Transcripts
1. Intro: Hi, my name is Zoe. I'm a cinematographer
and a Professor of Film. I've been shooting films
for many years now. And the projects I've worked
on have gone on to be shown at festivals like Sundance
and Caribbean tales. As a cinematographer, one of the most crucial
decisions you'll make when choosing to shoot a film is Which lens are
lenses you'll use? I'd argue that your
choice of lens is way more important than
your choice of camera. Within reason, the lens
you choose will determine a large percentage of what constitutes the
look of your film. Spherical versus anamorphic,
fast versus slow. These are all choices
you will need to make as you look at lenses. Throughout the course, we'll
cover all of the things you want to think about before choosing a lens for
your next project. By the end of this course, you should be able to pick out the perfect set of lenses
for your next film. Let's get started.
2. Lens Compression: Lens compression. Lens compression is a
visual effect that can cause the images the camera
captures to appear distorted. On a wider lens, the subject may appear slimmer, the background may seem further, and the straight lines near the edges of the frames
may look curved. On the flip side. With a tighter lens, the subject may appear wider, the background may seem closer, and the images in the
background may also look a lot larger than they otherwise
would to the naked eye. This is the result
of lens compression. In the right moments, lens compression appears
normal as our eyes have been trained to accept certain
distortions in certain shots. However, it's something
to be cognizant of when we're making our shot list
and choosing our lenses.
3. Focal Lengths: Focal lengths. There are many different focal lengths we can use when it comes
to making a film. No set focal length is required for any one shot
or for any look. However, as filmmakers, just like we need to be
aware of depth of field, we should also be aware of the focal lengths that we
choose for our projects. There are three groups that
lenses typically fall into. Wide telephoto and
the ones in between. Let's talk about each category. There are use cases
and their caveats.
4. Wide Angle Lenses: Wide lenses, typically,
anything wider than a 35-millimeter lens
is considered a wide lens. This would include
14 millimeter, 24 millimeters, and 28
millimeter lenses, for example. These lenses produce a view of the world that is a
lot wider than what we're used to seeing
with our own eyes due to their increased
field of view. In films, these lenses are typically used
for establishing shots with the desire is for the entire environment of
the scene to be captured. These establishing
shots helped to place the audience in the scene
that they're about to view. Wider lenses are
also typically used to capture landscape
focus shots, such as the sun's setting into the ocean or a mountain range. As they are able to
capture these images with a much better perspective due to their field
and angle of view. However, there are some caveats when it comes to
using wider lenses. This is not true with
all wide lenses, but it is common knowledge that some lenses have what
is known as distortion. Distortion is when a piece
of the image is changed in a noticeable way due to the
construction of the lens. The type of distortion that wide angle lenses are known to have can make smaller spaces feel larger than they truly are. That's why so many
wide-angle lenses are used in real
estate photography. However, if you pay attention
to the edges of the frame, both in these photos
and in films, you'll be able to see
that the image begins to curve as it gets closer and closer to
the edge of the frame. Depending on your intention
with the piece and how you desire a space
to feel in a scene. This is something you
definitely want to be aware of when it comes to
using wide-angle lenses.
5. 50mm: 50 millimeter. The lenses in the middle most closely replicate
what the human eye sees would typically fall within the 40 to 50
millimeter range. You may have heard of the 50 millimeter lens being
referred to as the nifty 50. That's because this focal
length is extremely versatile and what it's
able to capture with these, granted with enough space
and the right technology, almost any lens could frame a wide shot or an
extreme close-up. However, it's the ease of
which these transitions can be made with the 50 millimeter
lens that makes it nifty. These lenses can capture both excellent portrait shots as well as pleasing wide shots. If you can only have
one lens on set, many people argue that
the 50 millimeter lens is the one to have,
and I tend to agree.
6. Telephoto Lenses: Telephoto lenses. These lenses fall at the
far end of the spectrum. Typically lenses that are a 100 millimeter focal
length and higher. Telephoto lenses are
great for capturing distance subjects like
wildlife, for instance. These lenses produce a very focused and
tight angle of view, so you might not get much
background in your shot. They're great to use when you're unable to get too close to your subject as far
as distortion goes, you know the phrase,
the camera adds £10. This is a result of
telephoto lenses. Any lens that goes above
what our human eyes used to seeing will cause
some distortion of the image of the subject. In a portrait shot, a subject's face will
appear wider than if a 50 millimeter or 35
millimeter lens was used. This is due to that distortion. In addition to the
subject changing, the background will
also appear much larger and closer
to your subject. Now, don't let this stop you
from using these lenses. They're are great tools. But it's important
to be aware of how each lens can
affect your image.
7. Angle of View: Angle of view. Let's
talk about angular view. This is the angle of the view
that you see in the shot, and it's dependent on what
your focal length is. Here's an image to explain
it a bit more clearly. With wide-angle
lenses, you'll get a much larger angle of
view because the goal of these lenses to capture
a wider field of view on the opposite side of the spectrum are
telephoto lenses, which only capture a very
small angle of view. These lenses are used to isolate a subject
from a far distance. It's important to understand angle of view because
it will help you choose the focal length of the lens as you want to
use in your next film. If you really want
isolated portrait shots, you'll want to use lenses around the 50 millimeter range and up. But if you want to
capture the vastness of a mountain range or make
a small room seem large, you'll want to use
a wide angle lens.
8. Photo vs Cinema: Photography versus cinema. You've probably seen
both photography and cinema lenses for sale. And may have been wondering what the differences between each are when it comes to shooting
video. Let's get into that. Photography lenses
can definitely be used for shooting film. So if that's all
you have access to, don't stress about trying
to get a cinema lens. In some ways, photography
lenses can have a lot of benefits that cinema
lenses don't offer, autofocus being one of them. However, these benefits can
also have their downsides. If you do use autofocus,
for instance, many cheaper photography lenses make noise as they're focusing. This noise can then be picked
up by your microphone's affecting the quality of the
overall audio of your film. Additionally,
sometimes these lenses don't actually focus on
what you want them to. This can leave you with a lot of unusable or at least
unfocused footage. Personally, if I
have the choice, I prefer cinema lenses. They allow for much
easier focusing, aperture adjustment,
and generally speaking, use
higher-quality materials. For serious film-making. I'd always recommend
going with cinema lenses. However, there are a
few things to consider when opting for cinema
over photography lenses. First of all, is the cost. Cinema lenses are typically much more expensive than
photography lenses. While they can give you
a much better shot, It's a major factor to consider. Cinema lenses are also
usually much more bulky and heavier than
photography lenses. Depending on your shooting
environment or setup, you'll usually need a large case just for your set of lenses. Ultimately, it's within
your time and your budget. I'd recommend checking
out both and seeing which works best for the
project that you're working on.
9. Anamorphic vs Cinema: Anamorphic versus spherical. There are two types of
lenses that are generally used in filmmaking and
amorphic and spherical. Generally speaking, most people are used to handling
spherical lenses. Spherical lenses
encompass the majority of consumer accessible lenses,
including photography lenses. One reason for this is that anamorphic lenses are
much more expensive, although you may not ever
seen them in stores. You have probably seen
them in films and television shows shot
with anamorphic lenses. Anamorphic lenses provide
their own distinct look that can combine the benefit of a shallow depth of
field close-up with a wider background that you typically get with a
wider spherical lens. This is due to the way that these lenses are
engineered and the processes that take
place in post-production to allow that footage
to be usable. Anamorphic lens is also giving your film extra
character from the way the book presents in
the background to the horizontal lens flares that can appear
across the screen. There are many benefits to
using anamorphic lenses. However, be sure that if
you do choose to use them, that they work within
your budget in both production and
in post-production.
10. Mounts (EF, PL): Mounts, EF, p, l,
and all the rest. There are two main
categories that camera mounts come
in, EF and PL. If you spent time looking
for cinema lenses online, you've probably
seen these letters. But what do they mean? Ef mounts, our canon
based lens mounts that are very common
throughout the lens world. They're the same
mountain as you find on lower-cost cinema and
photography lenses. P L, on the other hand, or precision mock, is a mount reserved only for cinema lenses. These lenses lock into place when you put
them on your camera, ensuring that they don't unexpectedly detach
and fall off. Pl mounts are meant for heavy professional
lenses that are used for daily and constantly. I've worked with
both EFN PL amounts. And honestly after seeing
how easily EF lenses can become detached
from a camera when tools like a wireless
follow focus, for instance, is attached, I'd much rather go with
the PL mount lens. Anything. However, that's not
to say that there's anything wrong with
using only EF lenses. But if you are using a lot of external tools alongside them, you'll need to be very careful as depending on
your camera body, they can become loose during
the shooting process.
11. Costs: Costs. When you're looking at lenses, it's important to be aware of your budget and how much
you can afford to spend. Although you may want
a cook anamorphic set, your budget may
not allow for it. So let's talk about the
factors that go into cost and how you can get the
best bang for your buck. Now if you're shooting
a high budget film, I'd always recommend renting that way you can
get the best lenses for the project that
you're shooting without breaking the
bank to buy them. To put this into context, a single cook anamorphic lens can cost about $30
thousand to buy. And keep in mind that
you'll probably want to get a few different
focal lengths. However, if you rent
that $30 thousand drops down to about $400 per day depending on where you
rent your lenses from. Now, if you're not shooting
anamorphic, great, that purchase price can
drop significantly from $30 thousand per lens
to around $10 thousand, at least as far as buying goes. When it comes to renting, that $400 a day can
go as low as 100. At this price point, I'd still recommend renting, especially considering the fact that the
lenses that you're looking at might not work
for every single gig. Each type of lens has its
own unique characteristics. Some produce cleaner
looking images than others, which may not be right for every project that
you end up shooting. But regardless of which
lenses you're looking at, The reality is not everyone
can afford these prices. What about folks who
are just starting out but still want good
quality glass? Or the folks who are doing low to 0 budget independent work. Let's talk about the best
budget options on the market.
12. Best Budget Options: Best budget options. Odds are, if you're looking
for budget options, you're most likely
shooting with a camera, with an EF or similar
amount as opposed to a PO. So we're going to
talk about the best budget options for EF mounts. However, many of the
cinema lenses that we'll talk about today also come
with PL mount options. If you do happen to have
access to a PL mount Cameron, if you're looking for
cinema prime lenses, I'd recommend
looking at Rogan on Xen and cannons
Sydney prime lenses. Both of these are great
budget options for a cinematographer
who still wants to work with good-quality
cinema lenses, with a Z genes and the
canons, any primes? I've seen an individual lens
rent for under a $100 a day. And if you look around on
places like share grid, you might even be
able to get them for less than $50 a day. Now these two sets of lenses do different price when the Zener is being the cheaper
of the tooth. But if you're interested in buying lenses from
either of these sets, they generally range
between 1400.4500. You can actually get
an entire set of Zealand's is for less
than $10 thousand, which if you have the budget and are working
with them regularly, might actually be
worth the investment. But if you don't
care whether or not you're working with cinema
or photography lenses. There are some even lower-cost
options you can consider. Broken on who make
the scenes have an even lower budget Sydney lens and the sub 500-dollar range. I've used them before. And
while they are affected, I don't find that they
perform as well as asean. So make sure to test them out
before making the purchase. If they do work for you, that's awesome because there
are much cheaper option. As far as photography lenses go. However, I would
recommend checking out canons sub L series lenses. You can definitely go for
their higher-end L series. Those are the ones
with the red ring. But just be aware that if you're only going to be
doing cinematography, they cause just about
the same acidity lenses, but I find them harder to
work with onset due to the lack of manual aperture
adjustment on most of them. If you really don't have
much of a budget at all and you're looking to just get started with a lens
for your camera, it can, it actually has a
great low budget option. This is the nifty
5050 millimeter 1.8. This lens usually costs
less than a $150. And because it's a
50 millimeter lens, It's a very versatile lens if
your budget is super small, but you can still afford
to invest in a lens, I'd recommend buying
one of those.
13. Conclusion: We've talked about a
lot in this video, from focal length to anamorphic
lenses field of view. I hope that some, if not
all of it will be useful to you as you go out and get
ready to choose your lenses. I have a few other
videos on how to work with cameras,
lenses and lighting. So be sure to check
those out as well as always let me know if
you have any questions, comments, or concerns
about anything I shared today and I'd be more than
happy to address them.
Zoë Davidson, Software Engineer & Cinematographer
