When my second feature film, Split Bethany , went into production, I had a hard time deciding which camera to use. Unlike my previous feature “Footsteps,” which I shot on the RED MX, I didn’t have a dedicated cinematographer on this film and decided to DP the film myself. It was an amazing experience because it allowed me to work with the actors and scenes in a very organic and uninterrupted way. But despite that, there’s definitely some pressure involved in how to play the role of director of photography while also directing when you go into production. Ultimately, I feel the answer to finding the right balance between directing and cinematography lies in choosing the right camera.
During the development of the film, I initially decided to shoot with Blackmagic cameras. It makes the most sense because its image quality is stunning, the price is right, and its size and usability seem perfect for a simple setup. Months passed and my BMCC never arrived, so I had to start looking at other options. I didn’t make a decision about the camera until about a week or two before our first shooting day. In fact, that was the camera I shot my first feature film with. An amazing camera, but bulky and difficult to operate without the first and second ACs. I really wanted to just use the RED MX to eliminate all the headaches associated with trying to use that camera with a minimal crew on a production. As tempting as it was, I quickly realized that even if I could succeed, the final outcome of the film would suffer. Of course, I would have a 4.5K close-up, but that would mean a lot of lost footage, longer time, fewer shots, and longer post-production.
So I’m back to square one, still without a camera in my head. After much back and forth – considering rental options or purchasing a different camera (like the FS100), I finally realized the answer had been right in front of me all along. GH2. I’ve used it on so many low-budget projects, movies, commercials, etc. that I didn’t even think about it at first. I almost developed a shame about the camera and thought I should only use it for quick turnaround, small jobs. But at some point, the lightbulb went off and I said to myself, I have to commit to shooting with this camera. This means more funding for other aspects of production that are more important than increasing the resolution line, but it also means a streamlined post-production pipeline.
Ultimately, it was the right choice. I managed to keep using the GH2, trying to extract every detail possible from the sensor. I knew its limitations and the advantages of shooting, which really helped as I planned many of my shots around the camera, making sure I didn’t push too hard in low light or create too many complicated pans/slides.
When shooting, I mainly use sticks and use a Sachtler ACE tripod. I estimate about 70% of the film was shot on a tripod. For the price, this is a very good tripod and head. The legs aren’t amazing, but I can live with it – it just means adding some weight to the bottom in some shots. But the fluid head has worked wonders for me. It really helps to get some nice camera moves relatively easily. On the last day of production, one of the legs of the tripod just fell off (apparently there was some type of glue in there that didn’t hold well in cold weather). But it was fixed by me the next day and has been working great ever since.
For shots not shot on a tripod, I either use a small shoulder mount (from the jag35) or mount it on my Cinevate Slider. Both products are great for photography. The jag35 shoulder rig actually does a pretty good job considering the price/size, but I would have liked to have purchased additional weights for the rig as it is generally quite heavy, especially with a large lens on it. I usually attach my gear directly to the tripod so I can easily take it off and use it on my shoulder when I need to. The Cinevate slider is awesome. I’ve written about it in a previous blog post, but it’s truly a workhorse and probably the best piece of gear I use on my shoots. I didn’t do any Steadicam or action photography because I knew going into production our budget/crew wouldn’t accommodate it, so I blocked out the scenes in a way that avoided needing such support.
My girlfriend with the camera:
When I shoot, I use quite a few lens combinations. I had my own kit (very eclectic to begin with), but also rented some Zeiss EF mount lenses throughout the shoot, which I used for about half of the scenes. I find that the GH2 works with almost any lens I use. While they certainly all have their own unique properties, GH2 does a great job of making everything feel very unified. Now that I’m in the DI/color grading stage of post, I find it easy to match the shots in the scene, even though I’m using three completely different shots.
When I choose lenses to rent or use from my kit, the most important factor is how fast they are. I think the slowest lens I used was probably 2.8, but almost all of them were 1.4, 1.2, or 1.8. This is because I want to move quickly and minimize the need for a lot of lighting. I shot the entire movie with a small Lowell lighting kit. The kit consists of 4 lights ranging from 250 watts to 750 watts. I did use porcelain balls in a few shots (to great effect), but for the most part my goal was to use mostly natural light and only the minimum amount needed to accentuate the existing lighting conditions. By doing this we can keep our feet light, which is one of my main goals going into production. I can literally fit all of our production equipment into the trunk of my car, and I have a two-door car.
So, after shooting with the camera for a few weeks in a variety of conditions (indoors, outdoors, low light, cold, underwater, etc.) I was really able to see what this camera is really capable of. All in all, one of the best things about using this camera is that I am able to be very spontaneous when shooting. This was very important for me going into production because I wanted to do a lot of montage and we were shooting guerrilla style in a lot of locations without permission, so having the ability to move quickly was crucial. Its cost is another huge bonus as shooting on this camera is virtually free as the camera itself costs very little and the memory cards it shoots on are also very cheap. Another huge advantage is that our DMT is very easy. The entire film fits on a small 2 TB drive on my desk, which was a joy after dealing with multiple external devices on the last movie I shot on RED.
As you can imagine, there are some negatives to shooting with this camera. Unfortunately, probably the biggest negative was the cast and crew’s perception of the camera. Although no one questioned the camera at any point, and indeed everyone seemed impressed by the footage, there was a definite difference in the feeling on set between this film and my last film. I attribute a lot of that to the camera. When you have a skeleton crew and small actors with little or no experience on camera, it can look like a very amateurish tool to them. It really shouldn’t matter, and it doesn’t matter to me, but the reality is that when people see a 30-pound red camera in front of them, suddenly they feel like they’re on a movie set, just like when there’s a single-lens camera Smaller than a camera their parents might have owned, this caused some concern among the cast/crew. Again, this shouldn’t matter, but unfortunately, those who don’t understand cameras often don’t know what any camera can do if you know how to use it. The only other major drawback to this camera is that there isn’t a lot of room to grade footage in post. I find the GH3 to be much superior to the GH2 in this regard. Images captured by the GH2 look excellent in camera, and while you can adjust the color to a certain extent in post, you really can’t push it too far or it starts to fall apart. If I hadn’t been spoiled last year by shooting/grading a lot of RED and Alexa footage I would have been more careful with my white balance as some scenes were shot warm and are a bit tricky to cool down and view now I wish they did . So in that respect, GH2 can actually increase your time on set and in post, because on set you may have to spend more time setting up the look and in post it takes extra effort to correct it.
Here are a few stills from the movie:
No camera is perfect and every camera has its pros and cons, but if I had to go back I would choose the GH2 again. Most people who have seen both of my films have noticed that there is no difference in quality between this film and my last film shot on RED. A trained eye can certainly spot the difference, but viewers care more about the story than the resolution. This really shows that it’s not the camera but what’s in front of and behind it. Sometimes, using a camera like the GH2 is a good exercise because it forces you to make important, detailed conscious choices about what you’re doing. When you take another shot with RED or Blackmagic, suddenly it seems incredibly easy to get the look you want – especially in post.
Here’s the trailer released last month:
Update: If you’re in the market for a DSLR option for your movies, check out my recent post on the 5 Best DSLRs for Video . Comparison between GH2 and GH3.
