Saturday, January 22, 2011

Panasonic AF100's Are Here! My First AF100 Shoot......





This entry is taken from a post I wrote on the DVXUser.com Panasonic AF100 forum:

We've all seen the trend towards shallower than shallow DOF, the absolute "need" to shoot at astronomical ISO's and the widest of wide lenses being an imperative--especially on Vimeo and YouTube. We also know that DSLR's have driven this of late, especially Canon 5D's, but this can be traced back to 35mm DOF adapters that do Full Frame 35 and music videos and quirky feature films that embraced these stylistic choices.

Above is a screen grab from my first shoot as DP with an AF100. These scenes weren't shot with a super high ISO, or at f.95 or with a 12mm lens, the AF100 was set at ISO 200, aperture was f2.8-4.0 with 35mm and 50mm Nikon prime lenses. Nothing exotic, no need for the camera to shoot in the dark or have 1mm DOF. Just two lights were used for talent, standard focal lengths.

ISO 200 makes controlling contrast much easier than trying to shoot at ISO 2000, every shot was on a slider, some much closer up, so I wasn't going to make my AC deal with f1.4 all day. And when I'm shooting talent, the last thing I want is some super wide lens--not flattering to anyone.

Yes, it's cool that there's an f.95 lens, the AF100 can shoot ISO 3200, and a Lumix 7-14mm zoom lens exists. These are fun. A full frame 35mm sensor can be fun as well. But they aren't really necessary, nor do they serve the story most of the time--despite what one might think after reading forums or watching shorts on Vimeo.

I think it's time to get back to real filmmaking and walk away from the gimmicks. I'm happy the AF100 allows me to do just that!

Finished spot: http://vimeo.com/19462769