Sometimes a fantastic shot can be achieved with a simple lens hack or well-choreographed trick of the eye. A few of these secrets are shared on KINETEK, a YouTube channel catering to filmmaking tutorials and DIY hacks.

Seasoned cinematographer Matthew Rosen enlightens us with a number of behind-the-scenes tips that show how some of his commercials were shot.

For example, in a detergent ad the brief required the powder to pour out in slow motion and maintain focus on the powder as it rained onto the camera. The footage was captured using a Phantom Miro camera to record at 1,500 frames per second; however Rosen would need to quickly pull focus as well.

The ultimate solution was to apply a strip of masking tape over the focus ring and yank it off in one swift motion. Done correctly, the results are astonishing.

For another assignment, the brief involved filming interior shots for a moving car commercial. Instead of rigging the car to a platform and driving on the streets, the team resolved that faking motion was the better option given the limited time.

Rosen notes that the technique of faking light movement harkens back to the silent movie era. Ambient lights were set up beneath the actors which simulates the light emanating from a dashboard when synced to the lights outside of the car. The headlamps moving behind the car and lights passing through the windows were moved back and forth by the crew to generate a sense of motion within the car.

These simple tricks provide an interesting insight into the world of cinematography and are well worth exploring on KINETEK if you’re interested in learning more about it.

2016-10-29 03:00