PRE-PRODUCTION - CHOICES OF CAMERA

With my role as DOP, the choice of kit is hugely important for the look and tone of the documentary. Many students in my position would simply go for the kit offered to them at their University but I want to look through all my options of cameras I've both used and am aware of.

Canon 60D EOS DSLR

My own personal camera, the Canon 60D is a handy little DSLR which shoots in full HD, 1080p by 1920p. It takes EF lens's and shoots both videos and photos, unfortunately it is a cropped frame DSLR so not as good quality as the Canon 5D/6D (Canon's full frame DSLRs). It's light weight and easy to operate and change between photo and video options. However, with it being a cropped frame this doesn't allow a lot of light into the sensor and it does lower the quality of the image slightly. Below are two versions of the footage, one being raw and the other being graded. 

RAW:

Above is my summer project from the beginning of the course. I filmed the entire project on my own 60D, I didn't grade the project as I didn't know how to do so 3 years ago. But you can see it has a nice colour to it as Canon is known for its colour quality.

Graded:

Above is a short film I helped film, all done with a Canon 60D but with graded footage. As it can be seen, the skin tones aren't as natural, more pink and red due to the low quality of the image. Although this a good camera, I don't believe it would be a good option for the documentary.


Canon 5D EOS Mark 4

The Canon 5D Mark 4 is the latest model of the 5D Range of DSLRs made by Canon. This is their most expensive and professional Full Frame DSLR. Allowing the user to shoot video timelapse, 4K Footage, high quality photos and can shoot 100fps is HD 1080x1920. This camera also offers exceptional auto focus through the touch screen lcd screen, simply click the area to stay in focus and the camera will track the movement and keep in focus. 

The quality of the cameras raw footage is very high quality. Footage below can show this;

RAW:

This footage is RAW and already it looks 100% better. The colour quality of the camera is also really warm and vibrant as well as being high quality. What's also good about the camera is that it films in 4K which allows the editor to punch into the footage and change the framing of an interview (for example) and not lose the quality of the image. I learnt this from working on a third yar project last year called forever HOME where we filmed on this camera. 

Graded:

The high quality footage with simple grading adds to the quality and really brings out amazing footage. Also being a small DSLR it's easy to operate handheld. The biggest issue with this camera is the audio isn't amazing on it and if you require a microphone it can't be via XLR cable as it doesn't have that option on the camera. So, audio needs to be recorded separately.

Sony A7S Mark ii 

This small but high quality camera is one I've enjoyed using for a very long time. Although a Sony E Mount you are able to get an adapter for Canon EF Mount Lens's which I've often done as I only have Canon lens's. This camera is also very good in low light situations and comes out with excellent footage. The Sony A7S ii also shoots 4K and high shutter speeds like the Canon 5D Mark 4 but the difference is that the Sony has the option of 'Uncompressed' footage where as the Canon does not. 

RAW:

Above is the RAW footage from the Sony camera. Although it can come out in Slog (allowing more work in grading) it can be turned off but often still has a rather grey and cold look. As already explained this can be fixed. As we can see from the graded footage below:

Graded:

As you can see, grading can change the milky V-Log footage you get and lets you bring out the colours and the detail more in the footage. However, it's not as warm as the Canon footage and still looks a little cold but does look incredible with the quality.

Panasonic DVX200

Newest cameras available through the Tech Store at TV Production, the camera allows high frame rate, 4K Recording with V-Log and also a built in stabilizer which is built into the camera. I've used this camera a good amount through my second year, it's a really easy camera to get to terms with and has all the settings on the body. You cannot change the lens however the zoom is excellent for long shots as well as the depth of field is really nice (not as good as a prime lens however). Below is a short film I shot on the camera:

This footage is slightly graded, it's got a really nice colour, the grade allows us to bring out the colour. It's nice to operate and easy to set up and the quality is excellent.

Canon C300

The Canon C Range are amazing cameras which Canon has released. The Canon C300 is a high quality film camera which films in 4K, C-Log, high frame rate and also has XLR input so that a shotgun microphone or connect a radio microphone. This camera has been used by many different companies and is the preferred camera for the highly popular film company Film Riot as well as many companies who shoot festival and event videography. Below is the raw footage from the camera:

The footage in the video is both with C-Log but you can still see some nice colours in it. Mixed with grading you can really bring out the colours more and this is something I really want with the footage, as the LGBT Community uses rainbows in their logos and parades. So nice bring colourful footage is what I want from the footage to mix in with the theme of the documentary.