There are 5 main things that can make a video look more like a film. These 5 things are:
- Depth of field - Try hard for a narrow depth of field. That means your aperture should be wide open. The lower the number, the wider your aperture. By allowing more light to get in at every shot, you create a much narrower depth of field.
- Frame rate - Just do it. Shoot at 24p. It may not look all that hot when you’re reviewing footage in-camera, but unless you have a good reason not to do it, do it. 24p will help you achieve a more traditional film look. It will look better upon exporting from post than it did on your viewfinder/LCD.
- Aspect ratio - With a wider aspect ratio, you will achieve a more “filmic” look. There are a few ways to accomplish this. When shooting, if you are relying on an LCD screen to frame your shots, take a little bit of electrical tape and cover the aspect of the LCD (top and bottom) that you don’t want in the shot; use a ruler.
- Focus and zoom - You don’t have to shoot on a prime lens just to look like a prime lens. Just do me a favor: if you zoom in or out, cut out the zoom motion in post production. It’s fine if you want to jump to a close up of a Liberian fish vendor and can’t go running across a heavily-armed Freetown open market to get it. Fine, wimp, zoom in.
- Colour, effects and grain - Start with this as a base: Once you have your footage ingested and in your timeline, go to your color tool of choice. Exposure-wise, bring your mids up a hair and then come back down on your blacks to level it off. Give it about 10% more saturation than you started with.
