Camera Settings

When I reach the filming process for creating my short film, I must know what types of cameras and the settings I will be using. Although there are multiple types of cameras with the potential to bring out cinematic qualities, I will be focusing on the use and settings of DSLR cameras as that is the type of camera my school's media department has provided me with.

The DSLR camera is a versatile camera, with the name DSLR standing for 'Digital Single Lens Reflex'. This essentially means that the camera combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens camera with a digital imaging sensor. This helps with attaching and switching to different lenses which will help you perform with different looks.

There are various settings available on the DSLR camera. Three of the main, important ones are shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. When filming, I plan to adjust the shutter speed settings to 1/60, in order to have the shots at 30fps. However, you can choose to shoot at 1/50 for more motion blur, as the fps will be at 24 then.

There are different accessories you can use to achieve cinematic quality on the DSLR. Here are a few must-haves:

• 
  SD card
• Tripods
• Camera bag
• Lenses
• Lens filters
• Battery charger
• Microphones
• Remote control
  

When using the camera for filming cinematically I must consider the settings I will need to use to adjust the camera's view and be able to fit the atmosphere and location of the film. The settings I will be adjusting will be aperture, making sure it is open as much as possible as one of the locations will have low lighting. There is an option to use the flashlight attachment on the DSLR, however I'd rather rely on external lights to help. 

CAMERA SETTINGS:

MANUAL MODE - You have control over everything from aperture to shutter speed.

APERTURE - Aperture is part of the exposure triangle, responsible for the exposure in the camera.

DEPTH OF FIELD - Controls the range of what is in focus in the camera's view.

SHUTTER SPEED - The speed of what the camera sensor captures stills.

TYPES OF CAMERA LENSES:

STANDARD - The lenses produces an image which roughly matches the human eye, giving a natural view.

WIDE ANGLE - Gives a full shot of the subject and its surroundings, giving the viewers a sense of place.

ZOOM - Can adjust its focal length, by zooming in and out. Normally used in a way to give the illusion of moving closer or further away from the subject.

These three lenses are the lenses I will use for my short film.

Here is an example of the zoom lenses being used with depth of field, in order to practice focus pulling.

Here is an example of practicing aperture: