By Rhiannon Hobbins, Festival Manager

I was in serious post-festival daze when I first watched G-Technology’s “Faces of the Festival” film.
And I’ve got to admit that I was truly impressed. Sure, it brought back
great memories from the festival. But the image quality was amazing and
I was intrigued to learn that they filmed it all on a SLR camera.

Surely SLR cameras are just for still photography, I thought? After
a little investigation, I was surprised to learn that while I had been
working day and night in the lead-up to ECU 2010, filming on SLR
cameras had become the latest hot trend.

So I decided to interview Max Budgett, from Tmax Productions, who
produced G-Technology’s “Faces of the Festival” film, to find out more.

Can you tell me about the new HDSLR cameras?

The HD video mode on DSLR cameras like the EOS 5D MKII shoot a
fantastic quality HD resolution video. This is down to their large
sensors and the ability to use 35mm lenses that give a shallow depth of
field – the ‘filmic’ look. The results are impressive and a revelation
for the Indie film-maker.

Which camera did you use for the Faces of the Festival film?

We used the EOS 7D

Why are the HDSLR cameras a step forward for the film industry?

Basically, It’s the results you can achieve for the price, which I
think it’s largely down to who’s producing them. 40 million Canon SLR
format cameras have been sold since 1987 and half of those after 2003.
These economies of scale mean that HDSLRs are relatively cheap and
therefore much more accessible to a lot more filmmakers. Arri cameras
and Red cameras are expensive and will remain expensive because in
comparison, they’re in a niche market. So hopefully we should start to
see a new generation of talented filmmakers producing some excellent
work on this format.

So the HDSLR cameras have changed the way of filming. But specifically how did it change the way you, as a filmmaker, work?

It has made filming fun again to be honest. It’s much cheaper and
easier to make images look great. The plus points are massive, but by
no means is it without flaws.

They are generally great cameras if you have the time to consider
and setup your shots, but at the moment they aren’t very versatile
under time and situation based pressures. For documentaries or event
films I would always recommend having something more versatile like an
EX1 to hand. Saying that, I normally take a 7D with me wherever I go…
Just in case.

It was entertaining watching people posing for you at the
festival. How did it change the way people interacted with the camera?
What were their reactions? Did you tell anyone you were filming them?

It’s funny, people do react differently. I think it’s because it
looks like a stills camera (obviously) and people are much more used to
being photographed, so are more comfortable having a stills camera in
their face. We did tell people they were being filmed… If they asked.

How did you achieve the slow motion effect in the Faces of the Festival film? In post-production?

No, we shot at 50fps and then transcoded the footage to 25fps, which
is what gives it the slow motion effect. It gives a nice dreamy feel,
but also, it would have been very difficult filming at 25fps without
any stabilisation gear.

What are some of the limitations to filming on the HDSLR cameras?

One of the main limitations is the one I just mentioned, filming
handheld. It is very difficult to get an acceptably steady image
filming at 25fps handheld. So you need either to use a monopod or some
kind of stabilisation rig if you don’t want to use a tripod. It is also
advisable to use an image stabilised lens.

The camera can get very hot if used a lot and will switch itself off.

The LCD can make it difficult to focus and is also fixed, so it is
difficult to see what you’re filming if the screen isn’t level with
your eye.

Although most DSLRs can record sound, you wouldn’t want to unless
simply for reference. They don’t have XLR connectors, some only record
mono, some don’t have audio monitoring or allow you to set levels and
because they are stills cameras, the controls can be noisy to operate.
We record sound on a separate device and sync later in post.

No power zoom that other video cameras have as a matter of course.

At the moment the codecs used are no good for editing, so have to be
transcoded first which can be time consuming and eat a lot of hard
drive space.

I say all this, but there are work arounds for all these problems
and people developing supporting hardware and software to make the
cameras easier and better to use. The most important thing here is that
the image quality the cameras produces, for the price, is amazing.

I know that when I want to make a video on my baby digital
camera, I can film about 30 seconds and then my memory card is full. Is
there a storage issue when filming with the HDSLR cameras?

Storage isn’t a problem, you record about 12 minutes per 4GB and we
have a 16GB memory card in our 7D. The main problem is the 7D can only
record 4GB (so about 12 minutes) before stopping, which can be a
serious draw back if you are filming an interview or something like
that where you don’t want to interrupt filming.

How much is a HDSLR camera going to set you back?

We bought our canon 7D for about £1250, but that’s just the body. I
would highly recommend investing in good quality lenses. Look for Image
stabilised lenses that are at least as fast as F2.8

I was talking with a cameraman recently who said that he was
having trouble keeping up with all the advances in cameras. He was
recently on a shoot and couldn’t find the power on button. He called
the rental house for assistance, but they couldn’t help either! How is
the role of a cameraman changing?

Actually I have heard a lot of photographers are beginning to move
into video too. The crossover is happening and I think in the not too
distant future, still and video cameras will be the same beast and
perhaps still and video cameramen will be too. I think it is important
to keep up with advances in technology, because technology helps you do
stuff faster and better, but granted, it doesn’t do the job for you.

What’s the next step for the future of filmmaking?

Video on the web was a massive step for filmmakers, giving them such
an accessible global broadcast platform. The development of video
features on DSLR cameras for me, is almost as important, as it gives
filmmakers access to the tools to create their fantastic looking
productions. There will probably be competition between the big
manufacturers to bring out better and more user friendly hybrid
video/stills cameras that are now affordable and accessible to us poor
Indie film-makers. Probably around September time we can hope to see a
nice shiny new release. I can’t wait to find out!