use a prime lens don't use autofocus don't go below f 3.5
that's what most people on youtube tells you about shooting a cinematic broll video not me
so
what's up youtube jacques crafford here with another exciting tutorial and today's video i'm
going to share five tips for creating cinematic food film from how i lit it to how i shot it now
i've been fascinated with the b-roll style food videos flooding the tube lately the one thing
i noticed was most all of them are shot on primes and they all say that you shouldn't use autofocus
furthermore they say you should stick to f 3.5 as anything below that becomes too shallow
well i tried something completely different if you watched my last video about how to shoot
a sony launch film you'll remember that i raved about using mostly one lens the 24 to 70ml f 2.8 g
master so with this video i took it upon myself to try a completely different project with the
same lens but this time on the sony a7c shooting everything at f 2.8 i've become so used to the
amazing performance of the sony a7 s3 and the fx3 that shooting on the a7c felt like taking a few
steps backwards but i wanted to challenge myself and the first step to getting better performance
is with lighting so here's step number one double diffuse with lighting i opted for a strong key
light from the side with double diffusion this involves shooting through two layers of diffusion
in this case a parabolic softbox through a scrim gem the scrim enlarges the light even
more giving you softer shadows and the extra layer of diffusion and more pleasant roll-off
to avoid light spill i used two large flags to keep the background dark if you don't have a
scrim gim or flags you shouldn't let that stop you a simple white bed sheet and a dark blanket
can also give you the same result for full light i used a 60 watt led with a soft box and a grid
but i also needed to flag it to preserve the mood for the background and the backlight from
the top i opted for two nanlite pavotubes i've been fascinated with tube lights lately not
because of how they can decorate the background but because they make for awesome practicals and
you can even use it as a key light like in this example where we growled the chicken working with
fire it was important to motivate the flames with an extra light and because the flames are warm and
yellow i had to use a light to match it dialing in the right color on the nanlie pavotube is easy
and by shooting through a scrim i was able to get a really soft light to add some extra mood
i use the hazer which creates depth and takes away some of the digital look tip number two use a zoom
lens contrary to popular opinion using a zoom has many benefits in this case it was a lifesaver when
doing my in-camera transitions most of these shots require you to work with the foreground to either
dip down into it or reveal from it the kitchen i shot in had an extra counter that was often in
the way and if i tried to shoot this on a fixed 35 millimeter or a 24 millimeter i'd have a hard time
doing these shots but zooming into 50 millimeter or 70 millimeter gave me the freedom to dip behind
the counter and still get the correct frame an added benefit to using a zoom lens means you're
able to do dynamic shots like this one where i used to zoom with my movement before i carry on
if you're enjoying this video please leave a like and a comment if you have questions ask away and
i'll do my best to answer it i've got some really cool videos planned for the channel and your
support plays a big part in all of it tip number three how to get better tracking shots nailing
your tracking shots can be challenging and a simple trick i use to get more accurate movements
is to start the movement before the action by the talent this will make your handout shots more
stable and give you a better chance of getting an accurate track in this scene you can see how i'm
starting my movement just a brief moment before the action by the shaft this gives me some time
to ease into the speed of the rolling onion the same applies to the flipping of the roti i asked
the chef to flip it continuously but to do it with consistent timing so by the third or fourth time
i'm actually able to pick up the rhythm in a movement tip number four you can use autofocus
the main reason people advised against autofocus is because of the potential for hunting and
missing focus and i get that in essence they're not wrong but i found great success in this video
by using autofocus using the spot focus works the best here and the goal is to put the square
in a place on your screen where you know it will organically shift focus to as you move
the camera onto the next subject or tracking the same subject it's important to play around with
focused transition speed and sensitivity as this can play a role in how effective the focus will be
but it also depends on your frame rate in this video i shot everything at 100 frames per second
and with slow motion it's better to have a faster incision speed with a fast sensitivity tip number
five curate your color theme when planning your video it's important to consider the color you use
and how it will translate in the overall video when i say color i'm talking about the color of
your lights to the color of your talent's clothes to the color of the ingredients in this video i
opted for a maroon orange and yellow tone from the chef's apron to the colorful ingredients
these colors all play a role in creating a feel of consistency in the video in this example you
can see how there's a contrast between the lights and the ingredients blending in with the apron
small things like this will add to the overall flow of your film and gives it that professional
edge there's still lots that can be said about a shoot like this but i feel like the most important
take out here is that the lighting and color theme makes a big difference and shooting with the zoom
lens shouldn't be frowned upon and that's it i hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes with me
if you have any more questions drop me a comment or let me know about any future videos
you'd like to see on the channel thanks so much for watching and i'll see you in the next one