Let's start with some cold hard truth. No, buying a fancy new camera isn't gonna do jack for your production quality, and no, having the greatest gear in the world isn't going to magically produce a cinematic aesthetic. There are many different aspects of filmmaking that need to be done well in order to achieve the all-important "film look," which is something filmmaker Darious Britt of D4Darious talks about extensively in this awesome video. Check it out.

This video is worth the entire 30+ minutes! Not only does Britt go into detail about different camera settings, like shutter speed, frame rate, and ISO, but he also talks about aspect ratios, audio, lighting, framing and composition, music, and so much more. 

He also touches on an important concept that all first-time filmmakers should know and understand: the difference between "stylistic choices" and technical mistakes. I always say, break the damn rules. Break them all and without mercy. But, you better know which damn rules you're breaking, otherwise you're just making mistakes—I mean, you'll occasionally experience tremendous providence and do something totally brilliant without knowing, but I wouldn't try to push your luck here.

But perhaps the most important lesson you could ever learn about creating the film look is practice, practice, practice and do your homework. To many times beginners embark on their first project expecting perfection, but it's just probably not going to happen. You need to make a lot of films and gain a lot of experience and research until your eyes get crispy in order to get good at making movies. There are no shortcuts, so if you want your film to look cinematic, then get to work.

Source: D4Darious

Film look
Cinematography & Cameras