Hybrid shooting – a beginners guide (part 1)

If you are already skilled in photography, the jump to cinematography is not as difficult as it seems. The core principles of framing, lighting, perspective and lens choice are fundamentally the same. After all, a film is just a series of photos in motion.

Then of course there is an array of other skills you need to add: story-boarding, directing skills, swap strobes for constant light, acquire some audio tech skills, and understand basic camera movements. Then add video editing to your toolkit, and you’re ready to produce professional level footage.

Consider Stanley Kubrick: he was a genius director who first developed his formidable eye as a stills photographer. He became renowned for crafting iconic scenes precisely because he understood the aesthetic and emotive power of the image, whether it was still or moving. You can be that person!

Setting up your camera

Ever wonder why old films look so comically choppy? They were shot at 12-20 fps. Today’s cinematic standard is 24 or 25 frames per second (fps) – a rate that delivers the realistic motion we’ve all come to expect.

This brings us to the golden rule: shoot in Manual, and lock your shutter speed. For natural motion blur, your shutter speed must be double your frame rate (this is known as the 180-degree rule).

• At 25fps, your shutter speed is 1/50s.

• At 50fps, your shutter speed is 1/100s. 

• At 100fps, your shutter speed is 1/200s.

Higher frame rates deliver smoother slow motion in post-production. When exporting a project at 25fps, footage shot at 50fps can be slowed by 50% (half speed) while maintaining a clean image. Similarly, 100fps footage can be slowed to 25% (quarter speed) for even more dramatic, fluid results.

Exposure

As a photographer, you’ll immediately see the problem: in daylight, you can’t shoot at 1/50s with a wide aperture without blowing out your exposure. The solution is not to raise your shutter speed – that will create staccato, ‘choppy’ video. And just stopping down to a greater depth of field doesn't always lend itself to a cinematic look. The essential tool you really need is a Neutral Density (ND) filter, which allows you to cut light while maintaining your desired aperture and shutter speed.

Recording Formats and Codecs

The XF-HEVC S YCC422 10-bit format is a modern H.265 codec that creates high-quality, efficient files, but it is more demanding computer-wise to edit. With HEVC you can only shoot in Long-GOP (LGOP) means the camera captures one complete, original frame and then, for the subsequent frames, only records what has changed.

The XF-AVC S YCC422 is a slightly older codec (H.264), requires less compute power in post, and you can shoot in ‘Intra-frame’ in which every frame is like a jpg image. File size of AVC is 2-3 times the size of newer HEVC. So 30 GB becomes 90 GB on your card.

Quality: 4K Fine (Oversampling)

Settings like ‘4K Fine’ typically use oversampling (e.g., capturing from a larger 8K or 6K sensor) to create a more detailed 4K image. This results in higher quality and larger file sizes. Otherwise, normal 4K is usually more than enough for social media and up to YouTube clips.

Resolution: 4K-U vs. 4K-D

4K-U (UHD): The 16:9 (3840x2160) standard for consumer displays like TVs and platforms like YouTube.

4K-D (DCI): The slightly wider/narrower 17:9 (4096x2160) standard used for professional cinema projection.

Picture Profile: C-Log

C-Log 2 and C-Log 3 provide the maximum dynamic range, capturing the most detail in highlights and shadows. However, they are harder to expose correctly (often requiring a higher base ISO) and must be colour graded in post-production. You can use LUTs (Look-Up Tables) to simplify the shooting and grading process, which act like filters to restore a normal look. Another major issue is there can be noticeable noise in shadows. Personally, I don’t shoot C-Log to keep things easier.

Recording Format: RAW

For high-end projects like films or commercials, shooting in RAW provides the absolute most data and post-production flexibility, much like shooting RAW stills. While some cameras can record RAW internally, many require an external monitor/recorder, which adds bulk to your camera setup.

Keep in mind that RAW video files are massive. Shooting RAW consumes ten times the storage of a 1080p clip, and approximately three times the space required for 4K video.

Let there be light

While the principles of lighting are similar to stills, video generally offers far less flexibility in post. This makes it essential to capture the look you want as perfectly as possible ‘in camera’.

When shooting people in daylight, try to work in open shade for softer, more flattering light. You can also use reflectors to bounce sunlight for fill (try to avoid reflector shimmer), or if shooting in direct sun, use an overhead scrim to diffuse or block the harsh light.

Better still is to shoot at daybreak or dusk to get the most even, soft lighting. Ideally, the shoot day would be overcast.

For shooting indoors, or at night, you can often get by with high ISOs and a fast prime lens. Using domestic lights is an option, but be prepared for strange colour casts, poor colour accuracy and at times – flickering.

Fortunately, the price and quality of LED lights have become very affordable, and they are no longer the huge, cumbersome, low-output panels, or the high-energy hot tungsten lights of the past. There are many excellent LED lights on the market, usually in three types: (D) Daylight, (B) Bi-colour, or (R / RGB) Full Colour Spectrum. With these different options, just be aware that, for example, a 200W Daylight (D) LED gives you the full 200W of power, but a 200W Bi-colour (B or X) model will be less bright (aprox. 150W power for a 200W light) as the wattage is split between its warm and cool diodes.

For monobloc studio style LED lighting, I’d recommend starting at a minimum of 200W, with 300W models still being reasonably priced. Pro-level lights are typically 600W or more but can be overkill for many basic setups. Look at models like the Godox Litemons 300 R RGB LED or the Amaran 200dS/200xS.

For extremely portable, reasonably priced LED lights, I’d look at the versatile Godox RS60Bi 60W Bi-Color LED. They can run by mains, USB-C, built in batteries, or even NPF or V-Mount.

Recording Sound

One of the biggest rookie mistakes for first time filmmakers is getting crappy sound. This is because inbuilt camera mics are kind of terrible!

At a minimum, you’ll want an on-camera shotgun mic, which slots into the flash hot shoe and plugs into the camera’s 3.5mm mic input, or straight into a Multi-Function Shoe. While a shotgun mic is directional it can still capture unwanted ambient sound from the entire room.

This is where wireless mics come in. A few years ago, this was a semi-complex setup, but today’s Compact Wireless Mic Systems are affordable, very small and easy to use. They consist of a receiver (RX) that attaches to your hot shoe and one or two transmitters (TX).

These wireless mics are versatile: you can clip the transmitter onto a person, or plug in a discreet lavalier (like newsreaders use), or attach the TX to a handheld adapter for a ‘roving reporter’ mic. For short films needing natural sounding dialogue, attach the TX to a shotgun mic on a boom pole (an extendable pole held over the actors). Just make sure you watch for shadows or reflections of the boom.

Recommended current wireless systems include the Rode Wireless Pro, DJI Mic 3, or the Godox MoveLink II.

Finally, don’t forget to monitor your audio using wired headphones. Set your camera to manual audio mode and watch the sound meter. If the sound ‘peaks’ in the red (distortion), dial the level down so it doesn’t go over orange. Generally, aim for recording levels around -12dB to -10dB.

You can read Part 2 of Hybrid Shooting next fortnight.