Resolution: 720 × 576 in PAL or 720 × 420 in NTSC.
Sampling: 4:1:1 or 4:2:0 depending on PAL or NTSC and tape type.
Figure 23. Sony PD150 DV Three chip DV camera, courtesy of SONY.
HDV
HDV, as discussed above, is an HD resolution format that records onto DV tapes. It produces Super 16 × 9 aspect ratio images and although highly compressed has dramatically greater resolutions than standard-definition. Apart from recording onto all the standard DV tapes, there is also a DVCPRO HD tape designed specifically for HDV. True 1080p cannot be recorded onto DV tapes, so the cameras on the market offer either 1080i or 720p options, many of them giving the option of recording both, as well as standard-definition too. HDV technology is found in a variety of prosumer cameras that, although more expensive than most DV cameras, offer significant improvements in quality and versatility.
Resolution: 1440 x 1080i or 1280 x 720p, various cameras offer 24/25p options.
Sampling:4:2:0.
Figure 24. JVC HD101 HDV camera, courtesy of JVC.
DIGITAL BETACAM (Digibeta)
Digibeta is a professional standard-definition format. It’s widely used throughout both the film and television industries and is the highest quality standard-definition format available. Despite their quality and reliability, Digibeta cameras and technology are extremely expensive to either purchase or hire. Digibeta tapes remain the standard for mastering many short films to, and is also the standard video format for screening at film festivals.
Figure 25. Sony DVW-970P digital betacam camera, courtesy of SONY.
Resolution: 720 × 576 in PAL or 720 × 420 in NTSC.
Sampling: 4:2:2.
HD
HD is the highest resolution video format available. Similar to DV, manufacturers offer different tape formats of varying quality. Currently available are:
HDCAM
HDCAM-SR
HDCAM-D5
HD is often recorded straight to a hard drive, bypassing the need for tape completely, which means the images don’t have to be compressed.
With its amazingly high-resolution and colour sampling, HD is as close to film as video gets. With more and more feature films being shot on it all the time, it is ideal for filmmaking. The drawback for short filmmakers, however, has been that the cameras and tapes used to record HD have been very expensive to rent; often it has been cheaper to shoot on film formats like 16mm. This is beginning to change, and the first prosumer cameras that offer true 1080p resolution are now arriving on the market for the same price as other HDV and SD cameras. These cameras record directly to hard drives or removable storage cards, and will have a huge impact on the quality of low-budget filmmaking.
Figure 26. Sony HD XDCAM, courtesy of SONY.
Resolution: 1920 × 1080p or 1920 × 1080i or 1280 × 720p, various cameras offer 24/25p as well as variable frame rates.
Sampling: 4:4:2 or 4:4:4 depending on tape or straight to disc options.
CHOOSING A CAMERA
Once you have chosen a format to shoot on, you also need to choose a camera. If you have a DP, they will normally be instrumental in making a decision; if not it will be up to you.
Within each format and market type – domestic, prosumer and professional – you will find a massive variety of cameras on offer by different manufacturers. Often there is not a huge amount of difference between those of the same formats. The most important choice, therefore, is one of functionality. You need to choose a camera that you or your DP feels comfortable working with, that will be conducive to creativity.
The amount and type of connections a camera has can also make a huge difference to the workflow of your film. Cameras that offer digital in and outs can potentially save you hours of transfer time or VTR deck hire, giving you the simple and efficient ability to dock the camera to your editing computer for transfer of rushes and outputting of your finished film back onto the same format. Cameras with XLR sockets will also allow you to record multiple sound sources from different microphones.
SHOOTING ON VIDEO
Although the great advantage of shooting on video is the freedom that cheap, hour-long tapes give you, there is much to be learnt from the protocols developed for shooting on film (see structure of shooting on film). Slating and logging takes, combined with a defined order for each take, will generally produce much better results and make the rest of your workflow considerably easier. Just as with shooting on film, the defining factor for how good an image looks is lighting.
13. FILM
Shooting on film, whether Super 16mm or 35mm, you are not only benefiting from two of the highest resolution formats, but also technology that has been designed for the sole purpose of filmmaking. Whereas shooting on video gives instant results, shooting on film requires multiple processes, such as development of the negative and transfer onto a video format, before you can begin post-production. Films are no longer made just on film. The advent of computer-based editing systems has meant that film is really only used for acquisition and projection, with the rest of the workflow taking place on digital computer-based systems. It’s becoming increasingly rare that the original negative is used at all after transfer, and it’s now possible to carry out extremely high-resolution Digital Intermediates.
WHY SHOOT ON FILM?
Despite the ever-increasing quality and resolution of digital formats they still can’t rival the quality of film. Both 16mm and 35mm are still way ahead which is what makes it so desirable to shoot films on these formats. With over a hundred years of trial and development, film stocks are still evolving and producing better and better results. The way that the film is handled in post-production has switched almost exclusively to digital, but film itself is still the shooting format of choice for any production that can handle the substantial costs.
There are two main components to shooting on film, one being the film stock, the other being the camera. It’s useful to have at least a basic knowledge of both of these and it will help you understand why using film demands a different protocol than using a digital format. Many people who have used film-based stills cameras will be familiar with much of the following, which is a basic guide to how film stock and film cameras function. This is essential knowledge for anyone who is contemplating using film.
FILM STOCK
Unlike digital images, where the image is created from thousands of small pixels of colour and contrast information, film records an image through the use of layers of light-sensitive grains, which react to record colour and contrast. It is the consistency of its structure that allows film to surpass the quality of images that are created with pixels.
Modern film stocks are essentially a strip of plastic that is coated on one side with a light-sensitive emulsion. When correctly exposed to a light source, the silver halides in the emulsion react to form an image. This image can then be revealed through further chemical processing, referred to as developing. At this stage a positive print can be made from the negative or the negative can be transferred to a digital format (see telecine and DI). The exception to this is reversal stock that creates a positive image at the developing stage; however, reversal stock is not commonly used in filmmaking.
Gauges
Film gauges are normally referred to by the actual width of the stock. So 35mm, 16mm and 8mm refer to the actual measurements of one single frame. Film stocks are perforated on one or both edges, which allows the camera mechanism to physically pull the film through the camera.
Lengths
Conventional film stocks are available in various standardised lengths, normally 100ft, 400ft or 1,000ft lengths. For both 16mm and 35mm the most commonly used is 400ft. Apart from 100ft rolls that normally come in plastic cartridges, all other lengths come in tins, in which the film is stored in a light-proof bag and wrapped round a plastic core that fits directly into the camera magazine.
Apart from gauge and length, the differentiating factor between most film stocks is what is known as its speed. Th
e speed of a film stock refers to its sensitivity to light and this is known as its ASA. Different film stocks are designed to be more or less sensitive to various amounts and types of light. Certain stocks are therefore chosen due to their suitability for the lighting conditions in which they will be used. On a simplified level, faster stocks (more light-sensitive) are chosen for conditions where there is less light available. Whereas slower stocks (less light-sensitive) are chosen for conditions where there is an abundance of light. Various speeds of stock can produce different qualities in the image that is produced. Faster stocks are associated with a grainier image.
Figure 27. rolls of 400 and 1,000ft Fuji motion film stock, courtesy of FUJI.
Daylight/tungsten
Motion film stocks fall into two categories when it comes to the types of light they are designed for: daylight or tungsten light. These two stocks are chemically balanced to produce a realistic looking image when used in either daylight or with tungsten filament lights. The light produced from different sources has a different colour temperature when recorded on film and can result in a warmer or colder image (see lighting section). This altering of the colour balance is rectified by choosing the appropriate stock. Daylight or tungsten stocks can be used in either circumstances, so it is possible to shoot with the same stock in natural light conditions as well as artificial; however, the balance needs to be rectified through use of gels on the light sources or filters on the camera lens.
On film stocks, tungsten and daylight are abbreviated to T or D, which is suffixed at the end of the ASA rating of the stock. So for example 500T refers to a stock that is designed to be fast and used in artificial light, whereas 100D refers to a slower stock for natural light situations. Stocks are often referred to by generic code numbers, which correlate to both the ASA and type of light it is designed for.
Colour/black and white
Stocks are also available in black and white or colour. Due to the diminishing use of black and white stocks they are generally not available in the same range of ASA ratings that colour film is. Although it is possible to use a colour stock to film with and then convert the image to monochrome at a later stage, black and white stock will generally produce images with more clarity and contrast than a converted colour image.
FILM CAMERAS
Figure 28. Arri SR III Super 16mm camera, courtesy of Arri Group.
To explain the functions of the film camera it is necessary to differentiate between the lenses and the camera body. On an extremely basic level the film camera body’s primary function is to pull the film stock through the camera while positioning it momentarily in front of a small aperture that corresponds to the diameter of the film stock.
This is a very simplified overview of film cameras, but it helps in realising how they function. All film cameras perform this task in different ways and to varying degrees of sophistication. Film cameras have advanced a long way from the early hand-cranked models, but the majority of advancements in image quality are due largely to improvements in film stock and lens quality, which means that a film camera is only as good as the lenses you put on it and the film stock that goes through it. However, modern cameras will offer a variety of features that make them more functional and provide more creative opportunities.
Sound
Although it may seem obvious to most, it’s worth pointing out here that film cameras, whether Super 16 or 35mm, do not record sound. If you are going to shoot on film then you will need to record sound onto a sound recorder that is separate from the camera and stock. Any sound that you record will have to be synced to the footage after the shoot.
Magazines
Rather than load the film directly into the camera body, modern cameras will have detachable magazines. They are generally slotted on and off the camera simply and efficiently. Several magazines are normally provided when hiring a film camera, allowing them to be loaded with film away from the camera by an assistant, then quickly replaced when the film runs out.
Frame rate
Cameras will normally have a standard fixed-frame rate of 24 or 25 frames per second (FPS). This produces a normal speed image in which actions and movements occur at the same speed as they do in reality.
As well as these standard film camera frame rates, many cameras will have adjustable speeds, which allows the camera to achieve various frame rates, ranging from low frame rates that produce a speeded up image or high frame rates that produce a slow-motion image.
Standard cameras will offer frame rates that will range from 1 to 75 frames per second and modern cameras will allow you to ramp up and down between the speeds during a shot, producing fluctuations in the speed of movement captured.
For extreme slow motion, high-speed cameras are needed that can achieve frame rates of over 150 FPS.
Although most cameras will offer fixed-frame rates of 24/25 FPS, many older cameras will not have this as a constant speed. This means that these cameras are not viable for syncing sound recordings to and are only useful for silent filmmaking.
Video tap/video assist
On modern cameras it is possible to attach a video tap, which in turn can be connected to a video monitor, allowing you to see the image you are filming through the camera lens, without having to look through the eyepiece of the camera. The images produced by video taps do not give a real indication of the light or quality of the image that will be recorded on the film. However, it does allow you to make judgements about framing, lenses and camera moves.
Noise
Cameras make noise while running. Contemporary cameras will run almost silently, but even the small noise levels that they give off can cause problems when the camera is very close to the action being recorded. Audible camera noise that is picked up in the sound recording is usually overcome by ‘blimping’ the camera with a ‘barney’. This is a padded cover placed over the camera to dampen any noise that might be emanating from it.
Older cameras, or cameras running at high speeds, will often make serious noise levels, which means that they are not feasible for shooting certain scenes or types of film with.
STRUCTURE OF SHOOTING ON FILM
The DP would normally be responsible for choosing a camera to fit both the needs of the film and your budget. As well as choosing the right stocks for the lighting conditions and looks you are trying to produce.
Loading
The unexposed film is loaded into several magazines by the clapper loader. Due to film’s light-sensitive qualities, this is performed by placing both camera magazine and roll of film stock into a light-proof bag (change bag). The magazine is only removed once the loading is complete. The magazines are then labelled and numbered with the type and length of stock they contain.
A full magazine will be placed on the camera. The DP and assistants will set the frame rate of the camera and set the exposure according to the light meter readings for that shot. Focus will be measured and adjusted accordingly. These settings are logged by the clapper loader, both on a camera sheet and on the clapperboard (slate).
Slate/clapperboard
Slating is vital when shooting on film. It provides two key functions. First, it allows a visual record of the take number, and scene number, crucial for editing and transfer. Second, it generates time code, so the actual snap of the clapper against the board is the only reference for syncing the audio (re-corded separately) with the film. Camera sheets are also kept as records of all camera info for each individual take.
Figure 29. Clapperboard being held in frame.
Commands
Once the camera is ready and the clapperboard filled in, the camera crew are ready.
The director or AD is then free to give the command ‘roll camera’ or ‘turn over’ and the DP or assistant starts the camera. The camera does not instantaneously reach the desired frame rate so there is a delay until it hits a constant speed. When a light signals this, the assistant will call out ‘speed’ or ‘camera rolling’. At this point the clapper loader places
the slate in front of the camera and says the take and scene number. The director is then free to say ‘action’ allowing the scene to commence.
When the take is finished, the command ‘cut’ is given, at which point the camera is stopped and the assistant will say ‘camera cut’. The length of film that has been used in that take will be noted by the clapper loader, so the camera crew will know how much film is left for the next take. When the magazine has no, or little, unexposed film left inside, it is replaced and the process starts over again.
PROCESSING
At the end of the shoot or the end of that day’s shoot, the film stock will be marked with the relevant information and, together with the camera sheets, will be dropped off at a film lab. This is then processed overnight and transferred onto various video formats via telecine, producing dailies or rushes ready for the production staff to watch, or scanned onto a hard drive.
Short Films Page 10