let's face it getting epic shots in an epic location is easy
sadly not everyone has the same opportunities to travel and visit these places
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you see an epic travel clip on YouTube and boom you feel inspired you grab your camera and run
outside but there's only one problem you don't have a crazy location to shoot as someone who
used to make a living from travel and documentary films the pandemic really shook my foundations
when for over a year I didn't have the opportunity to go to these amazing locations I've become so
used to instead I had to learn to use what I have around me and how to get the best out of a boring
location so that's exactly what this video is about take a look at these clips you might imagine
it being shot on an exotic island somewhere the Philippines Bali perhaps? what if I told you that
this was filmed in my neighbor's Garden in the heart of a busy City far from the ocean nowhere
near the mountains and not a single epic waterfall or how about this Forest well you probably can't
call it a forest because it's really just a tiny Park surrounded by houses in a residential area
I've compiled a list of seven tips that you can use to create more interesting scenes and get more
value out of your locations tip number one angles are everything this is exactly the same shot one
aimed at eye level and one low to the ground going low to the ground can instantly transform
a scene and remove distracting background elements especially on the wides where it's not as easy to
hide stuff like in this case the street and houses going low and shooting up is also a way to capture
wides with more interest like in this scenario we're using the Treetops as a background with
this big branch as an element enhancing movement you can always flip it around and shoot from the
top down a simple twist paired with movement adds a dynamic to an otherwise flat image which brings
me to my next Point tip number two handheld I prefer shooting handheld over a gimbal these
scenarios because it's much easier and faster to frame a shot to hide distracting elements and you
have more control over the framing while doing the camera movement like in this example pushing
the camera forward and slowly tilting up keeping our subject in frame with more Precision than on
a gimbal shooting handheld also enables you to get shots that are not possible the gimbal like
tracking movements Dynamic shots like this adds more interest to a scene so try to move the camera
as much as possible tip number three lighting now you don't need to invest thousands of dollars
in lighting equipment or have a massive crew but having some control over the light will instantly
transform an unflattering image into something special a simple budget solution is a five in
one reflector to diffuse harsh light or bounce for the light in the first example I'm using the
diffuser to soften the sun immediately resulting in a flattering skin tone which enables me to
get a more balanced exposure of the background depending on the position of your subject you
can also use the reflector to bounce full light into the face but if the Sun is not giving enough
bounce for a natural looking shot you can always try artificial light I love tube lights because
they're battery powered and they're easy to set up even without an assistant but the value it adds is
tremendous the most important part about using fill whether it's a reflector or a tube light
is the placement of the light in relation to your subject a key light the sun is coming from behind
at a 45 degree angle you want to position the full light from the same side to motivate the
Sun so we're not trying to fill in any Shadows but simply enhance the sunlight as if it's a bit more
to the left the wrong way would be to place the light on the shadow side of the face and fill from
the opposite side of the Sun but now it's pretty obvious we're using a light and we're losing depth
in the face if you want to mess around more during the middle of the day you can take it
a step further by using a larger diffuser like a scrim gym in this case we used an 8x8 with a half
silk giving us more freedom to go wider on the movements tip number four Len's choice although
depth of field is not the determining factor for something to be "cinematic" shooting wide open at
F 1.4 or F 1.8 helps to knock out the background by blurring out distractions so basically a prime
lens is your best bet a 35 millimeter is my favorite focal length overall coming in just
wide enough for most wides but still being able to capture portraits going in tighter or putting
on a longer lens makes it even easier to avoid unwanted backgrounds but be careful that you don't
end up with too many many tide shots because you don't want to box in your viewer tip number five
depth a wide open aperture is not the only element that contributes to depth your subject in relation
to the camera can also give you a different perspective like in this example even at F 1.4
the background looks flat because the wall is too close to our subject by simply moving the camera
to the side by not only getting more depth but we suddenly have this interesting foreground to
use for movement foregrounds not only enhances movement but it also adds more depth to a scene
so I'm constantly searching for this in a frame an out of focus foreground and in-focus subject and
an out of focus background this shot was taken at the very edge of the park right next to the fence
but because I'm shooting from a lower angle and a sheer distance to the end of the park you won't
know about all the houses if you didn't see the BTS tip number six details since you don't have
many options for epic wide frames you should focus on making your close-ups more epic going in tight
on details are great fillers for b-roll and helps to connect your shots to each other tip number 7
last but not least grading this is the original color that came out of the scene in the garden
using a stylized light with desaturated greens and an exposure mask I was able to instantly transform
the image into something more film-like don't be scared to mess around with the colors you don't
have to settle for a natural look this video is proudly brought to you by the alpha Universe a
free learning platform with educational content from a variety of photographers
and filmmakers across all genres I currently have an exclusive training series on there you
can unlock for free by simply registering your Sony gear check out the link in the description