J G Harding is a singer-songwriter, filmmaker and editor of the Video Media section of British print magazine Sound on Sound. He recently made a DSLR video for The Heartbreaks, using only himself, the band and a Canon 550D.
Here in Julian’s guest blog for EOSHD he explains how it all came together. Do watch the video above (select 720p HD) – one of the best music videos I’ve yet seen from the DSLR community, and shot in such a short space of time with minimal equipment. Would it be out of place on MTV? Doesn’t look it!
I am pleased to say that EOSHD is currently writing for Sound on Sound magazine as part of their Video Media supplement which covers DSLRs extensively. This is the first time EOSHD has gone to print I am really grateful to Julian for the opportunity to take my articles to a new audience.
You can also check out some SOS Video Media articles online here at SoundOnSound.com
Over to Julian:
I though it’d be nice to talk a bit about this project here on EOSHD, since it’s not only a video I’m very happy with, but one that made me realise what DSLRs have really done for solo film makers. This is my first music video; that is to say it’s the first I wouldn’t consider to just be practice or learning gear, and the first I’m happy to promote and to have broadcast as an example of what I’m capable of. It’s also the first project I’ve lead and completed for broadcast on traditional television networks, with NME TV play-listing confirmed and hopefully more to follow. I shot it with a single Canon 550D.
It’s also entirely my own product, from a creative point of view: I wrote a treatment, made some storyboards, drew up my equipment list, transported my own camera gear to location, sparked, gripped and lit the scene, directed the band, operated the single camera, and later edited and post produced the piece too, all in a two week time-frame with a two-day shoot. Phew! I’m tired just writing that! I had an excellent producer in the band’s manager Nian Brindle, who handled securing of the venue (the breathtakingly beautiful Morecambe Winter Gardens, equipment hire, locating a dancer and other logistics, leaving me free to wear a whole heap of hats! I also had a pair of production assistants to help with purchases, manual labour and the like. The creative “team”, however, was just myself.
The breathtaking stage of the Morecambe Winter Gardens.
Working in such a manner requires an excess of stamina and discipline, and inevitably involves making some compromises, but what I find amazing is that it’s possible. I’m aware that people have always made work on skeleton crews with low budgets. They’ve used 8mm film, Hi8 video, DV and now DSLRs. But it’s only with this latest generation that we have access to a high-budget feel, with such a large sensor and high-quality prime lenses. Shooters on a budget are no longer forced to use the old “documentary style” of Hi8 or DV, making the low quality of the footage itself part of the narrative or feel. Nor do they have to deal with bulky 35mm adaptors to achieve a shallow depth of field. The file-based workflow and software advancements like the Mercury engine in Adobe CS5 are Godsends too, allowing high-quality output to be turned around on extremely tight deadlines without any transcoding or long-winded ingestion. These great features, coupled with the tiny form-factor of the camera, make creating slick-looking promos with minimal crew a (just about) practical reality.
As nice as the footage and workflow are, there are some issues with the 550D. None of us like Moiré, but your average viewer rarely cares. Unless you happen to capture a particularly hideous example that dominates a large portion of the frame, the problem is usually ignored. Double frame-rates are only captured at 720p, but then if you look at the footage close up, the EOS version of 1080p doesn’t look much sharper! There are also some oft-mentioned camcorder creature-comforts that I miss from my days of using the Sony Z1 and EX1, and for certain wide-angle shots, landscapes, and perhaps running about like a wild animal I’d still consider packing one of the two, along with a friend to carry it! But camera technology is moving very quickly, and hopefully these issues will be gone in the next EOS update.
Since completing this project I found myself asking: if I could have hired a Red, a separate DP, a lighting guy and some more hands on deck, would the resulting video would have been ‘better’ overall? Perhaps. Or perhaps it would just be of higher-resolution. Perhaps it’d lack some idiosyncratic charm, perhaps it’d be a little less ‘me’. I can’t really be sure, but as high-quality solo work becomes a reality, I think it’s food for thought. Is high-end gear and as large a crew as possible really always ‘right’ for the project?
I should make it clear that I don’t recommend working as a lone-gunman at all times, on all endeavours! If the option (and/or budget) is available to have knowledgeable hands on set, and you feel the production warrants more crew, then you should probably hire them. But if not, a combination of low-cost technology and the helpfulness (I try to do my fair share in the pages of Sound On Sound magazine!) of a broad community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and career creatives, allows many film-makers to get going with smaller teams.
On stage with The Heartbreaks and a 550D. Note the huge counter-weight on the shoulder rig!
DSLRs have removed some of the financial and practical obstacles that can stand between the mind’s eye – the endless scope of internal vision – and crafting an on-screen reality. These odd, hybrid cameras bring ever greater creative freedom to many more users with each new hardware generation, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. Sure, we’ll all have to put up with many derivative works as more users learn in public, and there’ll always be a Vimeo full of “test” files (hint: add -test -tests to your search to help preserve your remaining sanity 😉 ). But on the plus side there will be plenty of talented people coming to the fore who, until now, may have found film making to be prohibitively expensive.
Here I’m operating a simple dolly, while one of my production assistants stands by.
There’s been a lot of debate recently, both on this site and elsewhere, about what constitutes ‘professional’ equipment, and whether the latest camcorders – with which manufacturers have sought to blend the best of both worlds at a price – are ‘worth it’ or not. The debates go round in circles, and as far as I can see, it’s because what’s ‘right’ is what fits your abilities and needs on a given budget or project, whether that’s an iPhone 4 or an Arri Alexa. A friend of mine recently used a £100 Harinezumi on a high-profile promo shoot because it was right for the project, while he used a Red for the shoot before. I’m not about to argue with him or his fee. Equally, some of those I know who work in large-scale broadcast have strict limits placed on acquisition codecs, colour-sampling and resolution that may not affect others, while others work shooting sports, and could never use DSLRs for their work. I have no desire to argue with them either. I think there’s a lot I can learn from everyone.
For me, the most important thing is to become absorbed not just in technology, but in the overall (and sometimes overlooked) craft of film making: pre-production planning, casting, lighting, motion, composition, appropriate treatment and direction of talent, editing and pacing, balancing my own desire with the needs of the audience and the client, anaesthetising my ego for the sake of the piece, the list goes on and on. One fun way I find to do this is, just sometimes, to do it all myself! But whether working solo or in a team, I find that as I develop the ability to use more of these elements in balance, the box on the back of the glass starts to matter far less than my own imagination.
Hear more from The Heartbreaks here at MySpace and also follow on Twitter
I’ll be publishing some more technical details about the production process soon, so if you’re interested please follow me at twitter.com/jgharding or at http://jgharding.com
If you have any questions regarding lenses etc, you’ll find most of them them answered in my gear list, here: Share.
British filmmaker and editor of EOSHD. On this blog I share my creative and technical knowledge as I shoot.