There are many videos on Youtube
sharing creative shot ideas, this one is different. I’m not just going
to tell you how to do it but also why and when. Travel or fashion, music videos &
short films, there’s something everyone! Shot #1 SUPER SLOWMO. You can do this with almost
any camera so don’t stress if you can’t shoot in high frame rates. Most video editors have this
feature built in but if you want to take it to the next level you need to use third party
software. First to get the best results you need to crank up the shutter speed as high as
you can so no need for an ND Filter. Second you want to shoot as shallow as possible so the more
the background blurs, the better the result. Last but not least you want to avoid rapid movements
of tiny elements because that’s usually where the effect starts showing artefacts first. If you
want to go the free route, slow down your clip in the timeline and select optical flow. If you got
those 3 things right there’s a good chance you can slow down your footage up to 4 times without
seeing crazy artefacts. If you want to take it to the next level you can use VIDEO AI. Topaz
has the best frame interpolation in the world and will give you incredibly smooth results up to
8 times slower. The only camera that can do this natively is the freefly ember coming in at 18000
us dollars. Even if your camera only does 120 in 1080p you can use the same app to upscale it to
crispy 4K, also the best in the game and something I use all the time. This is the kind of shot that
can create a defining moment in your film. Imagine a build up of fast shots and all of a sudden you
cut to this dramatic super slowmo for effect. Shot #2 the Mabo Fall. The reason for the
name is because I got the idea from a creator friend Max Bolle. Mabo creates the most amazing
fashion films with this shot often featuring in a variety of ways. Max is hands down the best
channel in this niche so make sure you go say hi. There are multiple ways to do this, one is
to let your model bend over backwards without actually falling and the second is to let your
model fall on something soft like mattress. It’s advised to shoot this at 50 fps or higher but
if you really want to create something epic, crank up the shutter and see how far
you can push optical flow. This is shot at 100FPS and is slowed down
8 times with Topaz, pretty crazy! Shot #3 Character introduction. This long take
gimbal shot is often seen at the start of a movie and I love the dynamic behind it because
it introduces a bunch of characters in an organic way. The secret lies in the blocking
so you need to prep your characters well so that each one is has a queue for when their
movement starts because this only works if it flows from start to finish. This can be used
in so many different ways, corporate promos, restaurants and even tv commercials.
Massive thanks to FahmyDP for the idea, we got this on the launch of the
new Sony Burano where I did BTS. Shot #4 LENS WHACKING. This technique is not
new at all but I haven’t seen someone use it in a while. Also called FREE LENSING, I’ve
used it on on some short films many years ago but was recently reminded of it as a way to
create something unique. Lens whacking creates some really interesting flares and also
has a tilt shift effect that you’re just not able to reproduce in post. You can use
it as a transition between shots or to make a boring shot more interesting but there is
some technique to it though! First you have to set your lens to infinity focus. In this
case I used a vintage lens because it’s small and easy to handle but also stopping down to
about F4 or higher actually helps because if you take the lens away from the sensor your
depth of field will be extremely shallow. You can lock the lens in a position like I
did here or you can move the lens around in front of the sensor but for stability sake
it helps to have one hand on the bottom of the camera and one on the top. With a smaller
lens it’s easier to control the movements but the idea is to move the lens around to get those
beautiful light leaks while shifting the f-ocus. Shot #5 Run forest run. One of my favourite shots
in filmmaking is tracking a subject with a zoom lens on a gimbal. A few things you need to do
to make it work. First up, depth is everything. There’s a clear difference between this shot
without a foreground and this one with all the trees zipping past. A foreground will make the
shot feel much more intense. Look for a location where it’s easy to stick to the same path in this
case having two roads is exactly what you want. This is not the type of shot you want to shoot
in slowmotion unless you want to do some speed ramping like in the Sherlock Holmes movie which
leads me to my next point. Zooming in with your lens while doing this action elevates the shot
to a next level but you definitely need a lens that is parfocal. Parfocal means the lens will not
lose focus when you zoom. This is pretty standard for cine lenses but there are so many budget
options these days that it’s totally do-able. AD BREAK: Before I carry on, I’d like to take
this moment to thank the sponsor of this video, MotionVFX. I’ve been using the platform
exclusively for 2 years now for everything motion graphics related. From cinematic
titles to animated graphs and transitions, everything you see on this channel is from
MotionVFX. I started using them because they have the best plug-ins for DaVinci
Resolve but they also cater for Final Cut, Premiere Pro & After Effects. Simply drag & drop,
the plug-ins are easy to use & most important, to customise to your liking. Whether it’s Youtube
Videos, Vertical REELS, Documentaries or Feature Films, there’s something for everyone. They also
have a wide range of stock elements & LUT packs to elevate the production value of your films. For
more info check out the link in the description! Shot #6 Gimbal Point of interest. I love this
shot because of how the model and the gimbal splits around a point of interest. The dynamic
comes through in the way both are turning inwards in a continuous movement forward. This shot
works best in a natural frame rate so keep your shutter to the 180 rule, in this case 25
fps, 50 shutter speed. Lens wise a 35mm will give you the most natural compression focusing
more on the subject and less on distortion or parallax. I’m sharing the custom gimbal
settings for this shot in the description. Shot #7 PASSING TIME. This is a really simple
way to show your character passing time in a single space. You can do it in two ways, one
is to clone your character by cropping out the empty parts of the image so that it
looks like they’re fading into the next position. The second is a timelapse but for both
varieties you need one very important element, consistent light. For the clone shots it’s
important to film a clean plate without the character to use as cover where required. In
other words put your clean plate on the bottom layer with the character shots stacked on top.
Take the top layer and crop out the relevant side to reveal the character from the layer below.
The timelapse is pretty straight forward but adding a post zoom makes it more. You can
smooth it out a bit with some motion blur so you can either use a slower shutter speed
like 1/25th or add some motion blur in post. If you’ve gotten this far I want to thank you
for watching. I’m sharing a bonus tip at the end so make sure you stick around but I also
want to mention that I finally started working on my own Colour Grading Course, something a
lot of you have been asking for. More details to follow but if you’re interested, check
the link below and sign up to be notified! Shot #8 Trolly Dolly. Yes a simple supermarket
trolly makes for an excellent Dolly on a budget. I did this shoot on a rooftop and wanted to
get some swooping parallaxes with the 70mm but doing this with my feet isn’t possible. The
supermarket downstairs said we could borrow a trolly and we ended up having a lot fun. The
trolly can give you much better results when traveling over distance. Again gimbal settings
in the description. It doesn’t even have to be a Trolly, on some of my handheld shoots I even
use skateboards to get more stability and moving the camera fast over a big distance like this can
really raise the production value of your films. Shot #9 Slow shutter. There are many ways to
use a slow shutter effect but first you need a reason. I use slow shutter for two reasons,
to act as a transitional shot and second to make a boring scene a bit more interesting.
For transitional shots you need to go slow so something like 1/5 at 25fps will do. Since it
blurs so much you don’t need to worry about the context but try to use a moment that flows. To
create interest I go for something like 1/20th and here it’s important to keep your subject in
the middle even if you do movements. Look how the bookshelf blurs as I move the camera forward
yet the model is a bit more clear because she’s standing still. These type of shots work
better on wide angle lenses and a gimbal. Shot 10# the roundabout. I mean a physical
roundabout. Doing orbit shots on a gimbal is pretty straight forward but if
you want to elevate the feeling, put on a zoom lens and shoot at the long end.
The reason I’m using a roundabout is because it’s easy to drive around with a car and you’ll
get silky smooth results. 3 things that make this shot special. First would be the parallax
effect between the subject and the background only possible on longer lenses. I tried a
few varieties and 70mm would be the lowest focal length to use. Second would be the fact
that I’m shooting from a lower angle. This is often referred to as the Hero effect because it
elevates your character making them feel bigger but the background above the character is a really important element. Focusing on the colourful treetops make it way more interesting and emphasises the
movement where an empty sky will feel boring. To seal the deal your character needs to do
a turning motion in the opposite direction to the movement of the camera, something you
will notice in every single Michael bay movie. If you love this shot and you don’t have a
roundabout, I would recommend shooting at 70mm but get your character to move. Again the
concept of cross movement is crucial so start the movement from opposite sides and as you
pass start with the orbit while your character keeps on turning in the opposite direction. You
don’t want to overdo this shot so savour it for a special moment like in the climax of your
video where the character finally arrives at a destination or is completely mesmerised by
the environment. I’ve tried all frame rates and 50 or 60 fps is your best bet but make sure
your camera movement is fast enough so that when slowed down the background still moves fast.
I’ve done these shots on both the DJI RS3 and the Zhiyun Crane 4 both requiring that your
speed is set to medium for the best results. Finally for that bonus tip. If you want to
the most out of your low angle gimbal shots, make sure you invert it. This is not the
same as underslung mode. There’s a reason we use this mode in car shoots, it’s much
more stable and you have more freedom of movement. Put the gimbal into standby mode, turn
it around and switch it on again. And that’s it, as always questions drop them down
below and I’ll do my best to answer, thanks so much for watching and
I’ll see you in the next one!
