One of the biggest questions I'm asked and have asked, and definitely one that pervades the indie digital film scene is this, "How do I get that film look?" The answer isn't as easy as it may seem -- except maybe to go shoot on film -- because there are many factors that go into producing the grain, color, and "flicker" -- the "look" we've all become accustomed to seeing in movies. A short video from The Basic Filmmaker, in a simple (though not simplistic) lesson, gives us a place to start in order to achieve it, and it all begins with choosing the traditional frames per second and shutter speed.
The video tells us about one very important camera setting you'll need to get that film look, and then explains why. Of course, there are a ton of other factors, like cameras, lenses, lighting, set design, color grading, and much more that help attain the look.
Simply put, one important component of getting the film look is setting your shutter speed to twice that of your choice of frames per second. In the US, films are typically set to 24fps, so that means your shutter speed should be set at 48. Since images have been captured at 24fps for most of cinema's history, that's the frame rate most of us in the US are used to.
Check out the video, which does a fantastic job of explaining things clearly and simply -- even adding some frame rate history that puts it all into perspective.
Have you found that setting your shutter speed to twice of your frame rate helps achieve the film look? What other tools/methods/settings/programs do you use to get "the look?"
[via Filmmaker IQ]
