Which Camera?

themattcastro

themattcastro

Alright,

So I'm a huge fan of DSLR's and I love them to death, especially the 5d mark 2 and 3, but now I'm at a dilemma.

I'm working out my first feature film, and although I am used to using DSLR's for my films, I don't know what I should shoot on for my first feature film.

So my basic question is this, does DSLR footage shot in 1080p going to look good in a theater?

I know it's a long shot to get my film shown in an actual movie theater, but still-I'd like to know. Would DSLR footage suffice, or am I going to have to look into putting the RED into my budget.

I really don't want to do that because I'd rather spend my budget on the film's other aspects rather than on the camera.
 
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Would Red look better on the big screen? Hell yes (everything else being equal), but you don't need it to have a good looking movie that will screen well. If you already have a 5D mk II or iii, spend your money on audio and feeding the cast and crew.

Just my opinion.
 
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themattcastro said:
Would DSLR footage suffice, or am I going to have to look into putting the RED into my budget.
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If you know for certain that your movie will be shown in theaters
then you need to shoot with the Alexa or RED. Rent them. If you
hope a distributor will pick up your movie and release it in theaters
but don't have the budget for a RED or Alexa then DSLR footage
will suffice. If you know you will be showing it in a local theater a
few times but most of the moves life will be on digital media (VOD,
DVD/Blu-Ray, download, etc.) then DSLR footage will suffice. If you
can afford to put a RED in your budget then that's a great choice.

You, of course, have an excellent script, great actors, a dedicated
DP, an experienced audio recordist, and fantastic art direction so the
camera won't really matter that much to the audience.
 
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directorik said:
If you know for certain that your movie will be shown in theaters
then you need to shoot with the Alexa or RED. Rent them. If you
hope a distributor will pick up your movie and release it in theaters
but don't have the budget for a RED or Alexa then DSLR footage
will suffice. If you know you will be showing it in a local theater a
few times but most of the moves life will be on digital media (VOD,
DVD/Blu-Ray, download, etc.) then DSLR footage will suffice. If you
can afford to put a RED in your budget then that's a great choice.

You, of course, have an excellent script, great actors, a dedicated
DP, an experienced audio recordist, and fantastic art direction so the
camera won't really matter that much to the audience.
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I know audio is key, I mean come on-this isn't film school. :grumpy:

I'm not a quality snob. I'm just worried that DSLR footage might not look good blown up to a 35mm screen, but if dlevanchuk says is true and the t2i looks mighty fine on the big screen, then I'm going to have to settle for the 5d Mark 2.

I just want to make sure I shoot this film right and not regret it later after I've spent 10k or anything. That would be very, very depressing. :(
 
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I'm sorry but there are an awful lot of cameras that are compromises between the RED/Alexa camp and DSLRs. People are talking like these are the only options.

Look at the Sony FS100, Canon C300 and the Sony F3.

I recommend googling 'the great camera shootout' and watching that documentary. It will show you what these cameras look like on the big screen and how you should select which camera to use.

Having watched that documentary, I thought that the iPhone looked better on the big screen than the 7D.
 
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NickClapper said:
I'm sorry but there are an awful lot of cameras that are compromises between the RED/Alexa camp and DSLRs. People are talking like these are the only options.
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I guess I own another apology. My post sure was taken differently
than I intended. I guess I could have mentioned every other camera
possibility but for the sake of brevity I only mentioned the RED (which
themattcastro mentioned) and the Alexa in the context of a theatrical
release.

Nick, I’m sorry you thought I mentioned those two cameras as the
only option. That was not my intent. Of course there are other options.
You are correct. I guess I should have been more through on cameras
and less on audio.
 
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Shoot on a GH2. You get better than a Canon or Nikon DSLR for a similar price, and whilst it's no 4k, it's pretty damn good (hacked).
I'd also look at an F3 or FS100 or 700

But yeah, GH2 is a great little camera for little money.
 
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The RED will not get your film up on the big screen. A great story will. Time spent splitting hairs on best image is less time spent on your story. Any reasonably cost HD camera can do the job.

The only people that should buy a RED are the ones that can afford to go out and buy another one ON THE SAME DAY the tripod got knocked over. (Are you going to suspend your production for 6 weeks while the RED gets repaired?)
 
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directorik said:
I apologize for bringing up what you already know. Sometimes people
do learn here - they sometimes even learn something new. I did not
know your background when I posted so I overstepped. It won't happen
again.
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I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like a complete A-hole in my last post. I just hate posting on this forum and getting the same recycled answers.

But I do appreciate your help!!!!
 
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GuerrillaAngel said:
The RED will not get your film up on the big screen. A great story will. Time spent splitting hairs on best image is less time spent on your story.
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My thoughts aren't fully set on which camera to use. I just don't want to make a feature film on a DSLR and find out it looks like crap in a theater room.

I've never shot a feature film before, and so I don't know the logistics of what's the best way to go about it for the long run.

NickClapper said:
I recommend googling 'the great camera shootout' and watching that documentary. It will show you what these cameras look like on the big screen and how you should select which camera to use.
Click to expand...

Thank you! This is something I've been looking for!
 
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Many scenes from the movie "Act of Valor" and "127 Hours" were shot on DSLR, along with a few scenes from "Black Swan" and "Captain America."

I have watched three of those movies in theaters and believe me, they look far from "crap" on the big screen. The footage holds up wonderfully, though of course, they were using professional lighting set ups and high end lenses with experienced crews.

I could definitely tell Act of Valor and 127 Hours had a lot of Canon DSLR footage since I am know pretty used to it, but I doubt most regular people watching would've been able to tell the difference.
 
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NickClapper said:
I recommend googling 'the great camera shootout' and watching that documentary. It will show you what these cameras look like on the big screen and how you should select which camera to use.
Click to expand...

Thanks for recommending this! I watched the 2010 and 2011 camera shootout's and it was great! Definitely told me exactly what I wanted to know and answered my questions and then some.

Highly recommend watching these videos if any of you haven't already
 
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as offered in this thread... Cast, Crew, Lighting, and locations will make way way more of a difference than RED or DSLR when it comes to production value and quality of look.

cheers
geo
 
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GeorgiaHilton said:
as offered in this thread... Cast, Crew, Lighting, and locations will make way way more of a difference than RED or DSLR when it comes to production value and quality of look.
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Of course, but like in the documentary-although these DSLR camera's look great, there's some detailed problems with them that will show up in on a big screen that people should know about, even with RED cameras.

That's the information I was looking for. I guess I should have reworded my question better.
 
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I know we say this a lot "the camera doesn't matter" but I have to ask, have you watched a late 80's - 90's "independent" movie that was shot on "video" lately? Throw in "typical" indie level acting.. and it just plain hurts !

Just sayin..
 
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