The Film Look
equipment, videos, weddings April 30th, 2007I have always been enamored with the look of film. I love the grain, the shadows, the colors or the lack thereof. I have this certain distaste for the garish, “sitcom” look of video. It’s not snooty, just a personal preference.
That is why we take great pains in achieving a filmic quality in the weddings we do. I’m sure by now you’ve noticed that rich saturated colors that abound in the videos. Or perhaps the color grading of select footage - sepia tones, desaturated, cross processed etc. All intentional and evocative of a mood we’re trying to set.
The camera motion is also one aspect we’ve perfected. Sweeping and gliding when necessary, static when the shot calls for it.
Perhaps the final frontier of the film look we are trying to conquer would be Depth of Field. Or simply, the area of an image which remains in focus while the rest is out. This helps the film maker guide the eyes of the viewer to specific elements in the composition.
This is very hard because a video camera lens has certain physical limitations in narrowing its DOF.
The solution? Use photgraphic lenses!

It was fun scouring the small photo shops in Hidalgo to look for the discontinued Canon line of FD lenses. They were very cheap actually, ranging from php2,500 - 5,000. I was able to obtain a 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4, 100mm f2.8 and a 500mm f8.
Ok enough of the numbers, here’s a screen grab from footage taken with a 50mm. Beautiful eh? (bride and shot!)

Here’s their onsite video … Dearly and Rommel
As a disclaimer though, I must stress that technique and style always should go hand in hand with the narrative. A clear story is necessary to make a compelling video (and to avoid the trap in manufacturing pure eye candy). Content, after all, is king

yummy!
so when will we see you gliding with those lenses?
Never!
Or until I get Leonidas’ muscles.
I’m waiting for a shot using the 500mm.
j
i was sick. ill edit this week. tas you can check it out again.
hi sir jason . ive never seen like this before.
how can we mount these lens to fx1? 
Dino.
The 500m was difficult to use. At f8, I couldn’t get a good image by five in the afternoon.
Lyn.
That’s ok. Get well soonest.
Philip.
It screws on the 72mm thread of the FX1
Awsome- What do use to bring the lens away from the sony lens? looks like an exstension of sorts?
sir,
anong adaptor yang nakakabit sa gitna? parang stepdown, or something? anong tawag dyan?
san mo nabili sa hidalgo?
tagal ko nang gustong gawin yan eh.. mahal kase ng telephoto lense ng video
Hi guys, some links to start you off..
http://www.redrockmicro.com/micro35.html
http://letus35.com/
sir jason, bilib talga ako sa inyo. ndi kayo madamot sa karunungan. salamat sa bagong ninyong naitulong. sana hindi kayo magbago! saludo ako sa inyo.
nice shot of the bride…
gud day sir. super tips, very informative. You have inspired me to improve my videography skills.
the adaptors are quite expensive though, but worth every penny if it gets you shots like those.
Sir J, great feature.
Try using rectilinear 14mm lenses, they don’t bend lines at extreme wide angles.
I’m waiting if you’re going to use f/1.4 or f/1.8 portrait lenses, they do a good job for photos, and I’m pretty damn sure the same goes with your videos.
Tip: Support bars are available. Hopefully, that will ease off the pain of carrying a heavy rig!
Question: Are you joining this September’s Wedding Expo?
sir jason, woow!innovative! ^_^ thanks for sharing ur ideas. idol talga kita!
mga sir thanks sa into, especially kay sir jason.. madami ako natutunan sainyo.. God bless
hey! how did you get the lens iin front of the camera? and which lense model would you recommend? pretty nice shots!
HI guest! You are from Germany? or Denmark?
Thanks for stopping by. I used the Letus flip enhanced with my FX1 so I can use old 35mm canon lenses. The 35mm and 50mm are the most usable lenses to have.
Cheers!
Sir Jason, I like your videos.. you really are a great videographer… Yesterday we bought a brand new Sony HVR-V1J . What can you say about this model? I’m wondering about the performance since I lately found out that this cam uses a 3CMOS and not a 3CCD.. thanks sir..
sir, jason
im from italy, galing mo tlga, pede ba ma malaman pano mo na mount yung canon lens sa unahan ng video mo tell me nmn kasi ang gamit ko ay ag dvx 100b ok ba yun.. pede ba i mount thanks sana matulungan mo ko…
Hi Jason,
Love your work. Just wondering, do you use the Letus and lenses during the ceremony and reception shoot? Or just during pre-ceremony shooting? Thanks.
Jared