Cameras for Idiots Like Me

 Just a little page here to help with remembering the basics of using film cameras for the people that tend to get a little air headed and intimidated when it comes to getting behind a camera. It's not only using a camera itself that can be challenging but knowing how to use it to it's most effective potential can also be perplexing. 

Technical Basics of Cameras

Digital films cameras have a standard of 35mm frame-sensor, known as full frame but this can differ between camera types. Frame sensors basically determine the quality of the image captured, so for bigger frame sensors imagine it as being able to stretch the image out onto a bigger screen without losing much or any of the high resolution. The light capturing cavities that lie on a frame sensor are known as 'photosites' and a camera will transform these photosites into individual pixels- so a 24 megapixel camera will have 24 million photosites. This means that sensor size also impacts a cameras low-light performance. Imagine a smaller frame sensor on a 24 megapixel camera, whilst you're still shooting at 24 megapixels, the photosites are smaller- meaning they are less successful in capturing light, lowering the image quality. Therefore, you want better quality in low light images- a larger frame sensor is ideal. 

Composition

Composition refers to the way in which a shot is framed, both for photographic or artistic advantages but also for storytelling. Depending on your positioning the camera can go from a third party observer of a scene to the view of the characters themselves, depending on how you want to present your scene and how you want your audience to feel. You can build suspense by using close-ups to obscure events occurring around your character in the scene- story goes beyond the screenplay, it's deeply ingrained in film. 

Rule of Thirds- This is when the frame is split into thirds (surprising, I know) both horizontally and vertically to create a 3 x 3 grid. This grid is used to get pinpoint positioning when it comes to lining up eye-lines or horizons correctly and helps to get a better idea on where exactly to position objects to attract more or less attention when in frame. 

Lens Perspective- Choice of lens will greatly affect the look of a scene. If you wished the camera to have a perspective more representative of the human eye- a normal lens (for a 35mm camera*, a 50mm lens is equivalent). A wider lens can give the same perspective but with a deeper DOF and will usually show more of the scene.