What is “Cinematic?” This is a surprisingly tricky term to pin down. Not long ago, motion pictures were made for presentation via either television or the cinema, and each of these two formats had their own rather distinct set of aesthetics. Now, not only have both aesthetics thoroughly crossbred with each other, but we have also thrown a whole new medium into the mix, namely Internet videos. Today, “cinematic” content is made for the big screen, as well as screens so small they fit into your pocket. In order to simplify our discussion we will define the term “cinematic” as a set of aesthetics that approximate the look of traditional feature films, a look that is heavily influenced by the art and science of analog capture with traditional film stock. In that respect, we will primarily discuss each camera’s ability to render a film-like image. However, we will also discuss their cinematic qualities in terms of their suitability for presentation on large theater screens. Current video cameras attempt to emulate the look of film by controlling four different factors: resolution, image-sensor size, dynamic range, and color sampling. 1080HD, 2K, and 4K are the current popular standards for resolution, and all of the cameras that we discuss here will be capable of at least 1080HD. While 4K is theoretically lower than the resolution of film, even 1080HD is capable of yielding perfectly satisfactory results when projected on “the big screen.” When it comes to image-sensor size, manufacturers are principally concerned with approximating the physical size and shape of a single film frame, so that filmmakers can take advantage of traditional cinema lenses and their characteristic aesthetic. Of course, the aesthetics of cinema lenses alone is fodder for an expansive essay, but the factors with which we are primarily concerned include field of view and depth of field. Dynamic range and color sampling are like two sides of the same coin. A camera’s ability to render film-like gradations of light and dark is referenced by the term dynamic range. A camera’s ability to capture and preserve film-like color information is referenced by the term color sampling. With digital capture, each pixel is assigned one value for luminance (light and dark) and a second value for chroma (color), and how a camera handles these values is largely determined by the sensor’s native ability to capture and the processor’s ability to record the information. It is worth bearing in mind that this is a largely superficial explanation of the technological factors involved in digital cinema, and as technology advances there is one all-important consideration that has never changed. That is, in filmmaking and picture-making in general, the ineffable alchemy of compelling images is more akin to magic than it is to technology, more art than science. However, these concepts should provide a valuable foundation for evaluating the cameras that we discuss her
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 23:57:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015