutely same song, the same beautiful melody, the same story if you will, but even played on the best speakers it will be a miserable mess because of my inadequate voice.
So if story is the song, the cinematographer is the voice. Both need to be of a decent level. The viewer trusts more a visual storyteller when his visuals are as good as his story.
I like to think of videos/movies/shorts not as songs, but as recipies. Some ingredients, like the story, are more important than others, like a camera body. But for the recipy to be a tasty success you need ALL of the ingredients. Yes, you need the meat for a good steak, but try it without salt and pepper. I absolutely agree though that I don't like eating the salt and the pepper without the meat also. :)
We’re 100% singing from the same hymn sheet about story. So many videos titled “cinematic travel film” that are just a montage of pretty clips - no story at all. But I understand why they do it, or think that way, because the term is so over used it’s meaning has changed some what. I’m guilty of it as much as anyone when titling a video or using it as a short hand to mean something that looks slick. But style will never be more important than substance. 👍 and thanks for your thoughtful comments, really enjoy hearing your thoughts.
This is a great analogy.
You are becoming one of my favourite film maker UA-camrs.
Great videos!
Appreciate the relaxed yet diligent assessment of whatever topic you are covering in this and any of your other videos - and not least your brilliant sense of humor along the way. For what it is worth you are doing a "arms like He-Man" job that is much enjoyed and appreciated.
Thank you, mate. That's very kind. I truly appreciate you taking the time to say that. It inspires me to get to work on more videos.
Christopher, another great video mate. Keep up the good work and those subscriptions will soar!
Thank you mate. 👍
I wonder if adding a faded film look in Premiere Pro would achieve the same look as the black mist filter? It wouldn't add a glow to a light source, but it definitely creates a softer look.
Thanks for the video! What video effect did you use to simulate VHS look? Looks great!
Thanks mate. It was shot on my iPhone using two apps, RarevisionVHS and Camcorder.
i do thats why have one ....as well as the bloom it softens the skin and the image to make it less digital....i feel
Yeah , that's what a lot of people feel. I guess it's all subjective at the end of the day though.
Love how you do videos. Keep it up!
Thanks mate, appreciate it 👍
Great video! Going on a binge of your videos
Hey, thanks James!
Cheers much you've got great tips that are easy to understand plus implement 😊
For me I feel like your videos could use a stronger light source, as they kinda strain my eyes a bit
Thanks for the feedback. The light is plenty bright and exposure is checked using false colour. The highlights are pulled down in the grade to around 75/80 ire on the waveform, this might be what you're picking up on. This is done simply because I feel it gives a more "cinematic" look (it's done in a lot of films) However I'm always tweaking and chancing up the grade because i like to try different things, so it may look brighter in the future. It's all just a personal preference.
@ChristopherMichaelLaw yep
Cheers much for your reply
Be great to see what it's like a lot more natural and brighter
Cheers much again
I hope you have a great day
Have a good one take care see you mate bye 👋 👍
Thank you for the explanation. I am more of a photographer trying to learn video. To be honest, I really dislike this effect, but I am very grateful for the knowledge.
Yes, it's not for every one. I would only use it for a small number of projects - not my personal taste.
Fun fact: older 3CCD ENG cameras often had a built-in diffusion or star filter. I'm not totally sure why because I believe it was in front of the AA filter (that most modern CMOS cameras have too). I suspect they were trying to avoid blooming and smear by attenuating the spot highlights.
Was it selectable like an internal ND or was it always in place?
@@ChristopherMichaelLaw I tested on Sony PDW-530P that has two filter wheels. Only the first CC filter says Star and the rest have color temp values (as the sensor unit can't correct large diff to the base WB). I suppose the NDs are neutral. However, it looks like I'm getting at least a little starts with all CC filters.
It's quite interesting how this camera only has two electronic WB positions, filters, and digital AWB that can fail with an error. When you get an error you need to either adjust the (analog) electronic WB or the filters. I'm not sure why all this was needed because still cameras didn't have this complex WB system at the time and just a few years later WB was made fully electronic (afaik).
@@hbp_ Strange but fascinating. Thank God we don't have to do all that messing about now.
I feel similarly, I use Blackmagic cameras with various lenses, some vintage, and find they simply don't need diffusion, I like the detail and natural film look of the Blackmagic sauce, it's perfectly good as it is.
Agreed. Blackmagic always talk about digital film. I think they have worked hard towards that idea.
ANOTHER ACE VIDEO. Boat shots look great. Still laughing over the cardboard Arri
Thanks Ken. I had much bigger plans for the cardboard Arri - it may return in the future.
I don't like mist or diffusion filters. The bloom of the highlights is something I really dislike. Highlights is something I always try to save, and these filters destroy that. Instead, I simply use Gaussian blur in post, in one direction only (so it emulates anamorphic lenses' softness). It works great.
Seems like DOF and color grading go a long ways for cinematic images. If you could only have two things. Maybe I’m wrong, in probably am who knows.
They both help, but I think the number one thing to cinematic images is lighting.
Before I posted this I forgot you play the devils advocate 😎. But to clarify by dof I didn’t mean shallow dof but all dof depending on composition.
Well ya lightings a given! Whops...forgot bout that. Btw I love my 5 in 1’s...
Yeah, choice of dof is not talked about much, it’s almost considered you should always just shoot wide open.
If you wanna try out the effect without spending a lot on these overpriced filters, you can easily make a DIY one yourself.
Get a cheap clear or UV filter and a black paint spray can. Spray into the air and then wave the filter through it a few times.
It won't quite look as good, obviously, but it'll only cost you a fraction of one of those commercial ones.
Sounds messy but I guess if you really don't want to spend any cash it'll work.
Can’t you just desharpen a bit in post? Or just use vintage glas with less correcting elements? In the end it’s just a look anyway. Imo nothing to do with cinematography
You can do all them things... or none, but creating a look is definitely a part of cinematography. It's just subjective whether the look from this filter is what someone might think of as cinematic.
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