Major Project: Final equipment changes

Understanding the Fujinon Lens and the Black Magic Pocket Camera

M y Camera man (Sam creamer) has recommended the Fujinon MK 2.9 18-55mm lens and had expressed how much he wanted to use that for the film. I decided it would be a good idea to see the lens in action. I was really pleased with the clean and crisp images it created. but most importantly its ability to create really nice outer bokeh effects - Illustrated below; 

As you can see the lens has given the center of the subject to be really focused whilst creating a soft defocus around it. I think this look would be very nice if applied with my film because it could really allow the viewers to be connected to the characters emotions. Similarly to Moonlight, I first noticed the effects of having an outer bokeh around the subject. (illustrated below)

 It was used throughout the film and I wanted to incorporate that look into my film. So at this point, I was confident that renting this lens would be a great investment into the final product of my film. The next step would be to rent this on Hireacamera.com

Understanding the Black Magic Pocket Camera (BMPCC) 

In order to cut costs, my camera op and I collectively decided that it would be a good idea to save money by using his Black Magic Pocket Camera. At first I was a little skeptical because I didn't know much about that camera and I had already fallen in love with the Sony A7s. I decided to go on Youtube and have a look at the imagery that can be created when using the BMPCC. 

First I wanted to learn the full specs of the camera to see how the limitations could possibly hinder my film. I came across a very helpful video by Director Phillip Bloom. 

This video really helped to shine light on the BMPCC's capability. Admittedly I was still a little nervous about it because of its inability to shoot 4K and its limit of 25 to 30fps because I knew I wanted to incorporate slow motion within my film as well as its limited ISO control . However, I still really wanted to save money so I searched for videos where people used the BMPCC to create a variety of things because I still needed needed convincing. Below are a few of the videos that I came across which really convinced me in the end. I was truly inspired when watching these. 

I looked at these because I really wanted to see how the camera would perform within naturalistic situations. I was super pleased with how crisp and clear it was. I am aware that this is also greatly based on what lens is used too but the lens used in these videos where not very expensive lenses. 

The video below allowed me to understand the power of colouring your footage. I fell in love with the colour palette illustrated in this video. 

 Black Magic with the DJI Ronin - M

since I knew I wanted to have a cinematic look and feel to my short film, I knew I wanted to make use of a 3 axis stabiliser. Whether that be a simple Zhiyun crane or the more expensive DJI Ronin. Since sam has experience with the Ronin I was aiming for this one. My only concern was whether the BMPCC would actually be heavy enough for the Ronin because of its small size. I went back onto Youtube to see some clips of them together. Needless to say I was very impressed with the quality.

Again, I loved the colour schemes within this video. And as you can see, once balanced properly, the DJI ronin gave a stunningly smooth look to the footage. Since I would be saving money by not hiring the Sony A7s, I was willing to spend a little more by hiring the Ronin. 

The video below helped restore some of the confidence on the performance of the BMPCC at night. The footage below shows some individuals testing out the footage at night with a Canon 16-35 f2.8 + speed booster Metabones adapter.

You can see at some points that the Ronin could have been balanced a little bit better but then again, they were doing some serious running with it so of course it wouldn't be completely perfect. I wont be doing rigorous running so I am confident that we will be able to get really smooth shots. I also liked the look of how illuminated the scene becomes with the use of the natural light coming from the building. Since I plan on having the lights from the room be the main light source for some of the shots, I am confident I can still have a cinematic looking  film even in the dark. I realised that I don't necessarily need to have a camera like the a7s which can almost practically see in the dark to have a nice, cinematic film. I need to pay attention to the lighting of the scene and see how it can bring the best out of the footage. 

So, after reviewing my options. Sam and I decided that I will use the BMPCC for most of the shots but use the Panasonic Dvx200 for the slow motion shots.  I will also hire a DJI Ronin M and get a professional sound op for the shoot. The next step will be to choose an appropriate sound op and search for the best deals regarding the ronin.