Hi John Hess from Filmmaker IQ.com.
In our Last IQ BTS video we unboxed our brand new camera at Filmmaker IQ studios.
I think most of you understood the point I was trying to make with that video.
It took me a long time to evaluate different cameras, I did that through renting a bunch
of different cameras and seeing what fit my workflow.
Renting cameras really is the way to evaluate the camera that you want to ultimately purchase.
But there is one question in the comment section that I felt needed to be addressed and that
was "Would we do a camera review of the best camera for under X amount of dollars."
- a thousand dollars or two thousand or something like that...
oh shoot, hold on.
My zipper is undone - I need to do this.
C'mon...
alright.
Would we do a camera review for the "best camera" under a thousand dollars or two thousand
or whatever it was.
And with all due respect...
No.
I hate doing camera reviews.
I really hate...
I hate camera reviews in general.
I love filmmaking, don't get me wrong.
I mean...
I... live, eat, sleep filmmaking but to me filmmaking is so much bigger than just the
camera.
I mean filmmaking is ideas and scripts and dialogue, story and acting, camera placement,
lighting and blocking and framing and sound and sound effects and...
I mean I can go on and on... design.
These so much to filmmaking than...
than just the camera.
So yeah...
I don't find cameras that interesting to play with honestly.
Unless I have a project to actually make with the camera.
Then cameras are vitally important.
But secondly I think the question misses the big point which is: There is no such thing
as the "best camera".
There are best cameras for certain situations for certain shooting styles for certain budgets
okay... and that target obviously continuously moves as new cameras are being introduced
all the time.
So, no I'm not going to do a camera review because there are no "best cameras" and if
I did find a camera that I liked, it would be the one that I liked and not necessarily
the one that would work for you and whatever situation you find yourself in.
But I understand the impetus of the question.
In a world where there's so much information and so many cameras you kinda want a shortcut.
You want say, okay, this is a camera I can start with and that's what I need to do to
start moving.
But a better strategy to the information overload is to just tackle the information itself.
Instead of trying to shortcut it, let's try to understand how the camera fits inside the
big pantheon of Filmmaking concepts.The more you understand how the camera fits, the bette
ryou are answering the question "what camera should I buy" for yourself because really
the only person that can answer that is you.
Everything we've been trying to do is build a fundamental foundation to answering that
question to understanding filmmaking in its whole.
Ultimately I think what happens is people need "permission"
People always say, "Well I only have this camera, I can't make a movie" - NO!
You can!
You can make a movie - you have my permission in fact, I want you guys to go out there and
make ten short films.
Make ten short films alright with whatever camera you have.
It can be a cell phone camera, it can be a flea market special - I don't care.
Make ten films.
Write them, shoot them, edit them, show them to your friends.
Ten films.
And then guess what?
You're literally a filmmaker!
And now we can sit down and look at those ten films and say: What is it about my filmmaking
that I need to improve?
And if you're really honest and normal like everyone else.
What you need to improve on is probably not your camera.
You probably need to improve on lighting, sound, acting, camera direction, blocking...
The camera is probably the last thing that's holding you back.
Especially these days with the amazing camera technology we have today.
Ultimately I hope you realize that the camera, although it's a vital and key important part
of the filmmaking process.
It is still just a bunch of glass, some electronics and some plastic.
The camera doesn't make films.
And before you get too wound up about upgrading your camera and seeing what's new.
try to upgrade this up here.
Because it's this that makes the film and not the camera.
I'm John Hess: follow us on Facebook, Twitter, consider becoming a Patron on Patreon and
I'll see you at FilmmakerIQ.com