Synopses & Reviews
Video-capable DSLR cameras give filmmakers a quality previously impossible without high-end cinema cameras. Exploring the cinematic quality and features offered by hybrid DSLRs, this book empowers the filmmaker to craft visually stunning images inexpensively.
Learn to think more like a cinematographer than a videographer, whether shooting for a feature, short fiction, documentary, video journalism, or even a wedding. DSLR Cinema offers insight into different shooting styles, real-world tips and techniques, and advice on postproduction workflow as it guides you in crafting a film-like look.
Case studies feature an international cast of cutting edge DSLR shooters today, including Philip Bloom (England), Bernardo Uzeda (Brazil), Rii Schroer (Germany), Jeremy Ian Thomas (United States), Shane Hurlbut, ASC (United States), and Po Chan (Hong Kong). Their films are examined in detail, exploring how each exemplifies great storytelling, exceptional visual character, and how you can push the limits of your DSLR.
* Inside perspective from a master class of DSLR shooters * Emphasis on visual technique related to great stories * Progression from the fundamental tools needed by DSLR shooters to advanced techniques * Wide array of technical information: composition, lighting, camera movement, lenses, audio, postproduction workflow, and more * Lavish, full-color illustrations showcase real world examples from real DSLR videos * Companion Web site shows you the films discussed in the book, and more
Review
A filmmaker's guide to crafting cinema-quality films with hybrid DSLR cameras!
Review
“There's a lot already out there in on the web about DSLR filmmaking. There are detailed blogs like The Best Damn DSLR Video & Movie Blog or like Shane Hurlbut, ASC's terrific and thorough account of his DSLR adventures. There are volumes of technical guides, my favorite being Ryan Koo's DSLR Cinematography Guide. And, even print publishers have started to get in on the trend, such as Kurt Lancaster's DSLR Cinema -- a book that focuses especially on the Canon 5D Mark II, which we shot Absentia on-- which MFM reviewed last month.” -MicroFilmmaker Magazine (Article on DSLR filmmaking)
About the Author
Kurt Lancaster has shot documentaries that have screened nationally and internationally. He has also consulted for the Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, training some of their print journalists in video journalism, as well as shooting and editing documentary journalism pieces. He is also an assistant professor of digital media in the School of Communication at Northern Arizona University, where he teaches courses on documentary multimedia production, scriptwriting, and production techniques. Kurt earned his PhD from New York University. His students have gone on to earn video journalism awards, screen documentaries at film festivals, as well as creating independent video companies. Dr. Lancaster’s essays and articles on journalism, popular culture, performance, and communication have appeared in the International Journal of Communication, the Performing Arts Journal, Modern Drama, Journal of Popular Culture, Journal of American Culture, and The Christian Science Monitor. His previous books include: The Documentary Journalist: The Art and Craft of Video Journalism for the Web (manuscript completed; proposal submitted and in review). Building a Home Movie Studio and Getting Your Films Online (Watson Guptill, 2002). Warlocks & Warpdrive: Contemporary Fantasy Entertainments with Interactive and Virtual Environments (McFarland, 1999). “A work of meticulous detail, bounded by academic discipline, that still manages to scream off the page and impart a burning passion for its subject. ... A prose style that stays thankfully close to good storytelling. ... mark[s] Kurt Lancaster's arrival as a welcome presence ... Will surprise the most inventive thinker.” -Neil Nixon, Fortean Times “A significant contribution to the study of merchandise-saturated and commodified worlds we find ourselves visiting at work and play.” -Tim Robbins, Interzone Interacting with Babylon 5: Fan Performances in a Media Universe (University of Texas Press, 2001). “Kurt Lancaster, in his excellent study, concludes that science fiction fans, in this case those of Babylon 5, did indeed empower themselves.” -Nicholas Birns, Science Fiction Studies Performing the Force, as co-editor (McFarland, 2001). “A provocative collection.” -Interzone “... an extremely interesting introduction to the enormous variety of popular culture audience participation formats that are nowadays thriving in virtual and real environments, and it is a valuable source of information for scholars wishing to get a broad view of a field that is rapidly expanding due to the pervasiveness of information technologies.” -Susana Tosca, IT University of Copenhagen, Intensities: the journal of cult media
Digital Filmmaker, Documentarian; Northern Arizona University
Table of Contents
Part I Using the Cinematographer’s Toolkit to Craft Astounding Images with DSLRs: Chapter 1 Composition, Blocking and Camera Movement; Chapter 2 Lighting; Chapter 3 Tonal Scale, Exposure, and Lenses; Chapter 4 Using Picture Styles; Chapter 5 Recording Quality Audio; Chapter 6 Postproduction Workflow and Techniques
Part II Master DSLR Shooters at Work - Getting the Film Look (Case Studies): Chapter 7 Short Fiction: Casulo (2009), directed by Bernardo Uzeda, Brazil; Chapter 8 Documentary Journalism: 16 Teeth: Cumbria’s Last Traditional Rakemakers (2009), directed by Rii Schroer, England; Chapter 9 Short Documentary: A Day at the Races (2010), directed by Philip Bloom, United States; hapter 10 Short Fiction: Chrysalis (2010), directed by Jeremy Thomas, United States; Chapter 11 Short Fiction: The Last Three Minutes (2010), directed by Po Chan and Shane Hurlbut, ASC, United States
Part III Getting the Gear and Telling Your Stories: Chapter 12 DSLR Cinema Gear by Budget; Chapter 13 How to Tell Better Stories with Your DSLR
Afterword by Philip Bloom Appendix I Image Resolution; Appendix II ISO Tests for the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D; Appendix III Exposure and Dynamic Range; Appendix IV Luminance and Chrominance Compression