Getting to Know the Tricks of Digital Filmmaking

As a popular adage goes, “Film is the greatest teacher, because it teaches not only through the brain, but through the whole body.”

This is quite true when we speak about digital filmmaking. Films teach us a lot of life lessons which help succeed. Visual images are stored quickly in our brain and retained for a long time in our memory. If you are a person who is crazy or obsessed with media studies, photography, videography and digital filmmaking, but don’t know where to look for the right tricks, this article will be your perfect guide to the vital aspects of digital filmmaking. Before moving on to the technical aspects, it is important to clearly understand the term ‘digital filmmaking.’

Digital filmmaking or digital cinematography involves the process of recording or capturing motion pictures by using devices that can record digital data such as hard disks, video tapes or flash memory. Using digital technology in filmmaking is a concept which evolved in the 1980s. Following that, it slowly started gaining momentum in the 1990s and 2000s and has now moved on to become an indispensable feature in filmmaking. Thanks to digital technology, it is possible for film makers to shoot and edit films using dazzling special effects, all for a miniscule budget.

Having understood the concept of digital filmmaking, let’s now move on to understand the opportunities provided to film makers in this new and advanced world of movies.Knowing these tips and tricks will teach you the art of turning a movie into a runaway box office success irrespective of it being a no budget, low budget or high budget movie.

The Story is Everything

To keep people glued to the screen you need a good story. No one bothers about the budget, provided the movie is good. The four main elements that play a vital role in all stories and screenplays are:

• Each of the characters within your story must have a goal. This way it will be easier for measuring the goals and seeing if they have been attained
• The story must have a setting. It can be usual or unusual
• The main characters must exhibit a lot of actions apart from the dialogues
• As a good storyteller, you need to master the craft of story telling, which happens when you weave the first three points together

Location

These have a huge impact on the script and the two expensive components of a film shoot include camera and location. Moving a cast and crew from one place to the other is time consuming and above all, expensive. This can be overcome by reducing the amount of location moves, finding locations that are close by and are not tedious to reach and even those that can be reached by walk. The other trick is to divide the actors into different bunches and finish their filming in those locations which will relieve you of location and salary expenses and this way, you will also be able to finish the shoot quickly.

Image Capture

Two elements to look out for are lenses and compression. So that will make a big difference to your film. Choose a camera which suits the budget. All digital cameras generate the same signal with the only difference being the lenses and the number of pixels per frame. For example, an easy way to film a crime series would be just to include the CCTV footages of any area and then re-enact it with special effects according to your movie.

Sound

Professional filmmakers spend a lot of time considering and creating the sounds to go with their movie. Good clean sound with interesting effects can make a movie shot even on a simple mobile camera, look great!

Music

Sound tracks of a film act as the main revenue streams because musician unions are stronger than actors, writers and film unions. Film makers need to understand that a huge sum goes in payment of music royalty. To avoid this, one can compose and perform on their own. They can avoid this expense by taking charge of the three music copy right streams: composers, lyricists and performers.

Hope these vital points gave you the right insights into the tricks of digital filmmaking. If you have a passion for movies springing from within, then have no second thoughts about making it a profession. Use this powerful medium to influence and change the lives of people for the better. Unleash your imagination and make it swim and sizzle with imagination!

Pic courtesy: www.pixabay.com